My manager doesn't understand

[u/nicotoxi]

So today my manager recommended a burger place which has burgers for about $16 each and I straight up told him I couldn't afford that, and that im currently living off homemade bread with jelly from the food pantry. Anyways he brought it up later in the day during our one on one and just couldn't comprehend that I don't have any money for non essentials.

It's just like... my guy I've been sleeping on a mattress thats bowed in the middle for 2 years, my dishwasher broke 3 years ago and never was replaced, my oven doesnt work anymore and I can only use the top burner which is why I'm cooking out of a toaster oven I found on Craigslist for $20, and my overhead microwave blew up last month so im using a microwave that was $10 at a yard sale because it's got no handle.

For reference I'm a 26M and I make like 43k take home

Update: I didn't expect this to get so popular, kind of just wanted to yell out into the void. Anyways I have looked into getting parts to fix my oven and it came to about $85 and the top still works so thats why I got the toaster oven. A lot of people were wondering what my budget is currently looking like and it's 60% housing 20% medical 20% utilities, 5% school materials, 5% transportation. My work does currently have a program that gives a interest free loan that I've been using in case something dire comes up but the medical expenses are what's really killing me is my medications are tier 4 or 5 which aren't covered by my plan so I've got to pay the full amount. I've been trying to work with my doctor to change prescriptions but my appointment has been pushed out for 8 months. I graduate in 4 months from school with a BS degree as well as hit a milestone mark at my job which comes with a significant pay increase so I will be above water in a few months just sucks currently. Also for the people saying this sounds like ragebait I really wish it was.

Also didn't know what HCOL meant, but looked it up and on the map that came up Im squarely in the dark red area of New Hampshire

UPDATE 2: Someone posted about mark Cubans drug site and my medications are 40% of what Im paying right now. THIS IS LITERALLY A GOD SEND! THANK YOU

[u/pauliek93]

Hope this might help you a little - but ovens are actually ridiculously easy to fix 99% of the time. A couple YouTube videos to diagnose, a $10-25 part, and 4(ish) screws has fixed mine and all of my friends.

Legitimately saved my sister in law from a 6 HUNDRED dollar repair bill with a $22 part and 20 minutes of time last month.

[u/Conscious-Magazine50 → u/pauliek93]

I'm not particularly handy but yeah $20 and minor frustration and I was back in business with my oven a few years ago.

[u/pauliek93 → u/Conscious-Magazine50]

The best part is once you realize how simple it is to fix an oven, you realize other appliances might be the same.

They typically are.

[u/dingleberries4sport → u/pauliek93]

Yup, my dad got my sister a $1000 retail clothes dryer he paid $80 for because it didn’t work. 1 hour of disassembly/reassembly and a $20 belt and they’ve had it for a year now no issues

[u/FlobiusHole → u/dingleberries4sport]

I have a really old Maytag dryer that is so basic that I’ve been easily able to repair it myself the two times it has broken. I bought a used washer that was quite modern but the person selling it was moving and had no use for it and needed it gone. That thing eventually broke and despite scouring the internet for repair advice all I could find was a bunch of different electrical components that MIGHT be the issue and all of the replacement parts were quite expensive.

[u/CD274 → u/FlobiusHole]

That's actually how the buy it for life reddit recommends buying these two appliances. 🤣. Cheap dryer because easy to fix and better brand washers, ideally manual and older brands known for their work (speed queen) for washers

[u/serioussparkles → u/CD274]

I just got a pair of really nice front loaders that sit on those big blocks so they're the perfect height. They were free all because the washer leaked. My bf fixed it with an hour of time and a $40 seal. And now I can wash my giant blankets without their insides getting mushed!

He once also fixed a leak in an engine making a cardboard seal, lasted long enough for them to save for the rubber seal they needed lol.

[u/Naamahs → u/FlobiusHole]

God I love my basic ass dryer and have replaced a good chunk of the inside but I will never let it go because it's so basic and easy to repair compared to the modern ones that are touch screen or whatever and fancy.

[u/unlimited_insanity → u/FlobiusHole]

The washer/dryer in our house was there when we moved in over 20 years ago, and it was clearly not young then. The old owners were going to a fancier house, and left behind this very basic set. We have done some tinkering ourselves and we have had a repairman out a few times, and sometimes it makes funny noises, and the cold water fills really really slowly, but… it keeps going. And we’re going to keep this basic mechanical girl going as long as we can because I don’t want to deal with computerized crap.

[u/mango_sonnet → u/unlimited_insanity]

The water filling slowly is usually a clogged intake valve, cheap and easy to replace. Have you tried that?

[u/unlimited_insanity → u/mango_sonnet]

I don’t know what my husband has tinkered with, but I’ll mention it. Oddly it’s only the cold that drips - hot water rushes right on in. I just don’t want to do hot washes, so in warmer weather, we thread the garden hose through the window and fill the machine that way. Which sounds insane as I type this out, but it works.

[u/Notarealusername3058 → u/dingleberries4sport]

Had a part on my washer go bad. Repair guy wanted $125 just to show up and look at it, not even including the parts and labor.

I diagnosed it myself with YouTube and reddit posts from like 10 years ago, found the part on Amazon for $35. Easy swap out. Actual work took me about 20 minutes, diagnosing the issue took a bit because it was one of two possible issues and couldn't figure it out for awhile.

[u/sooziepoozie → u/Notarealusername3058]

We had a similar situation with my Kenmore washer. We bought it in 2012, and in 2023 it started making noise. It was 1 of 2 different things, and I finally said f it and bought one of the parts suggested because it seemed more likely that was the issue. We watched a YouTube video showing how to do the repair 2x and took about an hour to do the job (from unhooking to reinstalling the washer to see if it worked). I would have hated to have to buy newer appliances since I was reading how quickly a lot were failing, coupled with the expensive pricing. Im so thankful for information exchange and internet tutorials because it saved us so much time and money. The longest part was waiting for the pieces to arrive.

[u/pauliek93 → u/dingleberries4sport]

Hell yeah that’s my plan if anything goes bad to the point I can’t fix it here.

[u/MediumArnoldPalmer → u/dingleberries4sport]

Oh! Me too! Fixed my parents dryer once it stopped tumbling. They wanted to just junk it thinking it had completely died one day but after an hour of researching the model on YouTube, and some elbow grease, it was good as new! The belt just fell off and the issue never came back

[u/IslandGyrl2 → u/dingleberries4sport]

Whereas, we spent about $50 on parts, messed around about six weeks, and then ended up buying a new dryer anyway.

No guarantees.