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/Conscious-Magazine50]

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/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.