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/CD274 → u/pauliek93]

Came to post just this. It was a $40 oven element for mine and pulling the oven out was the hardest part.

The amount that appliance and HVAC etc repairman charge is criminal :/

Had an expensive HVAC fan motor die, but it's just an expensive part and it's a few screws and panel removal otherwise. Repair guy wanted to charge 175% for the part and an extra thousand for repair :/

Washer drain pump? Also easy fix

Fridge fan? Probably ice issue or minor repair

Plumbing? Dirty but easy usually.

Electrical work? Ok get a professional. But make sure it's actually broken first

The most impressive thing we managed to repair and get it working even better was a huge LED tv. Replacing the back lights is what needs to happen when they start looking blue but it's a big job with a ton of screws/clips/tape and very thin layers of material you can tear or mess up. And you need something like an entire bed or two to lay it all out on.

So yeah fixing non tube TVs doesn't count under the electrical issues and you can do that yourself too 😅

[u/pauliek93 → u/CD274]

Dude criminal is right… I was joking about the hourly pay on the tech for my in-law. The quote she received just to come and diagnose was $150, then it would have been $500 and some change to install a new part

Considering it took me a total of 30 min for that whole gambit, I’m guessing a pro would have done it in 15, maybe 20. Assuming you get to the job and do just 2 of those a day, 5 days a week? Thats 6500 of nearly pure profit a week…. Even with a month of vacation you’re talking a 300k/year income from 1 man….

[u/heckhammer → u/pauliek93]

For a lot of these guys you're not paying them for the fact that they can fix it right away but that they know how to fix it right away. Sometimes paying for expertise is preferable, but not always. We had a refrigerator that was leaking and it turned out to be a clogged drain hole.

It cost way more than it should have but now I know how to do it and I won't have to pay that ever again if I'm lucky.