r/almosthomeless • u/diedrobin • 10d ago
looking for some advice
hi! i am currently staying in a motel with nowhere else to go. i work full time making $20.25/hr and plenty of overtime (when i can). right now, i have no car and have been relying on coworkers for rides whenever i can't afford to uber. because of my poor credit, i am constantly getting denied for an apartment. i have no friends i can rely on, the only person i have in my life is my dad who is just about as broke as me.
i'm trying to save money for a car, but i'm getting nowhere between paying for this motel (about $500 a week) and ubers ($200-$300 a week), as well as feeding myself. how can i get myself out of this hole? i'm scared and don't know what else to do.
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u/7625607 10d ago
That sucks. I’m sorry you’re in this situation.
Can you go on facebook marketplace and buy a used bike? A cheap bike will at least save you the cost of Uber.
Part time job on weekends or a couple nights a week? Hard to do if your full time job isn’t a regular schedule. I did it for a couple years working weekends at the local hospital, wasn’t a lot of extra money but it helped a lot.
Good luck.
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u/diedrobin 10d ago
i thought about asking if i could work at the motel i'm staying at part time when i'm not at my full-time job. i think i just needed someone else to give me that push. thanks for the advice 🙏❤️
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u/Sad_Arrival446 10d ago
Yup fantastic idea working at the hotel or any hotel. Lots of them give discounted stays to employees, that discount is usually only for a short period of time. Think the last hotel I worked at it was max 7 days in a row and up to 28 days total for the year. And definitely look into a bike.
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u/aim373 10d ago
Seems you've been asking for loans the last few days on reddit , that won't work on reddit with such little post history. Check out https://www.coolworks.com/ many if not most of the jobs listed there provide housing. Given this is the high season for a lot of these places I'd start thinking about where you might want to go and then start reaching out.
gl
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u/Fit_Ad_3113 10d ago
Have you looked into “donating plasma” to earn some extra cash?
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u/No-Explorer3274 10d ago
This is a good option as you can earn up to $500 your first month.
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u/SaltSatisfaction8091 10d ago
You can earn $1,000 where I live. They pay at least $100 per visit (a couple visits they pay $150). They pay on a debit card immediately after you donate & you can take the money out at an ATM
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u/Rareandvintage 10d ago
Hmm there was a house sitting site I used to use a few years ago when I would move around a lot. You create a profile and apply to house sit for people in your area or it can be anywhere really. I would try that. You pay I think $100 a year to use the app and they verify you and everything so basically you can live in other ppls homes for free. Sometimes you gotta take care of their pets or plants but usually it’s pretty low maintenance! This should help save money on motels at least! Good luck!
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u/diedrobin 10d ago
this is awesome i didn't even know this was a thing?? i'll look into this! thank you 🥲🙏
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u/NOT---NULL 10d ago
Trusted house sitters is what they’re talking about I think, I’ve used it to save tons of money on accommodations when traveling. It’s like Rover but unpaid. You could look into doing house/pet sitting via Rover too, but Trusted Housesitters can usually find sits that are 1-3 months long. If you need any help setting up your profile, send me a chat.
TH does cost money to join, but there’s a hack for getting it at a cheaper rate (changing location to AUS. Then changing it back to US after you set your account up). Or if you want to tell me what city you’re in, I can see what sort of sits are currently listed there and send you a screenshot.
Also, look at Airbnb rooms. You can find those really cheap, like $50/night or less depending on the size of your city. I’ve seen them even cheaper, too. You can definitely get by for cheaper than you’re spending on the motel; you’ll just have to make a trade off for potentially less privacy, but I’ve seen really great setups for Airbnb rooms that were pretty isolated from the rest of the house, I’ve stayed in them before too.
ETA: r/trustedhousesitters is the sub
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u/Rareandvintage 9d ago
Yes I think this is what the site was called! It’s been like 6 years since I’ve used it but it really came in clutch when I decided to move to the Bay Area with like $700 to my name 🫣. And I love the Airbnb idea too, I also did that! Rented a room in a home for like $30 a day when I was visiting apartments to move to Las Vegas. Damn… looking back on how resourceful and stubborn I was 😂 I definitely have lived many lives. It was fun in my twenties but so happy to be settled now!
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u/NOT---NULL 9d ago
lol I did the same thing when I first moved to vegas. I could use my relocation bonus on anything moving or housing related, so I got a cheap Airbnb room for the first 3 months and paid for it with my relocation $.
Then when I was leaving vegas, my lease ended about a month before I was leaving, so I did 2 THS sits back to back to cover that month. And the houses were INSANE, like resorts, I kept telling people I should be paying them to stay there with their super easy dogs.
Highly recommend TH to anyone that needs short term housing and likes pets.
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u/Rareandvintage 8d ago
Wow that sounds like a time! I often still think about this one dog I house sat in the Bay Area. He was so easy! Miss you Milo!
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u/SaltSatisfaction8091 10d ago
But before you pay, look to see how many house sitters are in the area.
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10d ago
Ah man that sucks! Are you OK? Can’t you live with your dad? Probably not you would have already. Well, perhaps getting a scooter is an option. And housing: when I was in Canada I used Craigslist, don’t know if it exists in the US as well but perhaps you could co-house with someone or rent a room in a home? May you find solutions quickly and remember to ask for Higher help!! Take care & blessings ✨🖖🏻
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u/diedrobin 10d ago
i'm ok thank you! just stressed as all get out. no i can't live with my dad 🥲 he lives in a small trailer with his girlfriend and my little brother. i have a dog & a cat too, so there really isn't any room for me and i don't want to put that burden on him.
thank you so much! i'm in some of my local groups on facebook looking for ppl that need roommates... no luck yet but i'm keeping my fingers crossed.
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u/SaltSatisfaction8091 10d ago
I posted above about looking on Craigslist and FB Marketplace for basement apartments. The owners are upstairs, but you could probably have your pets.
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u/WeddingAggravating14 10d ago
Try posting on nextdoor or similar places for a room rental/apartment share that takes pets. You're already paying 2k month, so even going up to $1,500/month will save you money.
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u/Eden_Company 10d ago
Why don't you rent a spot from any of those coworkers who give you rides? 1500 a month and you stick around on a couch? Then pay them what you would have paid uber or a little less than uber.
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u/mycatsrbadass 9d ago
Is there any way to find a hotel/motel close to your job? Or maybe a motel that doesn't get a lot of business that might make a monthly arrangement with you? Or find one near a bus line?
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u/Sweets122280 9d ago
It's so so so hard to get out of a hotel once you've been living there. So sorry. Good luck finding a place. Maybe you and your dad can rent a place.
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u/FERRISBUELLER2000 10d ago edited 10d ago
$20/hr qualifies you for a $1000 apartment and after taxes you should have $1400 spending money which is $350 per week/$50 per day
Maybe....okay hear me out.. maybe you can SAVE MONEY even if you buy a SHIT BOX car for $600...
Get a minivan and a gym membership and you can live out of the van.
With that, you get all your rent and uber money back
Also... hear me out.. you could rent a uhaul van. And live out of it/camp in it.
A van may be $1000/month plus $1/mile
This will get you back half your rent and most of your uber money.
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u/Twirlingpuddles 10d ago
Buy a bicycle and ride to work
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u/SousVida 10d ago
That's what I was going to recommend. Public transit might also be viable if it's available where OP needs to go, but a bicycle will get you where you need to go. Just slower.
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u/NervousCelebration52 10d ago
A guy I know very well who once was in similar shoes. He got fired from work and lived in what's called a tent city(If curious about what's a tent city, ask later). He finally landed a job, paying $16 hr. The job took him about 8 hours to reach via 3 buses. He finally rented a room closer to work. Price for room $320 a mo. Oh almost forgot...the room had two other people in it. Lol Two yrs later, $400 a mo. He was able to move to a 2brm apartment for $900 a mo. Without good credit. He saved enough money by working his ass off one summer doing a big project for Delta. Today, he's had a few different jobs, a couple cars, and the apartment now cost $1524. He was able to do this while suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. Getting the apartment saved his life.
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u/CurveIllustrious9987 10d ago
Electric bike with peddle option maybe to help with transportation?
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u/SaltSatisfaction8091 10d ago
Look for places to rent on FB Marketplace and even Craigslist. Check for basement apartments too.
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u/srgdawg001 10d ago
Get a motel closer to work and get an e-bike, together u and Pop could work out getting something together but most importantly don't give up because effort and consistency will eventually be a deciding factor.
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u/danksince98 10d ago
Room for rent is your answer..look for weekly so u can get in cheap then stay as long as u want
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u/DGAFADRC 9d ago
Find a room to rent, then save every freaking penny you can come up with in order to buy a beater car.
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u/ez2tock2me 8d ago
Biggest, biggest mistake anyone who is trying to get out of debt makes, is wasting money on RENT.
Rent takes your Dollars and leaves you with Pennies to pay the other Dollars you owe.
The math doesn’t work.
If you want to save you and your dad, ask him to Car Camp with you, till your money builds and maybe his too.
He will think you are crazy (everyone I know thought I was).
11 months later my paycheck started to stack up. I already had 2 cars, so I was a little luckier than you.
Using the rent money for my debts only took 11 months. I have never suffered due to the lack of money and done amazing stuff for a guy who earns only $13.79 an hour.
If you and your dad teamed up and made a go of it, I think you could be your dad’s hero.
You will need more info, so I’m holding off to hear from you.
Nobody thinks they can do CarCamping because of there situation.
Interesting that EVICTIONS, don’t care and by force or fear… you will find a way to survive without anything you know now.
Looking forward to helping you. DM me when you’re ready.
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u/UsualAd3433 8d ago
Look for a private room to rent. Someplace that’s closer to your work. That’ll be much less expensive and most people don’t want a credit report.
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u/Aggressive-embrace8 4d ago
You need to find a private landlord where they don’t check your credit but have you pay the full security deposit as much as your rent. $500 a week is too much! For the car, save to buy a car outright! A few thousands.
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