Thanks. I try not to talk about it on here too much since it's pretty depressing but people often bring up just paying for things and that ain't an option for me.

I'm glad for you!
It's nice to hear when people are doing alright, even though I'm a bit jealous. lol.

Do you live on your own?

It is a difficult topic. But different people have different struggles, we're all just doing our bests eh~ I think as long as everyone is considerate of each other it'll be fine

I live with my mom since the pandemic hit. But I pay her rent every month at the market price

That's true.

Can't know what any person is going through.

I lived with my mom for a long time, but I would honestly rather die than go back. I don't think that's a bad idea if you can stand each other.

Does food get included in rent?

Yes, it's always hard to know what any person is going through. And that's specially true online, where there are no hints of any kind :|

Also true. No way to see a person's facial expression and such.

I think it's an important rule to beware of how we apply standards. No one person's definition of "struggle", "expectation", or "win" can perfectly apply to others.
Online is both easy and hard in that on one hand it's easier to chat casually and avoid heavy topics if we don't feel like it, on the other hand, it's hard to know how others are really doing eh.

It is rough living with family. When I first moved in we had our share of fights. But now we've reached a good co-existence haha

Food is iffy LOL, we kinda trade on and off who pays for groceries and who cooks, it's a rather go-with-the-flow arrangement.

Going back to living with family is rough.
Even when there is not much of an economic issue, living with one parent(s) as an adult is not easy at all.
At least it was not for me.
I sometimes think of the reason I even had a boyfriend was leaving that house...

For me, it's what makes the most sense economically and conveniently (the house is very close to where I work).

I think of it as a good temporary arrangement to save up money, so when I'm done my teaching training and have a more stable career I can get my own place with a more comfortable cushion (provided that the economy doesn't go to sh** in the next few years... which is... hard to say... )

And lots of people are better at hiding their stress than others.

I've actually never lived alone. I've always lived with family, lovers, or roommates.


I need another roommate/lover to offset costs. Hopefully, one that's super into cleaning. lol.


My mom lives in the boonies. I live in a suburb.

I lived alone for a few months, while I was looking for a roommate.
Back then the money was very tight, but I refused to get a room in a shared apartment with other 5 people (that's more than my introvert self was ready to face) and the only thing I could afford on my own this tiny (but nicely mantained) 2-bedroom apartment.
Those few months were complicated. I could not afford internet or buying anything at all other than the most basic groceries, but after I got a roommate and we started sharing rent and bills I could relax a bit.

Other than that I either lived with family or roommates.