greyAbbot t1_iybgyd3 wrote on November 30, 2022 at 3:48 AM

How long is the car going to be in the shop for? That seems like the crucial question, and the body shop seems like they should be able to give you an answer on this. But without that, your post is pretty confusing because you're talking about things like affording health insurance for the year or working somewhere else, which seem like long-term solutions to what seems like it should be a short-term problem.

You mention Seattle, but I'm not quite sure how that fits into the equation and whether you are saying that you live in Seattle or what. But I also live in Seattle and every single place around here is hiring so it seems like, even if you weren't willing or able to get a job in your field that had less of a commute, you could get a second job closer to your residence temporarily to plug the leak while your car is getting fixed.

Better yet, keep working that second job long enough to build up an emergency fund so that the next time something like this happens, you have a cushion.

Milleniumfelidae OP t1_iybi6ba wrote on November 30, 2022 at 3:58 AM

The first part I'm not sure of. I'll have to call tomorrow. I do have the adjusters number and there was a link that gave me an update on the status of my car.

As for the rest of the post I'm worried about having enough leftover to keep up with everything. I've been wanting to get health insurance since I've been having chronic digestive issues that come and go throughout the year.

I do agree on having a cushion. Ive always had a few thousand in savings until moving down south. The wages unfortunately arent keeping up with the cost of living, especially rent. Prior to this I had lived in NYC and Seattle and it was easy for me to save in both places (NYC mainly bc things were done a lot faster and there was so much more opportunity, especially without a car) It was really hard to save but being forced to budget in this way showed me I could have at least put more away. It's trickier for me to eat so cheaply due to dietary restrictions. Fortunately I recently learned that I was able to get my food budget down to $30-$50 by cooking from scratch and buying certain gluten free branded items from Whole Foods using discounts. It sounds strange but my grocery budget ended up being much higher everywhere else to accommodate my diet.

I guess for me though it's a waiting game since I recently filled out paperwork for a place and need to return next week to fulfill job specific requirements. I've literally spent the past month trying to find a solution to my current situation and it's possible that it's now taken all this time to find something close enough to where I can at least ditch the rental car and have more money in pocket.