I’ve been there my man. Do yourself a favor and get a Costco card or look for a Costco where the food court has it’s own entrance and check if they don’t ask for membership (Since 2020, they've made it a requirement, but can still be per store basis, just check). I can’t tell you how many pizzas, hotdogs and chicken salads I ate. That $1.50 hotdog w/soda, $1.99 big pizza slice or $3.99 huge chicken salad is what helped me so much during my 1+ year of living in my car. With a card, you'll get the benefit of buying in bulk too, will certainly stretch your money. Here are other ideas I recommend:
Get bottled water packs instead of buying individual drinks, $4.99 or less for a pack of 24 water bottles will go a long way. Also get a big thermos, there’s malls and places where you can fill up water bottles free. The thermos will come handy for hot drinks too. Safeway has many days where they’re doing 2 for 1 on many products. Walgreens has some frequent offers too. Get a thick blanket just for those real cold nights, better than using the car’s heater for long periods of time. Planet fitness for cheap $10 membership to shower, also to get fit or just exercise, it'll help distract you and make you feel better! Depression and anxiety is a bitch. For bathrooms, find shopping malls or stores like target or safeway. Places like gas stations, fast food chains, etc, may still be locking their bathrooms due to Covid, since they don't wanna sanitize frequently. Look up store hours to you know where you can go without being surprised it's closed. If you need a mailing address for whatever reason, local postal offices offer PO Boxes, as well as shipping stores like UPS. You can even go virtual PO box, yes, there’s apps where your mail goes to their facilities and you can view them on your phone. I hope you still are working enough to get as much money, but to get some more on the side do gig work, your car can be used for it. Do food delivery, sign up for the best apps in your market and stick with what pays the most. Don’t forget to track your miles from the moment you turn on and off the apps, get some free apps that’ll record it for you, and keep your gas and car maintenance receipts. There are apps that can save you gas too. If you can’t do gig work like delivering, sign up for WONOLO, they have listings of local gig work, like a day of packing stuff, or stocking or whatever. Regular on demand gig work. Get a portable air tire pump and repair kit, I highly ask you do this, it'll help you save time and money. This way you wont be stranded with high towing fees, unless you have insurance that covers it. For free permanent tire patching, head to "America's Tires" they offer FREE tire repair. If you have that costco card, Costco tires charge $10.99 for a repair. You can also check other tire shop, usually it's $20. *By u/ElysetheEevee , a car inverter will come in handy, plug what you may need to plug. Idk much about electrical stuff, so consult what can be plugged in, better safe than sorry.
Maybe you know some of this, maybe you don’t, but I hope it helps you and anyone else going through the same thing, you can work it out I have no doubt, I did and have had a roof over my head for the past 5 years. And if you have any friends, don’t be like me and not ask for help, even if it’s just sleeping on the floor for the night or shower. GL!
Edit: I made some small edits and added more advice.
N0tMyDyJ0b on November 25th, 2021 at 22:17 UTC »
Happy Thanksgiving. Hopefully you enjoy the tiny feast. Wishing you a much better Christmas and New Year.
Edit: Thank you kind strangers for the rewards and for sharing my wishes for OP. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
EquivalentProgress44 on November 26th, 2021 at 00:30 UTC »
That single caprisun is gonna be gone in no time
Almonexger on November 26th, 2021 at 07:01 UTC »
I’ve been there my man. Do yourself a favor and get a Costco card or look for a Costco where the food court has it’s own entrance and check if they don’t ask for membership (Since 2020, they've made it a requirement, but can still be per store basis, just check). I can’t tell you how many pizzas, hotdogs and chicken salads I ate. That $1.50 hotdog w/soda, $1.99 big pizza slice or $3.99 huge chicken salad is what helped me so much during my 1+ year of living in my car. With a card, you'll get the benefit of buying in bulk too, will certainly stretch your money. Here are other ideas I recommend:
Get bottled water packs instead of buying individual drinks, $4.99 or less for a pack of 24 water bottles will go a long way. Also get a big thermos, there’s malls and places where you can fill up water bottles free. The thermos will come handy for hot drinks too. Safeway has many days where they’re doing 2 for 1 on many products. Walgreens has some frequent offers too. Get a thick blanket just for those real cold nights, better than using the car’s heater for long periods of time. Planet fitness for cheap $10 membership to shower, also to get fit or just exercise, it'll help distract you and make you feel better! Depression and anxiety is a bitch. For bathrooms, find shopping malls or stores like target or safeway. Places like gas stations, fast food chains, etc, may still be locking their bathrooms due to Covid, since they don't wanna sanitize frequently. Look up store hours to you know where you can go without being surprised it's closed. If you need a mailing address for whatever reason, local postal offices offer PO Boxes, as well as shipping stores like UPS. You can even go virtual PO box, yes, there’s apps where your mail goes to their facilities and you can view them on your phone. I hope you still are working enough to get as much money, but to get some more on the side do gig work, your car can be used for it. Do food delivery, sign up for the best apps in your market and stick with what pays the most. Don’t forget to track your miles from the moment you turn on and off the apps, get some free apps that’ll record it for you, and keep your gas and car maintenance receipts. There are apps that can save you gas too. If you can’t do gig work like delivering, sign up for WONOLO, they have listings of local gig work, like a day of packing stuff, or stocking or whatever. Regular on demand gig work. Get a portable air tire pump and repair kit, I highly ask you do this, it'll help you save time and money. This way you wont be stranded with high towing fees, unless you have insurance that covers it. For free permanent tire patching, head to "America's Tires" they offer FREE tire repair. If you have that costco card, Costco tires charge $10.99 for a repair. You can also check other tire shop, usually it's $20. *By u/ElysetheEevee , a car inverter will come in handy, plug what you may need to plug. Idk much about electrical stuff, so consult what can be plugged in, better safe than sorry.Maybe you know some of this, maybe you don’t, but I hope it helps you and anyone else going through the same thing, you can work it out I have no doubt, I did and have had a roof over my head for the past 5 years. And if you have any friends, don’t be like me and not ask for help, even if it’s just sleeping on the floor for the night or shower. GL!
Edit: I made some small edits and added more advice.