A little over 20 years ago I made $11,000.00 a year. I was able to pay every bill, buy some of the groceries for my brothers and sisters kids and still had plenty of money to eat out regularly. (I wasn’t a good cook.) When I left my company I made about $30,000.00 a year. I was able to pay my bills and have enough left over for eating out once a week. I saved money for retirement 5 percent of my income. In that time my car purchase amounts increased from $3,000.00 to 7,000.00 to $15,000.00 for 3 NEW cars.
What I am saying basically is that everything goes up over time. (My electric has increased 4 times in less than 4 years and I now pay less each month than my first year living here.) See UTILITIES for ideas on cutting costs. Your situation is not unique my parents and their parents had cost increases the only difference was the exact amounts. People can live today on less than $1,000.00 a month by being frugal and knowing the difference between want and need. So get over your depression (& have a nice day) and read some good books on frugality. Feeling sorry for yourself won’t save money or help you. I now live on a less money each month then I did when I left my job (almost 1/2 as much) and I save money for retirement. You can as well. And yes some of my other costs have gone up, rent for instance.