I’m in my 30s so I should be used to this by now, but this shit is getting so stressful guys. I have no savings, my checking account is drained every month with rent, and if there’s ever a serious emergency I have no safety net, I’m legitimately fucked. I’m one unplanned expense away from absolute ruin. Those in the same boat as me, how do you deal with this?
Ask for a raise. Find another job.
Keep a separate savings account. This won’t increase your income but it’s absolutely vital that you do this. I fully understand that you don’t have money for this, but here’s the idea: if you’re already broke at the end of the month, then what difference does it make if you’re broke one day earlier every month? Let’s say you have a payout of €3000 monthly. That means you have €100 for each day of the month. Put €100 in a savings account and you’ll go broke 1 day earlier, but you now have €100 saved for unexpected shit. Keep it up for a some months and you’ll have enough saved to deal with moving/changing jobs etc. Eventually you’ll adjust your expenses so you don’t get broke even if you set the money aside. You can figure this out. This is how my wife and I saved up for our marriage. By going voluntary broke before it actually happened.
Okay, once you have some “financial security” saved up, do you have a budget account? Keep a budget account so you don’t overspend. Only transfer the excess to your spending account, so you don’t spend money that was supposed to pay for the rent/electricity/internet/food. Whatever is in excess is safe to spend.
If this is not possible, then your financial life isn’t sustainable. Ask for a raise. Find a different job.