I agree.. everything IS so expensive. I have a very good job and I get to the end f the month and think, "Where did it all go????"
Well, here is something to think about...
In the last 35 years prices have increased 8-10 times and wages have increased 6 times..
A house in 1969 was $28,000 brand new.. (4 bedroom and modest with a grarage, well and septic. The site was another $2,000 and that is 5 acres.
Today, in this same area, a modest house on 5 acres is $300,000.
A "good" wage in 1969 was $10k a year. Today, that "good" wage is $60K a year..
Gas was 35 cents a gallon.. it is now $3.00 a gallon. Fuel oil was 15 cents a gallon and I just signed a contract for $2.60 a gallon....
Paying your bills is important. You may want to look out of the area you live for a new job where expenses are a lot less. There was a line in a book I read once. It went, ".. and there are other places to live besides Fort Worth.."
There are other places to live besides where you are.
You can fear the future as an ordeal or embrace the future and an adventure. When I was going thru my bit of H*ll I feared the future until I realized I had to surrender to it.. and then it became an adventure!!!