I work in Germany and earn around 3500ish€ brutto a month in a three shift system and after everything has been paid (tax, health, retirement fund) i get 2500ish€ which is then again subject to taxation for everything i buy.

House rent without electricity is 1200+€, with all the extra costs, 2 car insurance because me and my wife have different working hours, extra retirement fund payments for both of us and some other monthly payments that are just safety nets in Germany which get us up to around 2000€ a month and yes we could do without ADAC and other such things but like i said it’s a safety net just in case because having your car towed to the nearest workshop is fucking expensive and i also pay 400€ to my ex for child support also included in those 2000€.

Haven’t been on vacation in 3 years because wife was switching jobs, still driving a 2012 Dacia Sandero i bought in 2019, was planning to get something different but it just feels like a bad time to invest in anything.

Wanted to go on vacation last year and wife’s Renault Modus 2009 started dying 3000€ later she finally got rid of it, i insisted she should do it sooner but she wouldn’t listen, she was convinced it was cheaper to repair and got a Nissan Note 2014 which should be paid for completely in April.

My point is you can’t relax with the money you earn because you never know what is waiting around the corner, some unexpected expense will hit you when you least expect it.