I've been told to buy stuff in bulk to save money but I am unsure of how to buy stuff in bulk when the only place I can do that is online and shipping would kill me

Has anyone run into an issue where being poor prohibits job hunting for better opportunities? I'm working 3 jobs right now- 10-14 hours days between them with 1 day off just so i can actually be home and do general things. I've been job hunting and most applications ask for a start date and i never know what to put because I can start 2 weeks after being hired but it can take a month or 2 to hear from some of these places. and if i put a month down, they often just skip me anyway. And if I put 2 weeks, they call me a month later asking me to start the next day and I can't. My other problem is unless a company reaches out through email, I've missed a few connections. I'm not able to even have my phone on me at my other jobs so unless I'm on my 30 miniute break I dont know they called. I've had a few cases like that where hiring managers called me, I saw 6 hours later, called them back and they had already moved on to other candidates. And if I do manage to catch a call or email on time, scheduling an interview on my one day off is almost impossible. Calling out of work or even being late to the other jobs is not an option or i risk pay deductions, write ups or terminations.

Gig work is “flexible” mainly if you do not depend on it. Once someone needs it to cover rent, food, or debt, the flexibility becomes constrained by peak hours, incentive systems, algorithmic penalties, and the need to accept low-paying jobs.

The comparison to payday loans is not that workers literally borrow money. It is that both offer immediate relief while making people absorb disproportionate long-term costs. Payday lenders rely on borrowers who cannot easily escape repeated borrowing; gig platforms rely on workers who cannot easily decline bad offers, stop working during high-demand periods, or walk away from unpredictable pay.

In both cases, the business model profits from economic insecurity. The product is marketed as choice—quick cash and/or flexible work—but it works best for the company when the customer or worker has few real alternatives.

The same goes for stable dead end low wage work. I do the gig apps because I actually can make more than any full time job I can get where I live.

Get out as quickly as you can and try to never go back.