<prompt> Human: Not sure if anyone remembers, but when I posted originally I had a lot of people congratulating me. In the months following I added to that savings account, sometimes 25 but when I could afford it Id even put 50 in. It was a great feeling watching that number grow into three digits, on its way to four.And then life happened. I started a new job. When the government found out they decided that I could now afford to fully support my girlfriend - who was on welfare while she looked for work. So now Im making more money on paper, but all of it is put towards bills and rent and medicine, etc.My small savings account, not even the most money Ive ever saved thats just over 1000, has become stagnant. Worse, its looking increasingly likely that Im going to have to withdraw it to make ends meet - although Im desperately avoiding that.How can I feel any other way than as a failure? Ive done the right thing, I got a better job. I planned on having 5000 saved by the end of the year. And now, if it werent for a flexible rental situation, Id be homeless. I know its not my fault that this is happening but it still feel shitty. Its not even my girlfriends fault - she is looking for work but theres simply nothing there for her.Anyone here have any advice for sticking through this? I know Ill survive unless something major happens like my car dies on me, but Im still not progressing like I planned and Im back to how I was almost exactly a year ago - so broke that Im lucky to eat sometimes despite working almost 40 hours a week.  <response>: You are NOT a failure. So many people dont even have a hundred dollar safety net- let alone a thousand dollars. Savings is EXACTLY for this situation!Life hits us in ways we do not expect, and sometimes we get the shit end of the stick. You grew 25 dollars into over a thousand dollars- thats truly tremendous money management skills. Its OKAY to withdraw from your savings to pay off expenses.You should try to get a small personal loan from your bank for a couple grand until your girlfriend can find a career. This will allow you to not need to dig too deep into savings, while also building up your credit.Best! 