Yes, I’ve been at the documentaries again. But no, this isn’t sparked just because of those. It’s just fucking amazing how much debt people carry. Myself included! And it’s even more ridiculous how much people don’t understand about it. I know I close to the tune of $300,000 in debt between credit cards, student loans, and my mortgage (which is usually not included but it’s a debt all the same). Even at the highest estimate for our incomes after I graduate thats over three years of yearly pay. It literally astounds me how many people are hanging on by tooth and nail, living from month to month, barely making their payments, barely able to feed their families.

With the loss of jobs, the skyrocketing prices of everything from education to the very basic necessities like food and utilities, and the lowering of pay by many companies how are we realistically supposed to live? I will however admit that people have become so ignorant to what they truly need to survive and to live well. We perpetuate this idea that you need all these gadgets, all this property to hoard and show off, when really you don’t. You DON’T need a flat screen. You DONT need a 6 bedroom house. You DONT need to go out to eat all the time or go on that shopping spree. And I admit to being guilty of this to a degree.

I most certainly didn’t need this big house of mine. Though realistically it was an investment that, at the time, I felt would benefit my life later. It is right down the street from the Uni I was going to, I didn’t need a car or public transit. I was right down the street from work. Things were going just fine. And then tada! I’m out of work. Now, without even that meager extra income things like buying groceries or laundry soap, dog food, those monthly necessities is extremely more difficult.

Even careful budgeting doesn’t help. If you don’t have the money, you simply don’t have the money. There is nothing to be budgeted! The biggest thing that’s helped is cutting corners wherever however possible. Things like getting rid of cable, land line telephone, cutting back on use of the heater or AC (my house was beyond frigid this winter), and even cutting back on how much you spend on food. We’ve started buying store brands mostly. A couple cents per item adds up over time. We try to use coupons when we can, find deals where we can. (Which BTW, if you shop at Kroger be sure to sign up at the website and load coupons directly onto your Kroger card!! When you card is scanned and an item eligible for a coupon on your card is rung up, the coupon is automatically applied)

As for work, in my area I have applied to over 100 jobs since Jan 2009. I have been to 4 interviews out of those 100. None of which panned out. Most irritating of all is that only that handful of employers actually bother to reply to your application. And you cannot tell me I’m not qualified for these jobs I applied to. Some of them are as simple as answering the phone, filing papers, etcetera. You’re going to tell me that I’ve been in college since 2004 and am not qualified to answer the telephone?? And this isn’t just my story, it is the same for so many people throughout the states.

So what’s my point? Refer to the title.