Surviving in Today’s World

Money is getting tighter and tighter for me these days (as I am sure many others are feeling the pinch). It seems that every time I am about to get a leg up, the other one gets pushed out from underneath me. I know I don’t have it as bad as others, but since this economic crunch, things have been getting harder and harder for me. I moved to FL to get a MA thinking this would help (apparently you get more money by earing higher degrees…hum!), and I got a job, good for me right. Well I am doing 3x the work for less than ½ of what I was making (and yes I do have a BA with 4 years experience in my field….) SAD!! While I used to have weekends and nights off, I now spend that time catching up on work (not even school work) that I wasn’t able to finish during my 8am-6pm shift and I still cannot seem to get ahead. Too many times I have had to call a friend or my father and ask them to help me out just so I can pay my rent or put food on the table, but that is getting old real quick.

I live paycheck to paycheck and all of my savings are gone, slowly having drained out over time. Times are tough for everyone right now and I feel like I am sometimes quietly drowning on air! I freak out at night and lay in bed hoping and praying that I don’t get sick because even though I have insurance, the $30 co-pay is my grocery money for 2 weeks! I worry about everything; what if I get into an accident, or if something happens to my puppy, what would I do!? Who would loan me the money to be able to deal with an emergency that big!? Sleep has become something of a mystery to me, because I am unable to catch it.

I keep telling myself, don't be broke, do whatever it takes to keep your head above water, because once it does goes under, the surface seem so much farther away! In these trying times, I have turned to loans. I don’t wanna be broke (that is one of the many reasons I work my butt off every day) and I sure as hell don’t wanna feel broke (who really likes paying for gas in change?). I have to take a loan out to pay for college, which is actually not a bad thing. Loans while in college are what save a lot of student’s lives. But now, even with that loan, I think I am going to have to take out an additional loan to pay to survive because I am counting where every penny, NOT DIME, but penny goes right now! At least with a loan, I would finally be able to sleep, relax, not stress over every penny that I spend. I wouldn’t have to live paycheck to paycheck, floating checks, and borrowing money. Loans can actually work in your favor, because although I need money now, I know that when I finally get on my feet, I will be able to pay back the loan and I won’t have to embarrass myself anymore by asking for help from my friends and family. I'm surviving now, but if an emergency comes up, I've decided not to drown, but to take out a loan and take care of myself first. If I need to stay home sick one day, it will be ok to take out this small loan, instead of showing up to work and ending up with walking pnemonia and then having to stay home for a month! It's good to know I have a backup, a company who is willing to help me.