Broke-A** College Student

Even after college, being broke seems to be a long lasting side effect.  There seem to be two primary reasons for this.

1. "First Jobs" generally suck.  They pay minimum wages, screw you on hours, and are emotionally taxing.  I don't care if all you're doing is flipping burgers, the stigma of being unmotivated and stupid still hurts. And the longer you listen to those stigmas, the more likely you are to start believing them.  There are both studies and plenty of old wives tales to back this up. Then to top it all off, all of the "god jobs" generally require "prior experience".  Which means you are stuck at that "first job" until you get some "experience".

2. Trying to live (even with roommates) is too Goddamn expensive! Want to live close to work so you can ride a bike or take the bus to work to be more ecologically minded? Well, do you have 3 times the rent as your income? No? Well tough shit, go look elsewhere. The further out you move (so you can actually afford a place), the more gas you use. That is, if you own a car. Then you have car payments, insurance, and general maintenance on top of these ridiculous gas prices.

See the issue? Just trying to "get on your feet" is one hell of a challenge. And lets not even mention college debt due to the stigma of needing to be "better educated" to get a "good job".  Yes, education can help if that's the direction you want to go, but there is absolutely no issue with blue collar jobs. But calling some jobs better than others is purely subjective and horribly narrow minded.

With all this in mind, sometimes, not even a budget can stop you from zeroing out your bank account to make ends meet each month.  I know that I have done that on more than one occasion, and it is depressing. Whatever happened to simply accepting that not everybody is taking on life at the same pace you are?  When did we give up our basic respect and humanity for this crazy-fast, consumer-driven, "put yourself first" mess we have gotten ourselves into?

It's about time that we realize respect should be first.

You want to go out and work 14 to 16 hours per day and buy yourself a fancy car?  Go for it.  Just respect the guy bagging your groceries, whether he is doing things "the right way" or not.

You enjoy weighting on tables at your local 24-hour dinner?  Awesome.  But remember to respect the person who is trying to pay their bill with some crumpled bills and change.

You don't have to agree with the person, but realize they are a human being.  That is what you shouldn't forget.