(How) To Be or Not To Be (Poor) part 1

so i did it. last december i graduated from college. consequently i thought it would be a great idea to do the following: travel abroad for a month and get a temporary job in a field unrelated to my degree just to see what it was like (and to save money for an apartment). in my head, it made perfect sense. i felt very free and young and even in a small way bohemian (though let's face it, every middle class college grad wants to go abroad. it's the expected thing, and we do it, not because our parents want us to or because society demands it, but because we crave the experience of far off places, the stories and bragging rights we'll come back with, the knowledge that we have been a part of the world and are more of the world than our local peers. oh the differentness of us.) unfortunately for me, when i returned from my trip my bank account was severely damaged. and then the temp job part of the plan kind of fell through. i mean, i did find one, but (props to the economy) i got less than 10 hours almost every week. so if you want the honest truth, i've been living on less than 200 dollars a month for almost the entire semester.

of course there are 2 major factors that have helped me to survive. number 1, my parents are amazing wonderful, generous people who paid for college and refused to let me take out any student loans. so i don't have any major debt to worry about. number 2, i live with a friend in a house her parents own and her dad won't let me pay rent or help with utilities. so thanks to the graciousness of others i haven't had to worry about a lot of things. 

to those who now hate me, please understand that i'm not bragging, i'm only trying to explain how i am able to live on so little. but believe me, even without those burdens, living without money has been very challenging and i've gone about it both the right and wrong way. that's what this post is really about. all the stuff you just read is background information.

if you find yourself broke and unable to remedy the situation immediately, you have 2 options: Wallow and Despair or Enjoy the Opportunity. i've done both.  no matter which one you go with, here are a few tips to  help you along the way. note: it's more fun if you read it aloud with a very cheery, upbeat voice.

Wallow and Despair:

1. isolate yourself from friends don't tell them your situation and don't go out with them anymore. you can't afford to eat out, shop, or go to movies anyway. 

2. stay up all night and sleep all day. if you are jobless or only work part time what's the good of being awake with nothing to do? and since you're not recieving visitors or going out either, back off the personal hygene as well. bathing, grooming and brushing teeth are for people with lives.

3. don't spend money on anything that isn't absolutely necessary. that means if it's not food for you or gas for your car don't even think about it. eating out falls under this category as does unnecessary driving.

4. since you can't travel, why leave your house at all? wearing your pjs all day will prolong the life of your other clothes. don't go outside unless you are going to the grocery store or your job.

5. spend hours alone thinking of all your troubles. you didn't see it coming, you can't do anything about it and you're pretty much screwed for the foreseeable future. 

i'll write more soon about option 2: Enjoy the Opportunity. until then, cheers!