GOP: Tell me where, in this budget, I can save for retirement (or anything

[StellaBlue]

Tell me where I can afford catastrophic illness, the luxury of having children, savings for a downpayment on a house, unforseen car repairs, retirement savings, or, God forbid, a vacation.

This is my actual budget each month (I am currently working two part-time jobs, in the same state agency - thus getting no benefits - and have $40,000 in student debt from a BA and MA which have not helped me find work AT ALL - this is the typical situation of most twentysomethings and plenty of thirtysomethings that *I* know here in Austin, Texas. People not in this situation are the exception, and usually have hefty parental support). I've been looking for a decent position for 13 months. I do not earn enough to break even. I am 27, and have zero retirement savings.

Rent - $550
Car payment - $175 (had to buy a car when I came back to the USA)
Gas - $40 (I don't drive much at ALL)
Car insurance - $65
Student loan payments - $210
Electricity - $35 (seriously, I live in a very energy efficient tiny apartment)
Food - $300
Phone - $60
Internet - $45
Toiletries - $30
Other household purchases - $20
Health insurance - $85
Two necessary prescription medications (one of which is NOT covered by my insurance, due to being a "pre-existing condition") - $45
Entertainment/Miscellaneous - $100

Total? Almost $1800 a month, or $21,00 a year. I would have to make $21,000 a year, AFTER TAX. hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
And I didn't even include the credit card debt I've amassed from moving to Austin in search of decent work.

How the FUCK are you supposed to support even ONE person on $5.15 an hour???????

(PS - higher ed is the biggest racket going)

[Quakerfriend]

1. You've laid it out very well. And, PS:

higher ed used to get you more $ and the likelihood of a 'higher' position within your field.

[StellaBlue]

3. Yeah, it still did when I was in high school

During the now-blissfully-remembered Clinton years.

My one little rebellion is having this on my car:

[sam sarrha]

2. EXON is making $78,000 PROFIT a minute.. if you dont count the tax cut

subsidy * gave them in the budget

[sam sarrha]

4. congress has given themselves an $87,000 in raises since the last MW raise

[davekriss]

28. That's just f*cking obscene

Of course, they deserve it, this Republithug Congress -- it takes rare skill and wholly absent morals to cut taxes on the wealthy while running up $4 trillion in new debt and consenting to wiretaps, 16 words, torture, illegal imperial invasions of soverign nations, $30 billion in Exxon profit (anyone remember the good ship "Condalezza Rice"?), and who knows what surprises to come.

The world is irrevocably upside down and 30% of the population still doesn't know it.

[JuniperLea]

5. They only care that you pay the first five items on your list

Electricity, phone, internet, toiletries, other household, health insurance... those are luxuries. Necessary prescriptions? Entertainment? Pft. Three hundred on food? Get used to buying a bag of rice and a bag of beans... maybe you can splurge on tortillas for Sunday dinner.

But the economy is doing just great! Bush is the best president ever!

Need I say... :sarcasm:

[GOPisEvil]

6. Come now, you've got to find yourself a nice husband to take care of you.

</1950s>

Please I'm sure your situation is all your fault somehow anyway. :sarcasm:

[sandnsea]

7. Two $800 a month jobs

No health insurance, student loan, or car payment. If you added a child, you'd add health insurance, food stamps, and energy assistance - at a minimum. Eventually you'd add low income housing and day care assistance. So it can be done, it would just be the most stressful existence you'd want to imagine. It's also the reason low income couples don't get married, they do better claiming one income and getting more benefits, and I don't blame them a bit.

Just adding info here, not saying this is the way it ought to be.

[StellaBlue]

9. Sometimes I think I should pop one out

By the time I can afford it, I'll be too old, and, hey, at least I could get a miniscule percentage of my lifetime income tax back in pathetic welfare benefits. :eyes:

[sandnsea]

26. Oh no no

Hang in there, slow and steady is a much better way to go. And really, people are having their first children in their 30's these days, 50 isn't even all that old anymore. Well, unless you're working in a mine or some such. But having a child with no money is the most stressful thing I've ever experienced. My husband just had a small heart attack and the stress related to dealing with that is nothing compared to worrying about your kids when you've got no money, believe me. You'll be okay. :hug:

[cornermouse]

8. Don't ya know?

You're supposed to tighten your belt and pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.
:sarcasm:

The fact that the people who decree that you should live on air and little else is being dictated by millionaires who live in luxury (our Senators and Representatives) is beside the point.

[Rosemary2205]

10. I'm curious what your major is in.

pure curiosity. I'm just wondering if it has anything to do with what someone's degree is. I have 2 nieces with brand new Bachelor's degrees, one in chemistry and the other in graphic design and both had job offers before they finished. I also know someone who just moved here (Atlanta) that is a social worker with a masters and has her pick of 4 different offers within 2 weeks of getting here.

I wonder is it the market in Austin or the major or are these 3 I know just lucky?

Edit -- Sorry, I think that came off judgmental. I don't mean it that way. Just trying to get a handle on the new reality. I'm not degreed myself so understanding that world is a challenge for me.

[StellaBlue]

14. English! hahahahahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I wanted to be a college professor. Originally. Until I realized, these days, only rich kids or EXTREMELY brilliant scholars who can get the few full scholarships out there get to do that. My best friend has a masters in art history, same story. One day, about 2/3 of the way through our masters, she says to me, "You know... I can't find a job, because they all expect you to have like three years' experience, but because I've had to work a REAL job this whole time, I don't have three years' experience in an art gallery... they make you work for free! Only rich kids can do art history."

Now extrapolate that to ALL the liberal arts. And there you have it. Still, I wouldn't take it back, as I learned so much and college was a wonderful experience. I am intelligent, but there is no place for me in the job market, apparently.

[Rosemary2205]

20. Does Austin need school teachers?

The teachers in this state say they are the lowest paid in the country and I think they make mid 30's to mid 40's to start (depending on the school district). And they are begging for teachers every single year. With your major in English -- maybe you could teach English to the immigrant kids in Texas??

Well anyways, I hope you find something soon. :)

[StellaBlue]

21. I am thinking about that

I don't like little kids, but I could deal with high school. Maybe.

[knitter4democracy]

30. Community college?

Around here, we English majors are a dime a dozen, but they can't find enough qualified instructors for the remedial comp classes. It's high school level with college level students.

Oh, and what about business work? I was told more than once when temping in college that we English majors are worth more in the business sector (offered more than one job that paid way, way more than I made as a private school teacher). They can train us on the business stuff--we already know how to write, how to speak, and how to listen. That's the stuff they can't teach.

[Yupster]

34. You need a full time job

Come to West Texas. You can get a public school teaching job at least. Then you can work part-time at a community college and maybe get a full-time job when one eventually comes open.

Walking into a job as a college english instructor would take tremendous fortune. You probably know by now that it is an occupation with 100 applicants for every opening.

I have a relative who was able to do it, but she was dating the department head at the time.

You don't have a lot of credits in petroleum engineering do you? They're starting at $ 70,000.

[smoogatz]

31. God help you.

An MA in English is barely worth the paper it's printed on. Virtually no university in the country would consider you for even an adjunct teaching position without a PhD and publications (unless you've got an MFA, and then only in creative writing with major prizes and at least one published book--and even then the pickings are desperately slim)--some exceptions possible for particular sorts of under-represented persons, of course. So, in terms of working in your field, you're screwed. But there's always the teaching certificate, though if you're going to go that route, for God's sake don't do it in Texas. Above all, don't despair--you're still young enough to retool, re-educate and get a good job. Ot marry a rich guy. Or move to Hollywood and write screenplays.

[Yupster]

38. Stella - there is a perfect job for you

It is as a public school English teacher.

You went to college and majored in English. That makes you very qualified to teach young people English. School districts all across the country are looking for you. Go find them.

Do not expect to be offered honors classes your first year. Do not expect to be offered the department chairman's job your first year. Do not expect to be offered a college job your first year.

These are all things you can wortk up to though.

Good luck to you from this former public school teacher, and go find yourself a full-time job.

[StellaBlue]

11. Maybe I should take my avatar to heart

and become a soulless bitch, out only for myself.

Oh, wait, then I'd be a Republican.

:mad:

[GOPisEvil]

13. You'd have to have a conscience-ectomy first.

[Virginia Dare]

12. No problemo,

you see, all those tax cuts that we've given to the rich people are going to trickle down, and pretty soon, you'll be rolling in the dough!
:crazy:

[StellaBlue]

15. I got $400 back in 2001, for 2000

the last full fiscal year I worked in the US. And you know what I did with it? I donated it to the DNC.

[Virginia Dare]

18. You're awesome Stella,

keep fighting the good fight.:kick:

[karlrschneider]

16. $300 a month for FOOD? You must be some kind of glutton.

Haven't you heard of Reman Noodles?

I hear they're very nutritious!

(do I really need the :sarcasm: ?)

[StellaBlue]

17. actually

I have Ramen at least three times a week. Somehow I think I won't really be saving money in the long run... when I have to pay for the resultant healthcare.

[Pokey Anderson]

22. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it easier for your cohort

of twenty-somethings.

No can do.

More money needs to come in, right.

Substitute teacher? Hmm, guess that's not good combined with two other jobs. Tutoring?

And, less money needs to go out. The number one thing we can all TRY to do is somehow pay down our credit card debt. Think of those people not as your friendly bankers but as leeches, taking 10% or 14% or 23% or more of your hard-earned money. Make it a matter of principle, WHEN YOU CAN, to shrink that debt.

Most Americans average ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR in interest to those leeches.

I've got debt, yep, but I take bites out of it whenever possible.

The competition has always been tough in Austin for all those BAs the town churns out each year. Good luck!

[driver8]

29. No kidding...those things are LOADED with sodium!!

When I was in college I lived on Ramen noodles...so did a lot of my friends.

[karlrschneider]

33. I was being snarky, as you properly deduced. I ate some of those

things one time back in the 1980s and they made me the sickest I ever have been in my life. There is not enough gold in Fort Knox to compel me to imbibe that crap again. (I'm totally serious)

My apologies for a bad attempt at humor. ;-)

[tech3149]

19. James McMurtry We Can't Make it here anymore

Give a listen and try to argue any point he makes.

http://www.compadrerecords.com/downloadpages/wecant.html

[Jim Warren]

23. Never much a fan of country

but just listened to that and that's something I wish were playing in every bar, roadhouse and hangout across the land.

[whistle]

24. The republican response - "Well, you'll just have to do the best you can"

[B Calm]

27. Cheap-labor conservatives blame your being "over a barrel"

on your own "immorality", lack of "values", lack of respect for authority in the workplace", not willing to work hard", and "poor choices".

The real truth is they like the working class over a barrel, desperately needing a job, for cheaper you'll work.

New Republican Slogan: "Work Cheap or Starve".

[whistle]

35. Exactly my point, collective bargaining with uncorruptable unions

...and representative leaders is the only way for all labor in services, manufacturing, construction and agriculture as well as anywhere else where workers require protection and a unified voice to watch over their rights in collective bargaining negotiations is so important. Young people cominh out of college seeking professional careers seem to think collective bargaining would stifle their opportunities. That is just hogwash.

Every right-to-work state law (i.e. all southern states) should be repealed in favor of right-to-fair-representation and treatment laws in the workplace. This is a list of those states which have the right-to-work laws which I see as nothing but a right-to-exploit employees loaded with all sorts of legal loopholes for employers:

<snip>
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Mississippi
Nebraska
Nevada
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Wyoming
<read more about RTW here> http://www.nrtw.org/rtws.htm

[Broken_Hero]

25. nominated...

Very good post, and I feel your pain. I got my degree three years ago, still don't have a job in my field(social work)...but I am a lowly substitute teacher in my county...

[smoogatz]

32. If I was you--

and was young and lived in Austin and had a couple of crappy jobs, I'd quit them and get me a FUN crappy job, like tending bar in a good music club. I'm just saying--if you're going to go broke, you might as well have fun doing it. Besides, bartenders can make great money (mostly tax-free).

[mnhtnbb]

36. Can you renegotiate your student loan payments? Or

is your apartment large enough for a roommate? Can you switch to a
larger apartment, take a roommate, and cut your internet, utilities, rent in half?

[mnhtnbb]

37. Have you thought about doing technical writing for a high tech company?

I'm in Chapel Hill (part of Research Triangle Area of NC) and helped my 19 yo
high school only techie son look for jobs last year when he was out of work.
I noticed that there were quite a few companies looking for technical writers. Our UNC system even has a major for it--in the English Dept--
and I tried for two years to convince my son (who refused to go to college) that technical writing would be a perfect major for him.

BTW--this son eventually got a FT job, with benefits, with an international messaging and software firm that is headquartered in Cary. He's making in the low 30's and gets bonuses quarterly when the tech dept. exceeds its goals.

Our unemployment rate is very low--about 3.5% Anybody looking for tech work ought to try Raleigh/Durham/Cary/Chapel Hill area.

[pitohui]

39. retirement savings at 27 are not important

no middle class or working class person at 27 would have retirement savings, this is the age at which we are starting out in life, anyway, you do have retirement savings, once you have worked 40 quarters in the usa, you will be eligible for social security at the proper time, which is after all what most of us are retired on or going to retire on

you can worry about saving for the "frills" of extra $$$ in retirement once you have established a home and gotten a good start on a decent life today

i do NOT see much fat in that budget, hell, i don't even see the water bill, it's a little scary

i have 2 different suggestions but neither one might be right for you -- and you couldn't do both

1) when i was dirt poor i had no phone, you could remove phone and internet service and then use the free internet at the library to keep in touch, the only thing i don't like about removing the phone is it might make it harder for you to find a better job but that's $100 a month in found money if you can drop these services

2) for this one you have to KEEP your own high speed internet service, but i've been doing it for several months and picking up a few hundred extra dollars a month, however, you need some basic skills at poker or it won't work, it's called "bonus whoring," google the term and you will find a good site that will teach you how to do this -- it's pretty easy, quite often i'm bonus whoring in another window while posting here on DU -- so if you ever wondered why it seems like i'm online a lot, heh heh, i'm kind of getting paid to play cards online, it isn't a huge fortune but it's a nice help

another thing i used to do was dumpster dive/re-sell on ebay and half but the collapse in prices at ebay, combined w. the huge increase in fees and shipping, took the profit out of that so i can no longer recommend it, it was something to be doing 7 years ago

[OzarkDem]

40. But a lot of middle aged people have similar incomes

and budgets, particularly women who have been in and out of the job market while raising children. There are quite a few of them living on low wages with little hope for being able to save for retirement.

But at least they can get an abortion if they need one. Oops, that's right, they're too old to have kids.

Women's issues are numerous - not just related to reproductive rights.