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By madrassoup on Standing in the County Line
I’m not the only one here seeking government aid, but I’m 100 percent sure I’m the only person sitting here with a bachelor’s degree from one of the country’s top private Universities. At 11:30 a.m., I realize I just wasted more than two hours of my life sitting in a room with people who either don’t have the motivation, or the resources to do better. I don’t feel like I fit in with this crowd, or belong in a place where people who seemingly do not have “life skills” come to seek government assistance and guidance. I feel for you, I really do. And I don't want to dismiss your sense of disillusionment over finding yourself in this situation, but I also wonder why you think you're so exceptional? I hope you find a job and means to sustain yourself, not because you are more special or skilled than the people you look down on, but because we all deserve a fair shake, regardless of where we went to school or how we make use of public spaces. The very scenarios you point to as the reason your job search is so tough (Craigslist scams, bait-and-switch jobs on CareerBuilder) are making it hard for everyone. I just think there is a way of talking about being surprised to find yourself struggling without demeaning other peoples' struggles or suggesting they've brought theirs upon themselves.
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By ASCtvartedun on Surviving the Financial Aftermath of Your Parents' Divorce
@Leila@twitter Thank you for your graceful response. I think that the emotional toll that parental divorces take tends to come out sideways, and I myself am not exempt to this. I'm sorry to lash out at you. There are some universal aspects of being a grown child with parents divorcing. I do identify with your statements about parents not understanding the word "Enough", and attempts to get you to pick sides. You are very lucky that your school expenses are covered, and it is heartening that your parents did not drag that through the mud of their divorce. I think the hard part about reading your essay was the fact that the things you are adjusting to as a new lifestyle of belt-tightening reflect my whole life. I have always had to engage in cheap hobbies (yay, running) and pay for my own housing, food, etc. I am now facing the need to further cut corners. Hearing you express frustration at adjusting to that lifestyle in the second person is alienating at first, especially to someone like me who has lived that way my whole life. That being said, I do still empathize at the toll that adjustments can take, especially when it is not your actions that are causing the need for change.
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By ASCtvartedun on Surviving the Financial Aftermath of Your Parents' Divorce
I clicked into this article because my parents are going through a divorce right now, and I realize that their retirement savings will not support two households. I started a separate savings account secretly for that day when I know the requests for help are coming in (that is on top of paying back six-figure student load debt). I thought this article would be a great tome of knowledge to help me navigate this process, and do the best at the savings process I have just begun. Instead, I found the whining of a spoiled rich girl, upset because the maid is no longer around, and you have to *gasp* BUDGET for your trips abroad. This is not useful for any divorced child of the 99%.
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By RebeccaPederson on Having It Together Is Great, But Having It Together Is Also Lame
Also, I don't understand what's stopping her from getting blackout drunk and sleeping with people she shouldn't like a "normal" 22-year-old.
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By ghechr on Reader Mail: Why Don't You Want to Buy A House?
A primary benefit of home ownership that I see is that you have someplace to live that is not subject to sudden fluctuations (i.e. rent increases) when you are on a fixed income (i.e. retired). That, of course, assumes that by the time you retire your home is paid off or nearly paid off.
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By aetataureate on Conversations About Our Student Loans
@wallsdonotfall I made that comment before reading the last interview, which has just made me braindead. Going 100k in debt for a ph.d. in English and counting on your dad to come through with dead-mom-money to pay it off? Oh my good lord almighty.
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By ghechr on Conversations About Our Student Loans
Boy, I am really shocked at these interviews. People don't know how much debt they owe? Are only making minimum payments? Are considering taking on more debt without knowing whether it will pay off in future income? WHAT?!?
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By mirror_father_mirror on Conversations About Our Student Loans
I am kind of terrified for that last person, who is planning to end up with $70-100K in loans for a Ph.D. I hope to God it's not in English. (NB: I am an incoming English Ph.D student.) Or are they not giving you the same you'll-never-get-a-job horror stories they've been giving me daily since I started my M.A. applications three years ago?
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By MuffyStJohn on Real Thing That Just Happened
I think he wanted to sell the SUV? So you lost the chance to charge him $500 to post it on Craigslist.
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By MuffyStJohn on How Do You Answer, How Much Do You Make?
$40k a year. Done. Teaching us it's impolite to talk about what we earn is one of the most powerful ways the man has kept us down.