Why Gen Y is Dumb and Broke March 31, 2009
Posted by whoneedstherapy in Career & Money, The Twenties.Tags: broke, debt, economy, financial literacy, twenties, young
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The new "I'm with stupid?" (picture: zazzle.co.uk)
I feel better after reading this article from MSN Money because it turns out that I’m not alone when it comes to being broke and dumb–the truth is, many people in my generation are. It’s nice to have company.
Our generation faces not only a new “financial landscape” but also has a lack of financial literacy, which is why most of us have an average debt of about $8,200. The article also mentions our tendency to buy the latest iPhone whether we can afford it or not. Although my Samsung and I scoff at such an idea. At least I was smart enough to spend my non-existent money on rent, so there.
Healthy Eating for Less than 2 Bucks a Day March 24, 2009
Posted by whoneedstherapy in Career & Money, Food.Tags: Food, groceries, Recipes
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With the right attitude, you too could one day sustain on a dollar per day. Kind of like the kids in Africa!
NeverSayDiet.com has an actual shopping list for spending only about a dollar day for about three weeks’ worth of groceries. The list works best if you’re a pescatarian who’s really into tuna and if you also don’t like vegetables. But if you add those two, it could be about 2 to 3 bucks a day, so it’s worth a try-the lentil soup and omelette look pretty yummy.
Free Crap Stuff!
March 24, 2009
Posted by whoneedstherapy in Career & Money, The Twenties.
Tags: craigslist, economy, free stuff, Recession, yahoo!
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OOH! I'll take the screwdriver!
Yahoo! Green provided a list of places to get free stuff today, and it included the free section of Craigslist and also Freecycle in Yahoo! Groups. Although these things are definitely worth a try, they usually work better in bigger cities. In LA I got a free TV, which was much nicer than the one I had before, and also a free scale. The city was full of rich people dying to give stuff away. This is in contrast to Freecycle Dallas, where I almost got a TV once again (apartment fire, long story), but a really old one, and the email ended with “I hope things turn out okay for you.”
This made me feel a bit silly. I mean, I’m just a broke twenty-something, not a homeless runaway looking to find a something to sit on that will fit into my cardboard box. Point being, make sure you put aside your pride because people in smaller cities might not understand “recycling” as much as they do “bum,” and on that note, do not borrow your mother’s nice car to pick up the T.V.-that might confuse/anger people.
Job Search Got You Down? Shut off the CNN and Open Your Mind March 23, 2009
Posted by whoneedstherapy in Career & Money.Tags: Anderson Cooper, campbell brown, career, CNN, economy, job searching, starbucks
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In “Children in a Lesser Job,” Katherine Brooks explains how we might be sabotaging our job searches by not only focusing on the problem (ie, listening to your mom repeating “there are no jobs out there, there are no jobs out there, there are no jobs out there” over and over again after her latest three-hour CNN binge), but we might also be too picky and closed off to opportunities around us.
Brooks’ example of a mother and daughter in Dallas (!) who are frustrated over the daughter’s job search is my life story right now, except I get to hear about my useless journalism degree and how I won’t be able find anything with my qualifications (and I’m so ready to kill Anderson Cooper and Campbell Brown at this point).
Brooks urges job seekers to not only focus on the solution to the problem (and she provides a long list of detailed tips for finding your “dream” job) but to also open their minds to certain jobs they would never have considered at the beginning of the search. For instance, many careers begin at Starbucks or at post-grad internship programs, and jobs such as cashiering and waitressing are a great way to network.
Which is exactly what I’ll have to explain to my mom when I (hopefully) become a waitress by next week. Pray for me, would you?
The truth is, there is plenty of money to be made while we search for our dream jobs, and I think it’s about time college graduates put their pride aside and try something new, and I don’t know how long I can be an administrative this or that without going crazy, so Starbucks- here I come!
Online Degrees: Yes, You Will Have to Leave the House- for Stanford? October 6, 2008
Posted by whoneedstherapy in Career & Money, Mental Health, Uncategorized.add a comment
- You gotta admit, the Oxygen is so much better out here.
Just in time for your future unemployment, I went to AskMen.com and found “Five Things You Didn’t Know: Online Degrees.”
For those of you who are worried that online degrees aren’t legitimate, even with your $40,000 debt from your fancy schmancy university, you’ll be surprised to find that even schools like Stanford offer online degrees and certificates. So put away your credit card and use your time between job searches to consider how you can improve your resume in a relatively small amount of time.
Once Again, Your 20s Are Supposed to Suck- and Other Advice from Candace Bushnell September 20, 2008
Posted by whoneedstherapy in Career & Money, Mental Health, The Twenties, Uncategorized.Tags: Books, Candace Bushnell, Love, Psychology, sex, Sex and the City, The Twenties
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This interview with Candace Bushnell, author of “Sex and the City,” is pretty refreshing to me because it further solidifies my intuition that not only will my twenties continue to suck, but also that it’s absolutely necessary:
“But happiness comes out of being willing to do your work in your twenties to find out who you are, what you love. There are lots of studies out there about women who leave their work and it turns out that they didn’t like their jobs. We need to encourage young women to find what they love to do. That is a very valuable pursuit — more so than the pursuit of a boyfriend. When you have that core, you bring that core to every aspect of your life.”
Bushnell also discusses the hypersexuality of shows like “Gossip Girl” and that other twenty-something object of unrequited love: Money.
How to Be Social Without Going Broke July 31, 2008
Posted by whoneedstherapy in Career & Money, Friendship.Tags: Career & Money, Friendship
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Do your wealthier friends always insist on going somewhere “nice” for dinner? Do you compare yourself to them when you eye their new gadgets, desperately desiring a MacBook to replace your 2001 Vaio? Or do you find yourself hanging out at the club a bit too long with those miserable corporate alcoholics, leaving you broke until the next weekend ? Then you should probably get some help.
In the meantime, this article from Investopedia tells you how to “Budget Without Ditching Your Friends.” Cheers!
