yikes, it's tax time again. i look at my W-2s and see how much (or little) i made this year. i realize (cause i forget sometimes) that i live at a level just slightly higher than the US poverty line. in terms of money i do not make much, i only work part-time and i go to school. i work as much as i can, which is only about twice a week, but i am always busy. i feel extremely grateful that i have a job in this economy. everyday i hear about people who have lost their jobs or have less hours than expected. even at my job, we have less hours because our residents move out or die. if we don't get more coming in, less CNA's are needed to work. since i'm "on-call" then i get shafted first.
despite knowing how little i make and knowing that i am close to that line of poverty, i do not feel like it. i am able to eat healthily (a lot) and eat out (too much), i have a place to live that i love, i play dodgeball and do other fun things, and i am very comfortable. i buy mostly organic and local produce at a fancy local supermarket that i know is pricey. i am willing to pay more for that. i know the worth of my earnings because i have to watch it carefully. sometimes i do feel like i am walking the line.
all this is fine and good, i am ok. i also know that in about 5 months i will be done with school, taking my RN exam (and passing), and finding a job which i will most likely be making twice as much per hour and working 36+ hours. this is gonna make me so much more money i am not sure how i will handle it. i will probably eat out a little more but other than that i don't think my lifestyle will change, much. i might move out of the basement apartment that i like, just because i cannot have pets there. i want to eventually have a doggy.
i am a little concerned though for all my money that goes to social security and medicare taxes. by the time i am ready to collect on this, i am sure there will be no money for us. we are paying for the baby boomers! also all that federal income tax goes to the government and they decide what happens to it. supposedly we have a say, but it's pretty indirect. voting for your politician, writing to your senator or representative, etc, is how we decide. i guess i need to be more vocal to my representatives so that i can have my taxes be used how i want, or at least pretend my voice is being heard. the spending in this country is pretty horrendous, especially in the last 8 years. the economy is in the toilet right now and the gov't is bailing everyone out. where is that money coming from?! my social security, that's what! so i am a little worried...but i have hope! it's going to take a long time to put everything back together and get things going in the right direction. i don't mind paying taxes as long as it's going to good purposes, such as social programs and education, and not wars!
as for the government bailouts, all it teaches people (in my opinion) is that you can go into debt and be irresponsible with your spending and then get bailed out. that is not the case. we need financial responsibility. all these credit card companies have people by the balls, release yourselves! stay out of debt, i think that is one of the best things you can do for yourself, is to live within your means.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
1 comment:
amen. everytime i see a "debt consolidation" commerical i think to myself, "what idiots out there are continually maxing out their credit cards when they know they have no hope of paying them back?" i mean, i understand that sometimes things happen and there are unavoidable situations that may warrant over-extending yourself sometimes, but i'm sure that describes the minority of people in debt and not the majority.
then again, i think that somehow it has become acceptable to some degree to be in debt. someone people have learned that it is okay to only pay the minimum balances on your credit card bills each month and to keep a running tab to "build your credit." i personally know a few people who only pay the minimum balances each month, they are responsible people, but for some reason they do not see this as a bad thing, they see it as normal.
of course, that's probably because of credit card company advertising, that's what they want people to do so they can make money off the interest and people eat it up. how do we advertise fiscal responsibility? how do we tell people to only spend what they have when they can spend what they don't have so easily?
Post a Comment