Under Pressure!

"Pressure" - Queens

I recently watched the documentary "Maxed Out" thanks to my free trial of Netflix. 

It chronicles how corrupt our country is in regards to how it spends money. It shares secrets about how credit companies can get even more money out of you, it shows government policies that steal from the poor to give to the rich so the rich can continue to give to the government, and it shows the lives of families broken because of chronic debt and bankruptcy. 

Although outdated (2005), these issues are even more relevant today. If you're concerned about debt, even just a little bit, it's worth watching. 

I'm working hard to pay my credit cards off one by one and I've been able to increase payments lately to speed up the process. It's still hard to swallow that a portion (sometimes up to half!) of each payment I make goes straight to interest instead of tackling the principle. It's eye opening to see others in my situation or even worse. 

Watching this movie couldn't have been more relevant for me this week. The restaurant gig is going downhill and has been for some time. The scheduling and management policies are absurd and it's completely unfair to it's waitstaff. My shifts continue to be limited to 1 shift a week even though I was promised it would pick up and I've been tempted to quit because it doesn't seem worth it. Unfortunately, however, it is. 

That one shift a week brings in at least $100, if not more. That's an extra $400 a month to pay my student loans. I depend on that money so I will have to check my attitude at the door and suck it up until I can find something better. It might not be a fun 6-8 hours of my life each week but it comes with the territory of being in such extreme debt.

Watching this movie (and venting/getting advice) made me realize that I can't let debt drown me and I have to work hard at getting out of it. If I take the easy way out, I just make my debt worse and that is not an option for me.

I've never minded working a lot as long as the employers are fair. One day, after all my hard work and debt is paid off, I can hopefully enjoy the luxury of not having to work in conditions I don't like. But until then, I have to refuse to give up.