Reply to Photo essay -- living with debt in America

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[quote=Anonymous]This may offend some folks, but I feel like what is missing from this discussion, and from many discussions on debt, especially that accrued in college, is effort to pay it back. I have plenty of friends who either aren't getting ahead financially due to low paying jobs or debt, who are extremely liberal with their spending...manicures, highlights, massages, clothing from Anthropologie, designer handbags, beautiful apartments, nice cars, frequent dinners out and happy hours, etc. I'm not saying folks aren't entitled to nice things while they work their way out of debt, but I find a lot of dialogue on how hard it is to get out of debt, or to get ahead, from people who are not responsible with their money. Of course this is not the case for everyone, but I'm sure its fairly common.

I left a low paying job in DC ($42k) at age 29 with a Master's degree to work overseas for a job that paid even less (to gain work experience in my field). Bad choice. But I knew the value of money and I saved while I was there. I got back in mid-2009 and couldn't find permanent work in my field for 3 full years. I wasn't able to collect unemployment because of having voluntarily left my permanent job for contract work (and because I hadn't become a DC resident before I left). But I worked like mad piecing together what work I could find. I worked nights and weekends in retail. I woke up at 4am to tutor adults in Asia over the internet in English speaking skills. I took part time contract work.  I had (still have) a 17 year old paid off car with broken a/c. I commuted by bike when it was close enough. I lived in a rinky-dink walk-up studio apartment without central air or laundry. My parents never contributed to my undergrad (which I had paid off prior) or my grad school (which I'm actively paying off now). It was a tough 3 years, but now I am financially better off than many of my friends who had full time work with benefits that entire time.

I think many of the tradeoffs I made are not possible for some people, say for parents who are limited by having to be home with children at night or on weekends, etc.  But for young people who otherwise don't have such commitments, there is all the time in the world to get ahead.[/quote]

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