Thanks for Reminding Me That I Don’t Have a Lot of Money

While I was still in college I fully expected to get a job fairly quickly after I graduated.  I thought I’d then be able to pay off my student debt fairly quickly.  What I didn’t expect is what ultimately happened.  I still work at the same job I did while I was in school.  I’m nowhere near paying off my debt.  I can’t afford to replace my 16-year-old car let alone go on vacation.  At the moment I’m living vicariously through the travels of a fellow blogger named Lesley Carter.  She travels around the world overcoming many of her fears and exploring the great wonders of this planet.  Here is a link to her latest post. 

My rant this week is dedicated to those many people who constantly (either directly or indirectly) remind me that I don’t have much money.  My Alma Mater, Loyola University of Chicago, regularly calls me at weird times and days I might add so that I can donate to the school.  I’ve told them many times that I’m too busy paying off my loans to them, so unless they would like to make a donation to my funds then they should stop calling me for the foreseeable future.  The last time they called I even told them I’d call them when I choose to donate to them.  They haven’t seem to gotten the message.

I have friends and family who ask me why I haven’t bought another car since I am so unhappy with the one I have.  They too I guess don’t understand the concept of being almost broke.  I can’t convey to you how many times I’ve been asked why I don’t go on vacation somewhere.  Who wouldn’t like to snorkel in the Caribbean?  Swim with dolphins at Sea World.  Explore the beauty of Hawaii and the history of China.  I sure would like to.  There is just a small problem.  You can’t do any of these things unless you’ve got money.  I now retort to these inquiries with: “Unless you plan on funding this proposed vacation, don’t bother mentioning it to me.”

I don’t think people ask me these things with malicious intent.  I just implore people to think that hey maybe not everyone is as well off as they are.  When I’m asked these questions I want to reply: “Thank you for reminding me that I can’t afford to go on vacation.  I had actually managed to go a day without thinking about my finances.”  When I make more money I will undoubtedly travel around the world.  Until then, I’m stuck mulling over what could have been.

Do you experience similar situations?

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