What constitutes a "liveable wage"?

Kelly Blue Book retail value of a 2006 Toyota Corolla (Automatic, good condition)-> $15,195
Price of a 2009 Toyota Corolla (Automatic)-> $16,050.

Any questions?

 

Hey, hey sportschick: something we agree on. lol

 

Buck, I respect you as a good poster on this board. I think, from some of your other posts, you are about the same age as I am with a couple of years. It's not entitlement at all. I struggle to make ends meet, but I don't really want to shortchange the rest of my life to do it. In the end, it's not worth it.

 

Yeah, why buy new then?

ROFLMAO

 

I paid $800 for my first car. Lasted six years before I finally decided to let her retire. A very fine purchase.

 

And another thing. I had a 2004 I bought and it had almost 55,000 miles on it before my fiancee and I were in a horrible accident vs. a snowplow. So maybe I could have made a better purchase, but knowing I drive a lot I want to have a car I can depend on.

 

No offense, bud, but you can't say this:

in a post that follows this:

You make your own bed. If you don't want to "shortchange" your life, then don't say "I struggle to make ends meet" ever again. Can't have it both ways, especially right out of college. That IS entitlement. Sorry if it's harsh, but that's the truth.

 

LMAO, a difference of $855 for a new car vs. a three-year old used car with 30K miles on it? Thanks, but I think I'm going to go for the new one.

Not to mention, a total depreciation of 5.3 percent in three years? To me, that says all you need to know about the value of going new with that particular model.

Now, if you were thinking of a car that wasn't as good, and it was a noticeable difference between new and used, I could understand it.

When I started my car shopping (which, mind you, was over a four-month period), I originally wanted a Dodge Neon. But, since those cars suck my asshole, and depreciate like no one's business, I wanted something similar that wouldn't be worthless when I paid it off.

 

See: Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

 

Why the fuck are you in this industry if you aren't comfortable starting at this pay level? You could have been a doctor or a lawyer. You could have been an engineer or an architect or an accountant. None of those last three would require much or any extra school. They'd have cost the same as your journalism degree.

I'm here because I love it. I'm happy making what I make because it's more than I made previously. I'm happy because I love where I love, I like where I work and I know it's a great step for me to get where I want to get to, both in terms of the jobs I want and the money I want to make.

The people, the same ones that do all the complaining, always bring up second jobs. A few of them wait tables or are bartenders in the area, and right behind the comment "Damn it, we don't make enough!! We're getting screwed! Our lives suck!" is the comment "I love my second job because I make so much more working there than I do at my first job."

Well fantastic. Wait tables the rest of your life. Knock yourself out, if it's so fantastic. Of course they're working at the high point of that industry (the high end that's reasonable for them to attain, anyway) and make as much as they do working toward the bottom rung of their chosen career. In 10 years, they'll be making a lot more in journalism than they make waiting tables. Good luck hammering that point home though.

 

Yeah, well my dad can beat up your dad.

The one-up contests around here are so entertaining.

 

When I was in college 10 years ago, I had a roommate who wasn't in school but was a grocery store checker. She made $16.50 an hour in that job.

This year was the first time in those 10 years that I've made more than $16.50 an hour.

In those 10 years she went on to get raises as a checker, then became manager of the deli, and today she makes really fucking good money. She owns a home, drives a nice enough car and could afford a child if she wanted one.

In those 10 years I busted my ass to finish college, busted my ass through grad school, worked a dozen part-time and full-time jobs, did volunteer internships, did low-paying internships, did low-paying-middle-of-fucking-nowhere jobs, etc. And I'm just now making the kind of money she did 10 years ago.

If I didn't live with my boyfriend I couldn't afford to rent a one-bedroom apartment in my paper's coverage area.

It's not entitlement. It's wanting to see monetary compensation for a demanding, highly skilled job that I earned two degrees to make a career in. It's not insisting that I make lawyer or doctor money. It's wanting to support myself like the adult I am without qualifying for housing subsidies or food stamps.