the recession diaries

Last night I went out only because a friend assured me that this lounge had a happy hour special that consisted of .50 cent martinis. I don’t even drink martinis, but when I heard .50 cent drinks I thought why not. It turns out that person was misinformed: The special wasn’t from 6-10 — it…

I’ve joked about it countless times. Whenever I look at a bill too long I start to wonder, “If only I lost my self-respect and found a pole in its place.” Then I think to myself that stripping isn’t the way – hard work is. But isn’t doing a handstand in a G-string to collect…

I am still getting feedback from my recession story, “Is College Worth It?” and related blog entries about the challenges of starting your career loaded with debt in a horrible economy. Some parents of high school seniors and asked me what can they say to their children to convince them not to attend an expensive…

The conventional wisdom is that when the economy starts to falter, grad school is a great place to hide out until things blow over. True to form, grad school applications are up across the country. Over the past year I’ve heard friend after friend say that they’re frustrated with their respective job searches and are…

Some states posted 25-year high jobless rates this year. But other states have been singing that same sad song for more than a decade.  When the North American Free Trade Agreement was passed opening up U.S. markets to our neighbors, many factories and jobs were sent outside the country to places where people worked for cheaper. Since then,…

Earlier this week, one reader Calvin – a veteran of the U.S. Navy – told us how disappointing his job search was and how he didn’t want to work a low-paying job outside his ideal career path. He was bitter about how being marred by debt and not reaping the benefits a college degree is supposed to provide. …

As expected, responses to the suggestion that people stop shopping altogether for a while in order to save money contained the same level of enthusiasm as a vegan would have after being offered neck bones and ox tails.  Most of the “you must be crazy” reactions came from women – although let me say, before…

With all due respect to Dr. Phil, when I read his advice to those drowning in debt, I wanted his money back. I thought his shtick was that he’s tough – a real straight shooter who drills the point into the heads of people. While I do understand the emotional problems associated with some shopaholics,…

Much of the discussion about the role the recession has played on immigrants is centered on illegal immigrants and what roles they play in the job market. For those immigrants who are documented workers, not enough has been said about how they are coping with job losses and how the laws of the land only…

Before things started to pick up, it was suggested to me that I work at a juvenile detention center as a detention officer. Here I was a recent college graduate with dreams of becoming a successful writer being told that I need to get over myself and go babysit some yuckmouth, trifling kids on their…