... to pay my bills

It's been one of those weeks. Actually, in retrospect, it's been the same since January 13: the start of student teaching-- the start of working 70+ hours every week.

Thankfully the 70 hours is spread out between three jobs. And that's not even including being a student teacher for 40 of those hours (unpaid might I add!). I work at a preschool for 10 hours, a nursery for 4 hours every Sunday, and a desk job for 15 (all that money is put toward my school loans and I never see it). Then, on a good week I can bring in extra money by babysitting on the weekend nights.

Seriously. This is my life. Every week. I am starting to get overwhelmed and starting to realize I can't mentally and physically work 70 hours a week. Gosh, by the age of 23 I'm due for a heart attack. But there is no other option. Since when did life become so expensive?

Let me map out a month of bills for a struggling senior college student who has a full time unpaid teaching position.

      Rent: $300
      Utilities: $60-80 depending on temp outside
      Food: $70
      Car gas: $80
      Cell phone: $60
      Cat: $15 
      TOTAL: $525

How the hell am I able to live off that every month AND put money into a savings account like they recommend? And what about when something goes wrong? My car is a 1998... and she seems to be falling apart lately.

Even though I make $9.50 at the preschool and at the nursery, I still barely skim the surface of $450. I pray that I can get a few extra nights of babysitting jobs in that will help boost me to my minimum monthly rate. Without it, it's hard to say what I would do.

And yes, at 22, I pay for absolutely everything. It's hard, but you want to know a secret? It's beyond worth it. I've learned how to say goodbye to shopping at Target and enter the world of Walmart. I've learned to be frugal with what I have and savor the coffee I can buy when I'm lucky. I've learned how to be simple. And most importantly, I've learned to be thankful for what I have.