Who Needs to be Rich??

the patron meal of college kids

As a college kid, one thing always seems to be on your mind.  These days more than ever.  Money.
It's somewhat of a college tradition being poor.  It's a tried and true joke about living off of Top Ramen and Mac&Cheese.  While more often than not, it's not entirely true - unless by choice that is. But in reality, it's not that far off the mark. The funny thing is, while in most cases us college kids joke about it in good cheer but it hits us hard at home. I know a few kids who truly enjoy living a more meager lifestyle and that's awesome. But without trying to sound vain, more often than not we really dislike our current financial situations.

I am not incredibly poor by any means.  I live life better than most college students. I can afford to cook dinner for myself most nights and enough extra to take my wonderful girlfriend out once a month and get her flowers in between.  But that doesn't mean that there is no stress in my life. To be completely honest, I dread looking at my bank account every week. It's not going down at an obscene rate.  If anything it's staying fairly stable.  I really shouldn't be worried because I know in my head that I'll be fine. But what I really want is to see that figure rising every month. I'd love to have the ability to not worry about what Christmas gifts I can afford for my family or whether or not I have the money to replace an a broken appliance or get something new and nice for the place.

By no means am I saying that I want to be rich. I don't want to have to have a big house (too much to clean), useless toys, or an incredibly diverse and stable investment portfolio.  There's really no need, especially when so many across the country are in even more financial strain than I.  I won't deny that I wouldn't enjoy being a new car - nothing fancy, just something not pre-owned.  Or buying a house with a little bit of a yard and enough money to fix it up and put a little sweat equity into it. But the biggest thing I want is a little financial security.  What I really want is the peace of mind found in not living paycheck to paycheck and not getting stressed out every time rent is due or you haven't gone grocery shopping in two weeks and the only thing left in your pantry is one pack of Ramen noodles.

one of those starter jobs

I'll be the first to say that this is simply a part of life in which I must pay my dues.  No one just jumps right into financial stability and capability - or at least those who do can't appreciate what they have. I wouldn't do this any other way because I know that now I'll learn to appreciate everything that I've earned in my life and be able to see just how far I've come.  I just wish maybe it wouldn't take four years and a bunch of starter jobs to get there.. maybe just two years and one starter job with excellent opportunities for advancement:)

Anyways, here's my shout-out to all the poor college kids like me. I know how it goes, and we rock poverty pretty dang well!