Minimum Wage does seem like he has a huge chip on his shoulder. Truth is, if he were a woman, he’d have more options. He could be a stripper on weekends to meet tuition! I had a friend who put herself through college this way (really- a friend, not me), and you’d be surprised at the number of women who worked to compensate for dead-beat dads and lo-wage jobs. One woman was a teacher, with a special needs child, and for whatever reason have insurance would not cover her son’s needs. I would never judge someone doing whatever they could to care for their child, or rise above.

There is a story for every person out there, and blanket statements like “lazy, young, or unlucky” are not generous of heart. I guess “unlucky” is the least denigrating, but even so, we live in a capitalist system, which relies upon winners and losers to make the wheels go round. To say everyone can financially thrive if determined, is to say something contrary to the economic system we have chosen. Stockholders have a vested interest in preserving the minimum wage class size.

http://www.amazon.com/Scratch-Beginnings-Search-American-Dream/dp/0061714364/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253882743&sr=1-1

I think you would be quite surprised at what he did and what he was able to accomplish.

To me, it sounds like you are still making excuses.
-First, as was mentioned in the article, you can be put on welfare. If all you make is minimum wage and have no health insurance, you can get SOMETHING.
-Also, when it comes to relocating, MANY places offer “no deposit” or “first month free” offers. And even if you saved $5 a month, you could save up for a bus ticket pretty quickly.
-Schooling. Two words: PELL GRANTS. If you go to a community college and make minimum wage or less (because of lack of hours) then you will more than likely have it entirely paid for.
-I also agree with what was mentioned in the general discussion about just getting a NEW job. There are plenty of places who offer more than minimum wage, for people who have little or no experience. You just have to actually look. You seem to have access to a computer, if you spent an hour here and there looking online for jobs, i guarentee you will find something. I have gotten more than one job just by “trying to apply” online, with NO experience in the field.
-As a side note, *I* dont drive (i’m unable to) and have always gotten to my jobs one way or another. Walk, ride buses, or simply make friends with someone at the work who is willing to split some gas. Not having that car will save you soooooo much money.

Excuses dont help anyone, and coming from people-myself included-who HAVE done it, excuses just make you sound silly.

I do want to point out that sometimes trying to find a better paying job is not the answer. If you truly feel as though you have no marketable skills, or your age is a limitation to having someone hire you, why not start your own business? Earlier in the comments someone presented several good options that could quickly turn into a small business (i.e. cleaning parking lots, washing windows). Many a small business has been started by someone trying to make ends meet with a side-gig. Who knows – if your business takes over now you have an opportunity to offer employment to others who are in your situation.

It may sound hard-hearted, but frankly, I’ve stopped even listening to them because I honestly feel they don’t really want to do anything for themselves, they just want to complain to everyone within earshot about their problems.

It’s Minimum Wage’s choice, of course, to have that kind of attitude, but he should also keep in mind that for most people, it’s a major turnoff. No one wants to hear an endless litany of problems from someone who won’t make any effort to help themselves, and that’s true whether it’s the person standing next to you at the bus stop to the person who sits in a corner office. That kind of attitude tends to alienate everyone; the very people, I would add, who might be able to help you – to help you cope, or to share some food, or maybe to find you another job.

For every person such as Minimum Wage, there are three others who are in the same kind of financial predicament, but because of their drive, attitude and positive outlook (and I don’t mean denying the realities of the situation, I mean facing it with as much optimism as you can muster) have improved their lives tremendously.

And by the way, ramen noodles are not only loaded with more sodium than anyone needs, they also have a huge fat content. Even regular bargain-basement spaghetti doesn’t have all that salt and calories!

You guys even say some of the same things- no one will hire you because of your age. You know what? I hire people and I wouldn’t hire her- or you, probably- because of your attitude.

I had to make up the difference for my Mom when I was a teenager- if you think it’s hard to make cash when you’re 50 something, it’s a lot harder at 13 when people are violating labor laws when they hire you.

If you don’t have enough money, get off your butt and make it. The people on here have been very nice giving you advice and support. The only one who can change your situation is YOU.

Offer to clean parking lots on your way to and from work.

Sign up to work part time with a cleaning company. A lot of them hire part-time extra help.

You can teach english in Japan of Korea, travel, and save some money at the same time.

Window cleaning makes good money and takes almost no start up. I cleaned windows through college. If you go crazy with start up you can spend a whopping two hundred dollars- a large porcupine and a medium one, some lint-free cloths and two good squeegees will get you started. You can use a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid in a gallon of water as your solution- it dosen’t terribly matter, scrubbing gets the stuff off and the squeegees clean.

Go door to door, hand out some post cards (you can get post cards printed up from online printers for $20 or less). Charge 2-5 a window pane, that’s the going rate, depending on where you live. Large chunks of glass take just as long as small pieces of glass. You should make between $60 and $100 an hour. Many small businesses and churches will hire you if you just show up.

I did all of that in a small town with no car. I just got a ride or walked to rich areas of town and then knocked on every door. If you get good at the windows, you can get someone else to do the door knocking, and vice versa.

If you need to make money without having any money, put an ad up in your local craigslist and on a few message boards offering to do odd jobs.

It’s not that you’re trapped in your circumstances. I was raised by parents below the poverty line, everyone I grew up with was on food stamps and making minimum wage. The only difference between those of us that got out and those of us that didn’t was attitude.

Trash pick. Dumpster dive and sell what you get on eBay. Collect tin cans and turn them in for money. Get another job that HAS some upward potential. Stop wringing your damn hands and complaining that there’s nothing you can do.

And yes, I say the same thing to my Mom. Stop whining. If you have time to spend online complaining about people who are trying to make their lives better by swearing that it’s impossible, you have the time to take a walk in your area and either try to work up some business or find something to make a little extra cash to help you get out of your predicament.

My husband and I drive old cars we paid cash for. He is handy with tools, but some people aren’t. Give them a break.

The best advice? Don’t use credit cards!!!!

I work 3 jobs, totaling an average of 80 hours a week. I am attending the local community college with 13 credit hours. Depending on the week, I make anywhere between $400-700/wk (take-home). I waste a LOT of money… but that’s because I have a lot of things taken care of for me (health ins, rent, food, school) I’m 21 years old and have a little over 40,000 invested. I know when I finish school, I’ll begin to make sacrifices regarding my lifestyle since it will be MY wallet I’m digging into, but I’ll do it anyways.

My goal is to have enough invested by age 35 to be able to work for my passion and not for my paycheck.

Sometimes the relativity of peoples relationships with money amazes me. I know of a couple with one wage earner who makes about 4 times what I make and they often starve or go without electricity because of bad money choices (Most of their money goes to paying fees and penalties to various financial institutions and collection agencies, much of the rest goes to gambling, alcohol, or drugs). They consider themselves “below poverty” even though they make $120k per year. I also know a teacher who makes $29k a year who is frugal and manages to travel internationally at least 2 or 3 months out of the year and also owns her own home without any debt because she is very resourceful and not afraid to ask for what she wants (she gets a lot second-hand and often swaps favors).

Oh, and the people who I know who had the most success going from minimum wage to financial solvency did vocational programs at community colleges. I got a master’s degree and make about $15-20k less than most of those individuals with more technical skills in our area (mainly because my programs were too generalist). You can usually do community college with little or no debt load. Just get a focused and marketable technical degree and not a more general academic one.

and MW you are not alone. In fact I envy you because you have $100 to spare for health care.

My grandfather became the vice president of his engineering firm, ona third-grade education, and managed to feed, clothe, and house five children even before that, while earning minimum wage.

His house cost him two year’s pay. If you actually knkow of a place in the US where a minimum wage worker can currently purchase a 4-bedroom home on farmland for two year’s pay, I’m all ears.

Things are more difficult in general now for the poor than they were in years past. That’s not to say it’s impossible to get more financial security, but when you’re advocating things which demean the person (WIC? begging for handywork?ask MIL to pay for the kid’s clothes? would YOU, personally, feel comfortable doing any of these things?) you should be aware that this isn’t empowering for the minimum wage worker.

I’d tell minmum wage to move to a place where the minimum wage goes further…except that, for example, here in Oregon minimum wage is higher by state standard than it is in Iowa. A waitress in Iowa does not earn as much in pay or tips as one in Iowa, so that strategy actually doesn’t help.

I do agree that education is the surest way out, though. It’s how I escaped. It took me until I was thirty, and I am still not affluent (not enough to have retirement money, health insurance, or any kind of investment beyond some small savings) but I am no longer struggling paycheck to paycheck, and the road ahead leads up not down.

Being frugal and getting education any way you can is the surest way out and up.

For everyone,
If you need government assistance, then take it. The thought that it might help someone move onto a better life reconciles me to paying taxes. I also donate to charities that put a much higher percentage of money to people who need it. My children were horrified to learn that people used to sell themselves or their children into slavery to feed the rest of the family. I assured them we help people so they don’t need to do that anymore.
Does a MacDonald’s job still come with all the free food you can eat? They do sell a limited and boring selection of healthy food – salads, grilled chicken, apples, milk. When my father-in-law was growing up he sought out jobs that included food so the (limited) food in the house could go to his mom and little sister.