For educators or people who want to understand us
7:06 p.m. - 2003-01-26
At your job, if you are out of something, do you buy it with your own money? Do you say to yourself, �Hmmm we have no paper clips, so I will buy some tonight,� or, �There is no paper and I need to make copies, so I will gladly fork out my own cash knowing I will never get it back.� This is the first year that teacher�s can deduct $250 off of their income for expenses. So, this is the first year I have kept track of what I spend on my job. I have spent almost $700. If I want printer ink, I have to buy it. If I want a stapler that works, I have to buy one. All the things that I purchase make my job easier, and they help me do my job better.
I compare being a teacher to being on welfare. We only get paid once a month. So, after payday we eat well. By the end of the month, we�re eating ramen noodles and picking up aluminum cans off the highway.
Last year, I decided against having health insurance for my daughter because it was so expensive. I know that was risky. So this year, I put her on my health insurance. My car payment is $385 a month. My health insurance is $364 a month. I�m basically making 2 car payments. If I took my rent payment ($660) and combined it with those two things, imagine what a nice home I could be paying on.
I�m not starving. I�m not on the verge of living in the streets. But I am tired of barely making it all the time. I got hired for a part-time job at Foley�s. They were going to pay me $6 an hour. I can�t imagine working for 10 hours and getting $60 for it. I never even showed up for work.
A lot of this is stemming from the fact that I paid bills today. And some of it is coming from the fact that I wish my daughter had a yard to play in.