Telling us is preaching to the choir.

Write letters to the editor of every paper you can.
Volunteer what little time you can.
Do what you must to force change.
It's a long rough road filled with potholes and debris, but it beats sitting at the shoulder waiting to die.

Your Mom & family should be ashamed of themselves! I am embarrassed for them for being such non-supportive in-compassionate living in a bubble jerks! Find a group in your area that's supports living wage! I've been in the Pay Day Loan Cycle & the best thing I did was stop using them no matter what! Its hard but its worth it. I know you know its really a scam & actually my state is making it harder for them to operate! If you have any visa credit cards like with Capital One, or other rip off financial companies w/high interest rates living off poor peoples back...pay them off. I wasn't making any payments towards my balance I was just paying off late payments fees! So I finally got fed up & consolidated my debts with non-profit debt reducing company & after 4 years I paid them all off! AND I was making pretty good money BUT because I was off work (non-profit grant funded position) off for 2 years I maxed out credit in order to survive! Now I am into downsizing my life and getting off the consumerism materialistic life.
Even looking @ Tiny Homes!

You Tube has a good collection of Tiny Homes!

Divide your text into short paragraphs with line spaces in between. It makes a huge difference in readability and those who won't read a "wall of text" will read something that's more reader-friendly.

You might try editing the OP that way and see what you think about the difference.

Hold on.

several years of FAUX news has not helped.

We are in a similar position. We happen to be high income but only after many years of education. Most of our debt is student loan but we did have the credit cards that messed up our credit (used those while trying to get through grad school to improve our chances). We did get jobs afterwards but it is a big hole to dig out of with little room for error even when you are working. I can't imagine doing it on $10/hr.

This is why I continue to advocate. The people of the US deserve better. Hugs

1.) We're going to continue to fight for a liveable wage.

2.) You have my permission to tell your family to piss off and unfriend you if they don't like what you post on Facebook.

3.) Stop taking payday loans. Call your creditors, see if you can work something out...but stop taking payday loans regardless. They just dig you a deeper hole and make future financial responsibility increasingly impossible. As a former licensed banker, I can't believe I'm saying this, but...you're better off being late or not paying things than you are using credit-cards and payday loans for everyday expenses and bills. All the loans are doing is burning what income you have coming in, making the hole deeper...at some point, it's better to stop digging, take the lumps and get out of the hole any way necessary. Stop with the payday loans...call debt-relief instead.

4.) What's the MA in? How tied are you to your area? (I'm assuming "not-very" if you don't like your family and your partner is in the same situation you are.)

... respectfully, echo number 3 above vehemently.

You HAVE to stop feeding the payday loan vultures. WHATEVER IT TAKES. Eating beans for 3 weeks, leaving the lights off, selling your TV, WHATEVER IT TAKES.

You can never get out of the self-perpetuating hole of usurious interest rates. You HAVE TO find a way to STOP using them, they are like financial heroin.

Also--hit the food pantry--working poor is working poor. Grow as much food as you can in the good weather, too.

Cut bills in any/every way possible. Crock pots, cook your own beans, etc. Never turn down a dinner invite, praise the food and if there's lots, take a doggie bag ("Oh that potato salad--could I take just a little home for lunch tomorrow, it's SOOO goooood!)--people like it when others like their food.

Turn out lights--one bulb will do! If you pay for your own water turn down the water heater in summer. You can get by with cooler water in hot weather. Even crapping at work will save on toilet paper!!!

Scour the budget for savings.

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I have been focused on the job interview I have tomorrow, but of course now I cannot sleep. But while I like the idea of #3, they pay my rent. My landlord is relentless and when I give her checks, she does not cash them for 3 weeks which screws me because at that point, it overdraws me because the payday loan has already come out. Do you have any suggestions for that? My lease is up and she wants to evict us at this point if we don't pay, even though she wants to charge us her bounced check fees for keeping the check so long and then I have my overdraft fees on top of it. And my MA is in management. And I'm not committed to this area at all (and neither is she).

At least that way you've already forked over the cash and money orders from a reputable source are as good as a cashier's check.

eta: Cashier's check is an option too, if your creditor refuses a money order for some reason.

- get off the payday loan rodent wheel. yes, i know it is hard when you hardly have money to buy food - but you must stop paying 40%-50% in fees to the piranhas. yes, payday loans are instant gratification and unfortunately - instant gratification is the hook the payday loan and credit card industry uses to hook folks down on their "luck".it took me realizing how much it was really costing me to have the fortitude to get by without them and then, all of a sudden, i did have money for food because i was not paying it to the payday loan people in fees!

- of course your family is embarassed by your survival. they no doubt have extravagant lifestyles - do not measure your success by the success of others - especially, family. this thinking will only serve to break your heart and spirit.

-continue to do your job well. tell everyone you are looking for work (in the career of your choice). do not say a better paying job - because you just might get what you ask for doing something you hate.

-surround yourself with friends who appreciate your gifts.

You have my great respect and gratitude for posting this.

Yes, we all deserve better. Way past time to throw out the sociopaths who orchestrate this, and create a system that values human beings.

Step back, take a deep breath. Hillary & Bill were broke when he left the whitehouse. Like them you’ve got assets that with work & luck can help. The posters who’ve advised against further business with the blood sucking pay day loan people, MUST be listened to. It may not help you much but you might want to consider reading the views of Nick Hanauer to discuss with your family. On June 19, 2013, Bloomberg published an article he wrote called “The Capitalist’s Case for a $15 Minimum Wage.” Forbes labeled it “Nick Hanauer’s near insane” proposal.
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2013-06-19/the-capitalist-s-case-for-a-15-minimum-wage

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014_Page2.html#ixzz35ydGV1lE

I'm going to say something that may piss people off, but oh well. You are not obligated to be around toxic people. If they put you down and tell you that you are an embarrassment, then they don't need to be around you. Instead, choose to be around people that value you for who you are as a person instead of what 'status' in society you have.

I understand - my parents are toxic people. I'm in a tough spot financially now, and they refuse to help out in case they 'enable' me (enable me to what? To pay my bills? WTF? I'm not sitting on my ass all day, I'm a single parent of 4 and in school full time - or was, I just finished my last course!) Sometimes nasty people just happen to be our parents...even our own mothers. My mothers says denigrating things about me all the time. I'm slowly pulling away from my family and trying to find people who appreciate me for ME. The longer I'm away from my parents, the more I realize how miserable I am around them.

I've also heard comments when I support higher wages, better working conditions, better social programs...they have no clue. They have been lucky and they attribute their luck to their hard work, like other people don't work hard. It's frustrating. It's why I'm pulling away. Not only do I not need to be insulted, I don't need to be around my own family actively working to undermine programs that I depend on.

I'll say it: You deserve more. You deserve a living wage. You deserve universal health care. You deserve a family that supports you. I'm sorry that you don't have those things. It's wrong. I'm glad you have your partner.

Sorry this is late, I've been working a lot and trying to prepare for an interview (thank goodness). But yes, they are toxic people. They will never understand what it is like to actually live poor. And it really pisses me off when lucky people attribute that luck to hard work. There are plenty of people living in this country that work hard that will never have that "luck". My partner and I talk about this all of the time. I came from an old school family that had a little money because of stocks and bonds and what not. My partner came from a family that had nothing and had to work for it. She doesn't understand why I am so freaked out because I cannot find a great job after going to school my whole life. I love her dearly (today was anniversary 3) but we are different when it comes to that. But, she has also taught me how to survive when your education, and your family isn't what you thought it would be. She made me realize that my family, are indeed toxic. They really do care more about image than actual family and the crap I have been through, which has been a lot. I love them, but as much as I try to convey how much shit has happened to me, they will never understand. They live in a bubble. If my father was still around, things would be totally different. But he isn't. My mom tells me all of the time how I need to "turn my life around". What the hell does that mean? Turn it around from what? I got screwed, not sure how I can turn it around when I did nothing wrong in the first place. Sorry, went off on a tangent, but you get my point.

Those horrible, insidious comments that blame you for your difficult circumstances are something I'm well familiar with. Or, conversely, when you have a triumph, somehow THEN it's not your doing. For instance, when I was in school, if I was worried about a test and said that I had to go home early from a family dinner to study, I would hear, "why do you worry about it? Geez, you always get great marks anyway." If I did poorly on a test, it was, "Well, maybe you just need to buckle down and study more." When I do really well on a test (once I got 100% on 2 auditing midterms in a row) it's all, "well, didn't you get lucky!" (or a lackluster, "that's nice&quot WTF? No, I STUDIED hard! When I get a good job, "Oh, you really got lucky!" When they get a good job, "I worked hard for this and deserve it." Gah!

My parents also live in a bubble. Their adult lives have been textbook. They've had very few setbacks. The biggest setback they've had is once my dad's company went on strike, so he had to take another job for a few months when I was a toddler. Then we moved and he got the same job he just retired from a few weeks ago. That was it. No lay offs or anything after that. They've always had each other, AFAIK no one has cheated (they are far too co-dependent for that). They had 2 healthy kids who got good marks. Their house never went down in value. They've gotten steady raises. They've been able to save for retirement. They've stayed healthy themselves. They've had nothing but good luck and have never had to deal with anything major in their lives. No one close to them has died (save their parents, who were very old - one made it to 102). They've never dealt with a natural disaster. They've basically lived a charmed life. And it makes me ill that they feel they can judge others for their circumstances.

It's tough isn't it? Good luck to you - hope you get your dream job. I'll be pounding the pavement in the next few weeks myself.

Sorry I haven't responded to each and every one of you, because your support has been outstanding. It is so nice to know that people have my back, even when my family doesn't. But, I have been busy because I would like to report that I have a job interview!! And it comes at the most needed time. We are behind on rent, utilities... well you name it. The job would be at my alma mater in the alumni office, which I feel would be a perfect fit. It would be me working with persons like myself, helping people who graduated, but can't seem to make it because, well, America. Technically, it would be supervising phone-a-thons and marketing to recent grads, but I really feel like I could bring something to the job because I know why people don't give back to their schools because they can't. But I also know plenty of people that don't give back to their schools because they just don't care. I have worked in every school imaginable: private, public, community college, and for profit. And the value of an education for me, was held in the interest of a private school, where alumni gave back and I got a full ride scholarship because of them. They gave me an opportunity and I want to be able to give opportunities to new students. That is the backbone of this country. We have way too many students living on students loans (me being one of them because of my Master's) and not enough that are the bright talents that they are thriving and making a difference. Education, is key. Thank you for all of the positive thoughts!

and let us know how it went.

I went to a private liberal arts university myself and made some significant donations when I was employed. Even though I've been unemployed since November 2010, I've managed to squeak out a donation to them each year. The good news is because the money is matched by private foundations and because outside foundations base their donations upon alum participation rates, for every dollar that I give it receives about $10 in additional donations. My graduating class had about 200 students and I'm within the top five as far as making consistent annual donations among that group.

I just want part time job, to help my husband out. My last job, I was making $24 an hour working as an accts receivable slash everything person. Was there for 12 yrs. got fired for not keeping up, and got help way too late. The owners son hated me, and had tried to get me fired for years, and finally got his wish.
I'm over qualified for anything! It's been 3 years, and nothing!!!

If you are in an urban area, try Accountemps, Kelly or one of the other temp services. It's always a mixed bag of jobs, and you may get some things you don't like. However, many employers use these services to "try out" employees prior to hiring.

Stand in solidarity for better jobs.

The state of things in this country--with people working hard for slave wages--is a national disgrace, a testimony to rule by vulture capitalists. If workers are hurting, they feel like they're doing something right.

Thanks for speaking out about your situation. The PTB in America can't continue abusing its citizens. People are wising up to the fact that they're being kept poor and struggling deliberately. Good luck with that job where you may be helping those like yourself. Keep that goal in mind.