Hi there, I am still reading and blogging about this book "Nickel and Dimed" (see previous posts)
Her first city is Key West, Florida. I don't live in Florida and I have no idea what rents cost in the city of Key West. I do live in the Midwest, and I checked into rents in our area.
Her experience was that rents began at $400 and went up, and that a $500 efficiency apartment was about the best that she could find and still feel safe in the city. Now, where we live, there are less desirable neighborhoods, but none that I would consider unsafe. Her numbers are from ten years ago. Mine are from today. I could get a decent size one bedroom downstairs apartment for $325 including utilities, in a fair neighborhood (three blocks from the downtown business district - walking distance to all necessities) in a town of about 12,000 people. There were cheaper places in the smaller towns nearby with less amenities, and they weren't much cheaper, and there were much more expensive options as well, all the way up to $1600 per month four bedroom, three bath mansion on the lake.
Now, fifteen years ago, when I was a college student, and had to live in a college town where prices are much higher; I paid $350 for a one bedroom basement apartment plus utilities, not a great neighborhood, but still safe.
All of the places I've lived required first months rent and deposit. In college, when I had spent more on tuition and books and other expenses than expected, I didn't give up, and go home; I asked a friend for a place to stay(again when you are living a life for more than thirty days, you make friends that trust you and can be trusted by you). I slept on the floor of her apartment for one month so that I could save up the money for rent and deposit. NOTE: this was not a 'legal' arrangement, the complex she lived in did not allow an extra person or allow subletting. The situation did work out, but it might not have if things had gone differently.
There may be more opportunities in bigger cities, but minimum wage is the same whether the town has 2000 people for two million, and you'll still probably find a grocery store, gas station, and a few fast food joints.
Personally, except for my university campus experience, I have pretty much always lived in a small town and always been able to find a job when I wanted one. Also, and I made this point earlier, the more experience I obtained over the years, better the jobs I was able to obtain, regardless of the size of the city.
However, I realize as a writer, her story is more compelling if she writes about life in large cities, since more people are living in them.
Getting enough to eat. She is open in the beginning that she will not go hungry; that if she can not afford food, then she would pull out the ATM card from her other life and cheat on the experiment. Her first job is as a waitress, every restaurant that I ever worked for, whether fast food or fine dining offered significant discounts on food, often free. Working a closing shift in particular allowed for not only sufficient dinner fare, but also "leftovers' to take home and warm up the next day.
Again, the issues she faces in her first city come from the "thirty day" rule of her experiment. She discusses not having any kind of cooking appliances or kitchen utensils when she first starts out. When I was sixteen years old, I was already thinking about my housing needs, and bought my first microwave at a yard sale for $1 this was many years ago, but yard sale prices change much slower than retail prices. I bought a new coffee maker last weekend for $1. I guess not every town has yard sales, and maybe you can't get away on a weekend morning to catch them, but there are estate auctions, thrift shops, resale stores, etc, that also offered extraordinary discounts on household necessities.
Working in a restaurant; closing shifts particularly allowed for not only sufficient dinner fare, but also 'leftovers' to take home and warm up the next day. When I was in college and working at a fast food place, I always volunteered for the closing shift (other students wanted to be out in time to go to parties, so these were often hard for management to fill). I never bought groceries, and always had plenty to eat. If I had two days off in a row, I did splurge and purchased food at the 1/2 off prices offered where I worked (food was free on days that you worked, but 50% on days off). Plus, if I was in the store and they were unexpectedly busy or if someone called in sick or didn't show up, I'd be the first to get the opportunity at an extra shift, and sometimes this even meant overtime pay, which certainly covered the few dollars I'd spent on food.
Where we live, and I think these are available in larger cities also, there are food pantries and churches that serve meals. I didn't know about these when I was in the city, but if I had, I would have taken advantage of them. If you don't feel comfortable just taking food for free, they do take donations, and after you show up for awhile and get to know the people, there are often volunteer opportunities for you to earn your meal. (Again, this usually takes more than thirty days).
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Minimum wage is a starting point, not a career salary
Okay, so I'm reading this book Nickel and Dimed: on (not) getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich. I feel I have to give her credit for the work that she has done, and I'm not criticizing her journalism; I even think that her words would resonate with more people if written today than it did ten years ago when she wrote it.
I do, however, feel like there is another side of the story, that she is missing altogether. First off, she set up some ground rules for her experiment: like she would always have a car. There are seven people in our household and we have one vehicle (by choice). When my husband needs it, the children and I find things to do at home or we pile into strollers and wagons and we walk; my point? I think lots of people get by without cars, and I would have to say that even one for our family is a luxury that we pay highly for, not an absolute necessity. Skipping to the third rule (I'll get back to the second) Never be hungry! No missed meals for her; if she was hungry, and didn't have enough money, then she would use here ATM card and cheat. I'll talk about food options later.
Her second rule was that she would always have shelter; her experiment was set up for thirty days in each city, if she paid by the week or night and couldn't make enough to cover it, the experiment in that city would have failed. I'm not saying she should go without shelter, although there are many inexpensive options, but I do think that the major flaw in this type of experiment is the thirty day rule. She mentions at one point that she is working in a place where benefits don't begin until you've worked there for ninety days. This seems reasonable to me, since benefits like insurance and retirement plans are for long term employees, not transients.
I've made many notes, and I'm barely beginning to read this book, but for this post, I want to primarily discuss her premise; "...could a single mother leaving welfare survive without government assistance...". Her experiment to determine the answer is a thirty day test. I think that is unreasonable.
When I got married, my husband & I were both working for a fast food business, I was making minimum wage and he was making about 1 1/2 times that because he had gained "experience" and a "promotion". This didn't happen in the first thirty days. I was living in a basement (cheap campus life) and he was living with his parents (even cheaper campus life). After getting married, we bought a home together (for about the same monthly cost as I had been paying in rent; but we added twenty minutes to his commute in trade). Eventually, he worked his way up in the company so that I was able to quit working altogether, and after seventeen years, he retired from his position as a store manager - but he started in high school as a minimum wage employee.
Minimum wage is intended to be a starting point, a wage at which teenagers at their first job get paid, or someone who is still learning how to do the job gets paid. If you have been at a job for a year or more and you have gained experience, you show up on time and you work hard, but have not been given any kind of pay increase since you started, then I assure you that you can begin looking for a new job, as there are plenty of companies out there that will compensate their employees for a job well done. Just don't expect it to happen in the first thirty days!
I do, however, feel like there is another side of the story, that she is missing altogether. First off, she set up some ground rules for her experiment: like she would always have a car. There are seven people in our household and we have one vehicle (by choice). When my husband needs it, the children and I find things to do at home or we pile into strollers and wagons and we walk; my point? I think lots of people get by without cars, and I would have to say that even one for our family is a luxury that we pay highly for, not an absolute necessity. Skipping to the third rule (I'll get back to the second) Never be hungry! No missed meals for her; if she was hungry, and didn't have enough money, then she would use here ATM card and cheat. I'll talk about food options later.
Her second rule was that she would always have shelter; her experiment was set up for thirty days in each city, if she paid by the week or night and couldn't make enough to cover it, the experiment in that city would have failed. I'm not saying she should go without shelter, although there are many inexpensive options, but I do think that the major flaw in this type of experiment is the thirty day rule. She mentions at one point that she is working in a place where benefits don't begin until you've worked there for ninety days. This seems reasonable to me, since benefits like insurance and retirement plans are for long term employees, not transients.
I've made many notes, and I'm barely beginning to read this book, but for this post, I want to primarily discuss her premise; "...could a single mother leaving welfare survive without government assistance...". Her experiment to determine the answer is a thirty day test. I think that is unreasonable.
When I got married, my husband & I were both working for a fast food business, I was making minimum wage and he was making about 1 1/2 times that because he had gained "experience" and a "promotion". This didn't happen in the first thirty days. I was living in a basement (cheap campus life) and he was living with his parents (even cheaper campus life). After getting married, we bought a home together (for about the same monthly cost as I had been paying in rent; but we added twenty minutes to his commute in trade). Eventually, he worked his way up in the company so that I was able to quit working altogether, and after seventeen years, he retired from his position as a store manager - but he started in high school as a minimum wage employee.
Minimum wage is intended to be a starting point, a wage at which teenagers at their first job get paid, or someone who is still learning how to do the job gets paid. If you have been at a job for a year or more and you have gained experience, you show up on time and you work hard, but have not been given any kind of pay increase since you started, then I assure you that you can begin looking for a new job, as there are plenty of companies out there that will compensate their employees for a job well done. Just don't expect it to happen in the first thirty days!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Why we can't get by in America
I am starting this blog, not about the books I've written, or even about books I might be writing, but simply to get something off of my chest. I may add to it later, or this might be all I need to say, and then it won't bother me so much.
But, I picked up a book (at a yard sale - for a quarter) called "Nickel and Dimed: on (not) getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich.
Now, I have only begun to read this book, and I don't live where she lives, but her premise is that people can't survive on minimum wage. It's cover boasts a glowing review from Diana Henriques, of the The New York Times and even claims status as a New York Times Bestseller.
Recently, Don (my husband) saw a program on television documenting a couple trying to live in the city with each of them working a minimum wage job; to show how difficult it is.
I don't know when the documentary was filmed, and I didn't watch it, but in just the few examples of situations faced by this couple that Don told me about, I could think of several ways that they could have saved more and spent less. Based on the premise of this book (Nickel and Dimed) that I am about to set forth reading, I believe that there is a flaw in the overall reporting. Now, I say this without having read the book completely yet, but I believe that both Ehrenreich and the host of the documentary are coming from a world in which I don't live, and entering into a world that I am accustomed to. They struggles they face are more accurately attributed to an executive who has allowed him or herself to become accustomed to a certain standard of living (no offense to the wonderful people of New York City, but since the New York Times was so impressed with her book, I'll call this standard, New York City living). Then, they suddenly, without warning or preparation are thrown into an income bracket that closely resembles the average rural community like the one I currently reside in (for that purpose, I'll call this standard the small town rural living).
To make it even simpler, I'll put it the way my daughter does: some people are city folk and some people are country folk. This has nothing to do with where you actually live, but Summer explains it this way, "City folk get through with stuff, so they throw it out and get something new. Country folk use their stuff over and over again, and sometimes even pick up and use the stuff that the city folk threw out." I think that says it perfectly.
So, my premise is that if you have always lived like country folk, and know how to get by, you'll keep on getting by, no matter what the circumstances. But, if you have always lived like city folk and suddenly have to get by, it will take some getting used to, and won't be easy.
I have a lot going on right now, but my attempt is to read this book and answer her claims with the other side of the story. I may not get far, but that is where I'm headed with this blog and similar ones that may follow.
Example: Don said that in the documentary, the woman in the couple had a urinary tract infection and went to the emergency room: this cost them $600!!! plus that cost of a prescription antibiotic. My answer: Cranberry juice is less than $2 at most grocery stores and works as well as or better than most prescriptions. How do I know? I'm not a doctor, but I have been pregnant five times and every time I get pregnant, I get an infection, and cranberry juice works every time. Also, I network with other moms and women who do not normally have $600 for an emergency room visit nor do they have medical insurance. Lastly, I know that for every possible ill this sinful world has to offer, God has created something to cure it.
More to come... I hope.
But, I picked up a book (at a yard sale - for a quarter) called "Nickel and Dimed: on (not) getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich.
Now, I have only begun to read this book, and I don't live where she lives, but her premise is that people can't survive on minimum wage. It's cover boasts a glowing review from Diana Henriques, of the The New York Times and even claims status as a New York Times Bestseller.
Recently, Don (my husband) saw a program on television documenting a couple trying to live in the city with each of them working a minimum wage job; to show how difficult it is.
I don't know when the documentary was filmed, and I didn't watch it, but in just the few examples of situations faced by this couple that Don told me about, I could think of several ways that they could have saved more and spent less. Based on the premise of this book (Nickel and Dimed) that I am about to set forth reading, I believe that there is a flaw in the overall reporting. Now, I say this without having read the book completely yet, but I believe that both Ehrenreich and the host of the documentary are coming from a world in which I don't live, and entering into a world that I am accustomed to. They struggles they face are more accurately attributed to an executive who has allowed him or herself to become accustomed to a certain standard of living (no offense to the wonderful people of New York City, but since the New York Times was so impressed with her book, I'll call this standard, New York City living). Then, they suddenly, without warning or preparation are thrown into an income bracket that closely resembles the average rural community like the one I currently reside in (for that purpose, I'll call this standard the small town rural living).
To make it even simpler, I'll put it the way my daughter does: some people are city folk and some people are country folk. This has nothing to do with where you actually live, but Summer explains it this way, "City folk get through with stuff, so they throw it out and get something new. Country folk use their stuff over and over again, and sometimes even pick up and use the stuff that the city folk threw out." I think that says it perfectly.
So, my premise is that if you have always lived like country folk, and know how to get by, you'll keep on getting by, no matter what the circumstances. But, if you have always lived like city folk and suddenly have to get by, it will take some getting used to, and won't be easy.
I have a lot going on right now, but my attempt is to read this book and answer her claims with the other side of the story. I may not get far, but that is where I'm headed with this blog and similar ones that may follow.
Example: Don said that in the documentary, the woman in the couple had a urinary tract infection and went to the emergency room: this cost them $600!!! plus that cost of a prescription antibiotic. My answer: Cranberry juice is less than $2 at most grocery stores and works as well as or better than most prescriptions. How do I know? I'm not a doctor, but I have been pregnant five times and every time I get pregnant, I get an infection, and cranberry juice works every time. Also, I network with other moms and women who do not normally have $600 for an emergency room visit nor do they have medical insurance. Lastly, I know that for every possible ill this sinful world has to offer, God has created something to cure it.
More to come... I hope.
LIFE = LEARNING WHEREVER YOU ARE
LIFE =
LEARNING
WHEREVER YOU ARE!
That is our company motto, and we believe it to be true, but somehow
when it proves to be true, there is something pleasantly surprising
about it.
We were at the Ann Arbor Book Festival last weekend as managed to
plan a free field trip to the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts). I normally
put together lesson plans and activities around our educational
destinations (thus, the products available at vacationeducationbooks.com - we
even thought about writing one for the DIA - maybe someday).
Sometimes, I get caught unprepared on a field trip, and then I have
to rely on our motto to be true.
As usual, I noticed many educational elements of the Museum, but
being unprepared to discuss them, all I could do was take a mental note to
get more information once we were at home.
But, without any effort on my part - this field trip taught us all
something very important all on its own.
We saw many paintings, and as part of the DIA's new additions and
remodeling, the artwork often includes an explanation. One painting in
particular caught our attention. It was of "Echo", a woman, rejected,
flying through the air as though she'd been thrown. The despair on her face
was undeniable. Her story goes something like this...
Echo was in love with Narcissus, but because she was destined to only
repeat that which was spoken to her, could never tell Narcissus of her
love for him, and was rejected by him.
So, we had a long and "educational" discussion about not wanting to
be like Narcissus (narcissistic) and turning away those who would love
us because we never expressed love towards them. Also, we would want to
avoid being like Echo; always waiting for someone else to express love
to us first.
We learned a great deal about history, architecture, and art; not
just through paintings, but also pottery, sculpture, jewelry and furniture
from around the world. There is much to be learned from the exhibits
at the DIA, and I could have prepared much, but it's those unexpected
moments that remind us that all we have to do to be good teachers to our
children, is to BE THERE for those moments, because LIFE really does =
LEARNING WHEREVER YOU ARE.
From my family to yours,
Corinne Johnson, author, vacationeducationbooks.com
LEARNING
WHEREVER YOU ARE!
That is our company motto, and we believe it to be true, but somehow
when it proves to be true, there is something pleasantly surprising
about it.
We were at the Ann Arbor Book Festival last weekend as managed to
plan a free field trip to the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts). I normally
put together lesson plans and activities around our educational
destinations (thus, the products available at vacationeducationbooks.com - we
even thought about writing one for the DIA - maybe someday).
Sometimes, I get caught unprepared on a field trip, and then I have
to rely on our motto to be true.
As usual, I noticed many educational elements of the Museum, but
being unprepared to discuss them, all I could do was take a mental note to
get more information once we were at home.
But, without any effort on my part - this field trip taught us all
something very important all on its own.
We saw many paintings, and as part of the DIA's new additions and
remodeling, the artwork often includes an explanation. One painting in
particular caught our attention. It was of "Echo", a woman, rejected,
flying through the air as though she'd been thrown. The despair on her face
was undeniable. Her story goes something like this...
Echo was in love with Narcissus, but because she was destined to only
repeat that which was spoken to her, could never tell Narcissus of her
love for him, and was rejected by him.
So, we had a long and "educational" discussion about not wanting to
be like Narcissus (narcissistic) and turning away those who would love
us because we never expressed love towards them. Also, we would want to
avoid being like Echo; always waiting for someone else to express love
to us first.
We learned a great deal about history, architecture, and art; not
just through paintings, but also pottery, sculpture, jewelry and furniture
from around the world. There is much to be learned from the exhibits
at the DIA, and I could have prepared much, but it's those unexpected
moments that remind us that all we have to do to be good teachers to our
children, is to BE THERE for those moments, because LIFE really does =
LEARNING WHEREVER YOU ARE.
From my family to yours,
Corinne Johnson, author, vacationeducationbooks.com
Thursday, May 15, 2008
SMALL BUSINESS GRANT
WoW! God sure knows how to keep me on track and focused on Him. I've been torn in several directions lately. Trying to find time to write the next set of books, keep up with the blog, send out newsletters, market and sell books - while at the same time running an Ebay business just to keep the bills paid. When I think that the Ebay business is distracting me from the books and our ministry, God dumps more consignment items (sometimes even donations) on our door step - literally, they are just left at the door. When I think that we should pursue the Ebay business and maybe the books are just a pipe dream, then God opens doors in that direction. He never allows me to rely on either business or any earthly thing, but always keeps me wondering what He'll provide next, what He'll ask of me next.
Today, as I was focusing on Ebay and trying to figure out how many items had to sell to pay the bills; He sent Isaiah 55:9 "My ways are higher than your ways" - as if I didn't already know that, at least I should've already known that.
Then, we received an email stating that our business is on the semi-finalist list for a $1000 small business grant from Idea Cafe. The link in this blog will take you to that site and you can see us on the right hand side about the 6th one down on the list. So, we invite you to go check it out. We won't know for awhile if we win or not, there is still the finalist round to go through, but we plan to use the grant money to pay registration fees at homeschool conferences so that we can meet and talk with more of you.
Thanks and don't forget to check out our site at www.vacationeducationbooks.com
Corinne Johnson
Today, as I was focusing on Ebay and trying to figure out how many items had to sell to pay the bills; He sent Isaiah 55:9 "My ways are higher than your ways" - as if I didn't already know that, at least I should've already known that.
Then, we received an email stating that our business is on the semi-finalist list for a $1000 small business grant from Idea Cafe. The link in this blog will take you to that site and you can see us on the right hand side about the 6th one down on the list. So, we invite you to go check it out. We won't know for awhile if we win or not, there is still the finalist round to go through, but we plan to use the grant money to pay registration fees at homeschool conferences so that we can meet and talk with more of you.
Thanks and don't forget to check out our site at www.vacationeducationbooks.com
Corinne Johnson
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
For Families, Together is Better
We've been on the road a lot lately, and I often think of things to write, certain that as soon as it slows down a bit and the to'do list shortens, I'll post something great. But, then, here we are, having posted nothing in awhile and knowing I should. But, there is life, homeschooling, online sales, record keeping, website updates, answering emails, shipping products... and in the middle of all that is an almost two year old who demands my constant attention.
Experienced moms know this kid, he couldn't care less about me ten minutes after I leave the room, but acts like he'll die if he's not attached to me whenever he can see me.
He doesn't speak yet, but grunts a lot - if I didn't know better, I might consider him evidence for evolution (today he climbs the walls and furniture, grunts and screams for things he wants - also loves bananas - but over time, he will become a human being. I was gone for five days and he was "just fine" according to dad, but since my return, he is constantly on my hip, and fussing for this or that - all for my benefit, I'm sure.
At the other end of the spectrum is Summer, our oldest, who really proved herself this last weekend. She folded and handed out 300 flyers in two days, stepping out into the aisle to meet people; she didn't let anyone pass her by. She worked to draw people into our booth and sell them on our idea. She was a great help to me, and I look forward to working with her again this weekend.
She and I had the opportunity to spend five days together with everyone else at home working on things that need to be done here. We spent over 24 hours in the car driving, and two full days working the conference booth together. It was a great opportunity for our relationship to grow and for her dad and younger sister to realize how valuable she is around the house. They had to do a lot of extra work to make up for the two oldest women in the household being away.
We pray that our future trips will be together, working apart is hard. We all have a new appreciation for the dynamic of this family and how we work together. Hopefully, last weekend was our last trip apart.
Don't forget to check out our website to see where we will be next; we'd love to meet you. www.vacationeducationbooks.com
Experienced moms know this kid, he couldn't care less about me ten minutes after I leave the room, but acts like he'll die if he's not attached to me whenever he can see me.
He doesn't speak yet, but grunts a lot - if I didn't know better, I might consider him evidence for evolution (today he climbs the walls and furniture, grunts and screams for things he wants - also loves bananas - but over time, he will become a human being. I was gone for five days and he was "just fine" according to dad, but since my return, he is constantly on my hip, and fussing for this or that - all for my benefit, I'm sure.
At the other end of the spectrum is Summer, our oldest, who really proved herself this last weekend. She folded and handed out 300 flyers in two days, stepping out into the aisle to meet people; she didn't let anyone pass her by. She worked to draw people into our booth and sell them on our idea. She was a great help to me, and I look forward to working with her again this weekend.
She and I had the opportunity to spend five days together with everyone else at home working on things that need to be done here. We spent over 24 hours in the car driving, and two full days working the conference booth together. It was a great opportunity for our relationship to grow and for her dad and younger sister to realize how valuable she is around the house. They had to do a lot of extra work to make up for the two oldest women in the household being away.
We pray that our future trips will be together, working apart is hard. We all have a new appreciation for the dynamic of this family and how we work together. Hopefully, last weekend was our last trip apart.
Don't forget to check out our website to see where we will be next; we'd love to meet you. www.vacationeducationbooks.com
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