A reality that became mine after getting out of the Air Force. For eight years, I made more than I needed, and managed to save a bunch, so I am technically not in the same boat as the individuals described above.
However, my income is currently woefully inadequate. I got hired on by UPS at the beginning of December, and I've been making $750 a month. Fortunately, my recurring expenses are low, but there are always unexpected ones. The last time I was in this boat was in 2005, when I was making about the same, and I thought how wonderful it would be if I could just make enough to have a bit left over after paying all the bills.
I now find myself calculating mileages, between work and home, and other locations I frequent, such as the gym, to see whether it would be better to go home for free dinner after school, or get something off the dollar menu at McDonalds before going to work.
The silver lining is that I do have money I can draw from, though I'm staunchly resolute not to do so unless it can't be helped; and also, there will be future opportunities to move up at work, and regular (shitty) raises. A couple of weeks after I started, I found out that if I memorized a bunch of zip codes, I'd have an opportunity to do a job paying me a dollar extra an hour, which may not seem like much, but everything adds up. So I took the test and I'm currently making $11/hr.
As soon as they let me, I'll be applying for a management position, and at that point I'll be making enough to start being able to put extra money away in my retirement accounts again.
Fortunately, the military is paying for my books and tuition, but parking at the college is fucking ridiculous. Last semester, I paid $338 for parking. That breaks down to over $21 a week. And I was only there twice a week.
Anyway, I'm thankful I actually have a job, financial knowledge, and a solid nest egg. So many others don't.
