I'm so sick of being poor

[Honeycombe8]

68. You are changing careers to a higher paying, more secure one?

This is a good move. So you know that your poverty is not permanent, since you are taking steps to improve your situation. How much longer do you have to go? How old are you?I

I'm worried about your dog. It costs money to have pets. Medical care is as important as food, and med. care costs. I hope you've shopped around and found the cheapest vet in your area.

When you finish your education, you will have something to use to move ahead and start making more money. You're working while going to school? Are you female or male? I ask because I am a paralegal and know that legal secretaries get paid pretty well. That's because it is hard and it is a specialty. Those jobs also come with good benefits, usually. No pensions, but good insurance, 401k law firm matching often, vacation days and holidays, and the opportunity for overtime so you can earn extra money. NO SCHOOL IS NECESSARY FOR LEARNING THAT OCCUPATION. The trick is getting that first job, with no experience. I assume you know computers and MS office? If you know that, yu can get a lower level or receptionist job in a law firm....and you're in. From there you can work yourself into higher level legal secretary jobs. After secretaries have been at my firm for 10 or more years, it's not unusual for them to get paid over $60,000 a year, not counting 401k benefits and overtime. Firms also provide dental insurance, usu. for a monthly premium but sometimes they will pay for it.

Central air is very expensive, but is considered part of the cost of living expenses in my hot area. It's the same as any other utility, like water. My central air unit was blowing but not cooling recently. It turned out to be the breaker. I could flip it several times and get it to work, but ac man told me that meant the breaker was weak and old and needed to be replaced. A/C repairmen don't do that, so I had to call an electrician. I called an electrician...he replaced the old weak breaker outside (the one for the compressor), and voila, that was it, and it works.

THERE ARE WINDOW A/C UNITS, which are MUCH cheaper to run than central units. THERE ARE ALSO PORTABLE UNITS, but you would need to stick the hose thing outside or in a pail or something. You caneither of those things on sale at Sears, Home Depot....maybe even Walmart. The window a/c units need to be installed. Portable units - you just carry it around and put it in various places. They can be pricey but they pay for themselves after time, and they also don't cost much to run. You can put it in your bedroom, close the door, and you and your dog can sleep in a cool place. You can also leave it running during the day and leave your dog in that closed off room.

I have both a central and window a/c. I use the window a/c to supplement. I turn the central unit temp higher at night, close my bedroom door, turn the window unit on, and me and my dogs have a cool room to sleep in. It has helped keep my bills lower.

Good luck.