The Continuing Saga (Discovering Priorities and Saving My Sanity)

But of course, I couldn't continue the pace. I got moved to another department, and was miserable. I dropped down to part time, in order to save my sanity and teach more. And my stress level did drop. However, the part time insurance would make me regret my decision. It hardly covered any of my most recent bills, but whatever. So I'm bitter about my financial stupidity. But the bankruptcy has made it crystal clear what's most important to me. Shelter. Food. Clothing. Everything else is gravy. Doesn't matter if it's a fifty cent Redbox rental or discounted magazines, my financial mess has made me resent corporate America. I'm going to see just how cheaply I can live, as a form of rebellion. I'm not an economist, but even I knew if a country's economy was based on mindless, wasteful spending, and people lost their jobs and now longer had credit, the shit was going to hit the fan, and the economy would grind to a halt. People go on and on about “freedom”, and how America is the “freeist” country in the world, but it's all hogwash. Economic power is freedom. I want to be able to have a year's salary saved. It's a big goal, but if you had a year's salary in the bank, how would that make you feel? Would you go on a spending spree? Would you quit your job?