James’s $10k Debt

What are we thinking living like this?

I make $55,000 working as an engineer in DC. I finished my master’s in December 2007 with around $50k in loans.

My grandmother died, and we used that money to pay off loans. Now I’m working on about $10k in credit card debt, mostly from being unemployed/underemployed for about 18 months.

I got lucky, I’m 30 now and soon to be debt free for the first time. My plan is to get the hell out of DC, buy land in a small town, and work part-time so I can actually enjoy my life.

School was such a scam, I totally regret it now. All these working years have been pretty miserable, and I don’t have any money to show for it. I’ve lost faith in our whole system of growing capitalism and consumerism, so I don’t think working in an office is the right thing for me. I agree more with anarchists and degrowth folks now, so I’d like to live on much less money. All this working & shopping is so terrible for society and the rest of the environment. The city makes me depressed now.

What are we thinking living like this?