Chapter 5. Running to Stand Still

Was I actually seriously considering working part-time fast food hours to save enough money for Christmas gifts, simply because it was September and I had less money than I had at the start of the year? For someone making just shy of $50,000 a year, was this really going to help make ends meet, or was it to continue to fund a lifestyle that exceeded what I brought in? I thought about it. Then I lifted my pen and started to fill out the application.

September 2004

I wound up not taking that nonsensical fast food job. I simply didn’t go to the interview. But the point is still obvious. I was running in place. I didn’t have enough money.

How could this possibly happen? I held a college degree and had a full-time ...

Get The Simple Dollar: How One Man Wiped Out His Debts and Achieved the Life of His Dreams now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.