Commentary on Nickel And Dimed Essay

The book Nickel and Dimed is a book that really shows you a different perspective of how some peoples life really is. It humbles you into analyzing how your life compares to other peoples lives that might not have the same advantages as you. You never know what the person behind the cash register at a grocery store is really going through. In this book Barbara Ehrenreich becomes curious of what it would be like to make ends meet with low paying jobs. Barbara moved to three different places in completing this project. She went through many struggles, both physically and mentally by taking low paying jobs. She really did a great job in this book showing other people the difficulties of trying to survive when you are working at minimum wage. It not only reminded me of what it was like to make ends meet but it also made me appreciate workers like the ones Barbara Ehrenreich worked with.

When Barbara was working in Florida she struggled to get started to even get a job. She had to basically take what ever job was available rather than the ones she preferred. She ended up waiting tables at two restaurants and working as a maid. It eventually became too physically demanding for her to continue. I can relate with what she went through, because I moved out on my own into the world when I was only sixteen years old. Although, I had a different advantage of living with my aunt Marta, I was still enforced to pay rent, my own food, and my own toiletries. I was also still trying to complete my high school education. This was one of the greatest struggles that I have ever had in my life. Financially I barely made it, so I had to give up going to school and get a full time job. This in itself was also a great challenge because I had to overcome an obstacle that Barbara Ehrenreich didnt have any problems with. I didnt know where to even begin to get a job, and who would hire me. I had no credit to get a car and without a car I could not get a job. Therefore, I had no option but to rely on my friends to drive me to work. There were also some days that I had to walk several miles to get home. I later took a job at a grocery store. The pay I received there was not enough to pay my bills. So I began working at a restaurant and although I got paid less than at the grocery store I got a little more from the tips I received from waiting tables.Yet, this was one of the most strenuous and demanding jobs I ever took. Like Barbara I had to work long hours with hardly any breaks at all. This eventually made me realize that I was too young to do this for the rest of my life.

Barbara then decided to move to Maine. In this city, she found a job with The Maids, a residential housekeeping service. She also took a job as a dietary aide in a nursing home. She knew she would have to take two jobs to meet her goals. She ended up having to work seven days a week. The housekeeping position proved to be physically demanding as well as low paying, and Barbara also felt the job to be degrading to her. I also began to look for another alternative. I found a better job at a telemarketing company, where you actually have a chance to move up in positions. Although I never became a manager, I was at least able to sit down. My pay was still not that great but I knew I was gaining experience and skills at this job that would be useful later down the road. It did manage to keep my interest for about one year but it started to get repetitive. I did not have half the stress as being a waitress but you eventually get tired of scamming people into buying something that you, yourself would never buy. While at this job I still had no insurance and became sick several times. I couldnt risk going to the Doctors office for threat of losing my job and having no money to pay for the office visit. I realize that when people like Barbara and I, are in this type of poverty, you cant afford to be picky about what type of jobs you are offered, you just have to be thankful that you have one; Thus causing us to over look the danger that the job might put you in.

Barbara finally attempts to find a better job and an affordable place to live by moving to Minnesota. She is hired by Wal-Mart as a soft lines worker, where she places clothes back on the racks. But unfortunately she discovers that Minnesota has a low apartment vacancy rate and thus making her stay in a rundown motel that causes her to lose valuable sleep because of things like the boltless door and no screens on the window. This eventually affects her job. She eventually moves into a nice extended hotel. She later realizes that her work at Wal-Mart is repetitive and that she and the other workers are working way too hard for the low paying wages they are given. So she eventually quits at the end of the month thus ending the long journey that Barbara was on to make this book. But unlike any other person Barbara has the choice to quit this life and go back to being a journalist. In this poverty level no real person would have had this choice to fall back on. Although like Barbara, I also became bored and tired of doing the same thing everyday with no end. And eventually my aunt, Marta, decides to raise my rent by $100 more than what I was already paying. And at this time in my life I had a boyfriend that had helped me buy a car. I soon realized that if I wanted to continue living on my own, I would not be able to afford it any longer. I then made the decision to move into my boyfriends apartment. It didnt take a rocket scientist to figure that two peoples incomes was much easier to afford rent, car payments and other utilities than on one income alone.

This book really reminded me of how difficult it was to survive when you are working on a minimum wage. It also made me realize that in what ever situation or level of poverty you are in, you will always have choices to make. Making the right choice will determine your survival. I believe that if people make bad choices purposely, than they really cant complain about the level of poverty they are in because they chose to be there and stay there. I also believe like in my situation, it is common for young people or poor people to co-depend on another to get by. In the book Barbara didnt have anyone to co-depend on. That is why it was even more difficult for her to afford a place to live, and that is why she was forced to rent rooms in motels on a weekly rate. I also think that the working poor in this country, like Barbara demonstrated in her book, face serious health problems because a lot of low paying jobs dont offer health insurance. I strongly believe that all full-time jobs should have to legally offer healthcare. I really like the way that Barbara put this in her book, If you have no money for health insurance, you go without routine care or prescription drugs and end up paying the price.. (27) It is not fair to dedicate so much time and energy and practically kill yourself for your employer and not be rewarded with basic human needs in return.