When I was growing up, it was most definitely inside an incredibly safe 'bubble'. It was also a very small bubble. I had it pretty kushty I reckon, a roof over my head, a cosy room with no damp or fleas or leaking things (the perils of the student house), food bought and cooked for me every day (with nothing ever left to go mouldy in the fridge), my washing done (without the aid of a launderette and without my white underwear ever being dyed pink), my ironing folded neatly on the end of my bed at the end of each day (pffft, like I have time to bother with ironing anymore)... And all of this came at the cost of doing the washing up and keeping my room tidy. But of course, in the true angst-ridden teen fashion, I hated it. Retrospect is a wonderful gift.
Then came the time for the big U-N-I. After overcoming the initial terror of having to wash my own clothes and pay my own bills, it worked out OK. But pretty soon I found myself swanning around in another, albeit considerably more fluid, bubble: The University campus bubble (made doubly bubble-like by the fact that it was in Brighton aka The Party Capital). I can honestly say for those three years, I couldn't possibly have had it better financially. I was working part-time at a bank for a decent wage feeling awfully professional, and in addition to that I had a hefty chunk of lovely student loan coming in every three months. I could buy whatever I wanted (read: handbags), go wherever I wanted (read: pub), stay up as long as I wanted and, crucially, drink as much as I wanted (read: insane amounts of wine). My only worries were exams and men. And I thought this was the real world... Pfffft, I cringe at the naivety.
But then I stepped out of the student bubble at arguably the worst possible time into a less-than-ideal situation. So, I'm still a student (technically, although I prefer the term 'professional trainee') but I'm also expected to live and, crucially, pay like an adult which is proving almost impossible (though the student discount takes a the edge off a little). There's no help for trainee journalists you see, now if I was training to be a teacher, doctor or lawyer things would be different (I have a feeling the people in the know are trying to stop the ever-increasing ranks of journalists). Plus there is the ever-present and ever-descending dark cloud that is the credit crunch (cue horror-moviesque DER-DER-DEEEEEER). This makes the situation even more helpless, especially as we are fast-approaching outstaying our welcome at the Boyfriend's parents' house... Have you SEEN what's happening with Brighton rent prices?! Shocking.
So, it is with a rather pathetic (or in fact, non-existent) fanfare that I am 'welcomed' (ha ha) into the big scary and professional world of training, work, tax and credit crunching that I decide to share my thoughts online, not necessarily because I expect anyone to read them... maybe I want to help, maybe I want help, or maybe I'm just another blogger/journalist-in-the-making/wannabe columnist who expects my personal outlook on life to be vaguely interesting to others. You decide.
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I find it interesting that everyone keeps going on about how awful the "credit crunch" is but no-one ever seems to go into specifics of what it means to their life - surely if you're renting and don't need a massive loan or mortgage anytime soon you're not really affected by it?
ReplyDeleteto defend the author here a little, in this type of climate, a lot of people would have been first time buyers on the market place would now find it even harder to be able to get a mortgage. i do think that it is important to site this here as it does cause a diffrence to the out look of people who are around this age group. even short term loans and credit card options are now a lot higher a bar to clear. in short the idea brought across is simple, times are hard. money that is not already ear marked, even before its hit the bank, is very hard to find.
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