It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Or is it? All the Christmas music and people accruing debt, especially for those who may have below-median incomes. With today’s cost of living, even individuals bringing in around $100,000 a year may still feel the pressure.

Twenty years ago, we could live extremely comfortably on this amount of money. We could plan our retirements, and as long as we lived reasonably, we could probably have our mortgages paid off by retirement. But now, what?

Organizations and recruiters alike wonder why employees are not staying longer in positions. They question why people are in roles for much shorter periods of time than generations before us.

1. Leadership and out-of-touch executives

2. Pay

3. No growth opportunities

   
   

However, my belief is that it is mostly pay. Why? Because our salaries are not keeping up with inflation and the cost of living. My previous blog, Cost of Living & Stagnant Salaries: Stronger Together, We Deserve Better, addresses this issue directly.

Is It the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

For many people, this season is filled with both hope and dread. There is the stress of meeting the status quo, of having the ability to buy everyone gifts. This year, I have seen countless social media posts where people are reaching out to their communities asking for financial assistance.

To make matters worse, there are mean-spirited individuals making derogatory comments toward these people, telling them to “get a job,” without ever asking for their story. Just cold, heartless assumptions made without any information to support these extremely biased judgments.

This is no different from the lewd comments about people who receive government assistance, whether it be SNAP (food stamps) or other forms of support. The commentary around these issues is often completely misaligned. Because guess what?

The government already has a monopoly on your money. If you work for an organization, your taxes are taken before you ever see your paycheck. Your tax responsibility is not going to decrease simply because the government reduces assistance or tightens eligibility requirements.

They will simply allocate those funds elsewhere.

Sure, there may be a few people trying to game the system, or who are unwilling to work. But you know what? I have lived in this world for over four decades, and I have never personally encountered these individuals. It is likely not as common as people like to believe. People need a hand up sometimes.

I Am a Current and Grateful Recipient of SNAP:

I have been receiving SNAP benefits for a few months now. I have been actively seeking employment, doing my best to obtain clients for my newly registered businesses, Words We Write and Unstoppable Accounting & Consultancy LLC, and selling copies of my Seeds of Hope poetry eBook. I understand these businesses will take time to build.

However, sending out hundreds of resumes each week, with intention and customization, in this extremely challenging job market has not yet produced results.

I have interviewed at places like Chick-fil-A and even Cook Out. I have been willing to start at lower-level positions and even consider a career change. Even roles I was confident I had, making it to final rounds, have left me in silence. Final-round interviews are incredibly competitive. You know you are a top candidate, and sometimes it simply comes down to chance.

I hold a Bachelor of Science in Business, a Master of Science in Information Technology Management, a CAPM certification, a Data Analytics certification, and more. While I believe my education helps get me in the door for interviews, it clearly is not a deciding factor when it comes to receiving an offer.

Be Humble: Everything Can Be Taken From You in the Blink of an Eye!

This is where it becomes clear that many negative voices either have an impoverished mindset or are completely out of touch with reality. I speak about mindset in my article, Real Life Talks with Annie: Poverty Is a Mindset.

Anything and everything a person has can be lost overnight. Through theft, natural disasters, fires, or loss of employment. It is astonishing how quickly people judge when nothing in this world is guaranteed.

I do not wish this kind of loss on anyone. But people should approach others with empathy before telling someone to “get a job,” especially when their circumstances are completely unknown.

Even on posts where I have promoted my blog and my book, people have told me to get a job. They do not know me or my story. And frankly, why would selling a product or service justify such comments in the first place?

I am moving forward and taking every lesson from what I am currently experiencing. It has not been easy.

More About Annie

So here is where I share a little more about myself and my story, at least until I finish my next book, The True Life Story of Little Orphan Annie: There Is No Daddy Warbucks.

My journey taught me to embrace change in order to grow and persevere. At twelve years old, I lost my mother, and my father struggled with alcoholism. I faced and overcame homelessness not just as a teenager, but also as a young adult, and again in my thirties. I was forced out of high school by gangs. As a teenager, I was also human trafficked and dosed with hard drugs against my consent, which led to an early life of addiction.

Yet despite all of this, I stand before you today as a testament to resilience and hope. I have lived a life of recovery for two decades.

It took me nearly two decades to complete my bachelor’s degree, and just a year and a half to complete my master’s degree. Life is a journey. Each one of our paths has led us right here, in time, to this present moment. While we often give credit to resilience, perseverance, and personal growth, which are powerful attributes that support us through life and education, one attribute is often overlooked.

That attribute is the ability to embrace change. The ability to adapt in an ever-evolving world is perhaps the most important attribute of all.

I share this part of my story to say this: stop judging others. You do not know where they came from or what they had to endure and overcome.

How in the hell do you think I FEEL right now, with all that I have been working for on the line again!  With a growing teenage boy at home who needs to be fed and cared for? So have a heart. And if you are not willing to offer a kind word or hope, then simply leave people alone.

We do not need you.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Feliz Navidad, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy New Year to you!

Love always,

Annie Marie