FRUSTRATED WITH LIFE:, "Money"

“If you can make one heap of all your winnings and risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss, and lose and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss….”

Rudyard Kipling, “If”

“If you’re not happy with what you have, imagine not having it.”

MONEY Statistic

Pew Research Center (2014): Richer countries are happier, but only to a point. Germans, much richer than Malaysians, are only slightly happier.

Chapter 6:
Money

“Money makes the world go around…” so went a popular song from the musical Cabaret. When you don’t have it, your world seems to come to a stop. When that happens, you have to do something, “by hook or by crook,” to make ends meet, to keep life’s wheels turning.

You get a job. Problem solved? Not quite. As #35 tells us, you turn 56 and get replaced by a 23-year-old. Or you lose your job as a Sales and Marketing Manager when the economy tanks, and, as does #469, you lament:

The question i asked myself is;

1.     Why was i born in this country?

2.     Why is life unfair to certain set of people?

3.     Does it mean i am not hard working enough?

4.     Does it mean i am not spiritual enough?

5.     Does it mean i am lazy?

To which we might answer:

1.     Luck. Would you be better off in Bangladesh?

2.     Bad luck. The day #38 did not play the lottery was the day his six-digit pick was chosen.

3.     Hard work helps but may not be enough. Luck can trump effort and talent.

4.     Spirituality may not improve your income, but it can improve your outlook.

5.     Only you know whether you are working as hard as is reasonable.

Just when #165 thought he’d hit rock bottom, his bank’s ATM took $200 instead of giving it.

They love their parents, but they are hoping to inherit…as soon as possible (#398).

It is often easier to save money than to earn it. The New England adage applies, “Make do. Do without. Use it up. Wear it out.” Still, we like to think of abundance rather than scarcity, in which case, one must ask oneself, “What can I do for others that they would pay me for?”

Do not take literally the advice of notorious bank-robber Willie Sutton, however. When asked why he robbed banks, he replied, “That’s where the money is.”

Douglas Winslow Cooper, Ph.D.

#4

i have no money...

#24

profiting from the misfortune of others will only create bad luck for you. for every person you profit from, bad karma pays back 10 times. the odds are against you, and you know who you are.

#27

so tired of hearing people's sob stories about how broke they are because of xyz. Go get a job, start a business, do SOMETHING to fix your situation.

#35

I was just replaced by a snot-nosed 23 year old right out of school. What can a 56 year old engineer do for a job in today's economy. Walmart hired me before, I hope they're hiring again.

#38

After playing the same numbers 4, 7, 17, 40, 42, 44 every week in the ny lottery for 6 years, i miss one lousy day, May 25th. Guess what? FML!!!!!!!!!

#48

I am frustrated because I am in sales and my manager always gives me false hope. She always convices me that if I work harder I will make a good living. Funny how she always skirts away from showing me all the sales she makes. I am just mad that I have a lot of time and gas money over her.

#60

I have no idea how I'm going to make ends meet this month... I'm in some deep financial hell...all because of my girlfriend, whom I'm still uncertain if she was using me for the $ all along (alas, I love her). She always offers to help me with monetary affairs, but is never there to actually commit to the plan, leaving me with the whole burden.

My maxed-out credit cards? Charged for her sake. And when it came time to pay, she promised to help. NOPE. Now I've got creditors threatening arbitration on me.

Our smartphone plan together? She wanted to be on my plan because she thought her parents would stop paying. I told her to pay half of it. She agreed. NOPE. I've paid the WHOLE cell phone bill for 8 months.

FML

#80

I am so frustrated right now I feel like giving up on life completely. My boyfriend has managed to screw up all of our finances his wages are being garnished as well as being sued and I am left trying to struggle to make ends meet,and not doing a great job at this...money only goes so far. I try talking to him and all he says is I know. I cant do this anymore I am drowning in anger and see no point in trying anymore with anything. It's like he is this bad luck charm and I am being punished for something. I cant even leave because I have no money to leave now and am stuck here.

#107

First I lose my income for two and a half months and now my boyfriend has lost his job, leaving us almost entierly without money and not enough to keep us going. I’ve studied hard to get the grade I need so I may continue my studies later this year, but I am failing. I feel I am so stuck with my studies and everything else is just sucking away my energy. Then just generally one misfortune after another has struck us these past few months... Okay, Life, I get the point. I need to work harder... but PLEASE... give me a breather here, will you?

#116

Its never ending ... The expenses,bills,credit card payments,instalments ... as tough this life is meant for continuously paying others when your own incomes are dwindling away along with savings and other possessions. soon I think everything will be finished with massive negative balance of payments. Only if somebody would run over me then this cycle would stop !!!

#138

I work hard everyday! I’m 25 work two jobs and go to school. I don’t feel like there is a exact plane to getting rich. Go the school get a good job, and make money there has to be another way seriously. People can’t be this closed minded. At one of my jobs my manager doesn’t do anything all she does is get on Facebook, talk to men on her phone and get pay raises for the work that i do. She gets payed way more than me and doesn’t do a damn thing. I do all her work plus mine and the boss things she does work. I’m so sick of busting my ass to get a middle wage job. Has to be another way. I’m going to be rich one day i have the drive, I can see the door but theres no key to open it, I’m missing something important the separates the middle class hard workers from the rich, what is it. Im going to find it ASAP.

#142

I’m frustrated!!! My health is good, I have a couple of good friends, but I’m broke as hell and see no end. I live in San Francisco and I was lucky enough to live in a building that was taken out of rent control so my crappy studio apartment went from $650 to $1100. I also had an emergency dental surgery that cost 7,000 so that threw me into debt hell from putting it on credit cards and when I worked two full time jobs, the IRS taxed the living hell out of me although I had $150 extra taken out. It’s all my fault but it does feel good to vent. Bill Gates help a brother out if you read this.

#158

I am very honest and hardworking skilled in handle to all difficulties. Done all efforts without asking money. but with this nature, Everybody use me and after gaining more profit thrown me out why? at the end result I want to sucide or some time Killed them which are misbehave with me..

#165

I am frustrated!! It seems as if money hates my guts and when it sees my coming it runs the other way. Or when I finally get a few dollars something needs to be fixed, or someone I owe money to from 30 years ago pops up. I dont know what the problem is but why is it that I have such huge money problems. I suffered paying all my money out the day I got paid. I had to wait two weeks to get paid again. I struggled, I mean I struggled for two weeks and finally my check was placed in my account. I got to the ATM machine to finally get my money out, the ATM machine took $200 from me! I went into hysteria!! I'm so tired of being in this bad bad bad financial situation. Someone had an accident with my car and then my insurance went up. I mean I am so tired!! This is why people lose it!! This forum aint gonna help because when I finish this comment Im goin right back to struggling again!! Im so tired, wearied, worn out, stressed, discouraged, etc.,etc., etc.,

#284

I am frustrated with life where i feel so skilled 115k last year and no job in 3 months. Why . I am running out of money with a child in private Christian school and I am suffocating

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Excerpted from Guzman and Cooper (2017), FRUSTRATED WITH LIFE? YOU ARE NOT ALONE! based on years of blog entries at http://FrustratedWithLife.com. The book is available in paperback at amazon.com.