The recession is making us fat!!!!!!!!!!!

Over the last few decades, society has battled weight. We've created fitness crazes, built expensive gyms, and even incorporated exercising into video games. But at least then, we at least had money to waste on diets and get-thin-quick schemes. Now, most of us can't afford to buy a sustainable amount of food that is healthy for us. Instead, we buy the junk food we can get for cheap and binge-eat our depression over the crappy economy. We're severely damaging our health and yet we don't even have health care. This has got to end soon......

Craigslist Job Scams

In a time where the job market has taken a turn for the worse and people are more desperate than ever, scam artists are having a field day! If you're like me, you realized a long time ago that in addition to the traditional job posting sites, craigslist is an excellent job resource. I found my first post-college job on craigslist and have been using it ever since.The problem is, for every amazing job that can be found on craigslist, there are five fake/scam ones. If you've been searching in the admin/clerical section, I'm sure you've seen one particular scam several times. You know the one! They put up a posting for an Administrative Assistant, Personal Assistant, Receptionist, Office Manager, etc. and you email them in hopes of landing that perfect office job. You get a reply saying they're a busy exec living in another country or just don't have the time to perform the task, so they need you to collect and transfer funds for them. They ask for all of your information, leaving you to believe its totally legit. You think get told you're gonna be sent a check right away. You think, "Wow! What's the catch?" The check will be for $1000-$2000, with you instructed to immediately deduct your fee of $200, etc. and wire transfer them or a "client" the rest, emailing them as soon as you do so. The catch is, my friend, that after a few hours of completing this process your bank will be calling you to tell you that that check was bad, and you are liable for the full amount withdrawn. So instead of having $200+, you're now out of $1000-$2000 and the "company" that you were "hired" by will vanish, never to be heard of again. And its not just your money you could lose. People's identities are being stolen as well! Now, all of this sounds crazy, but after doing a google search I found that many people are falling for it, and these scam artists are making off like bandits! Don't let this job market make you act foolishly! If any job posting sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.

The Job Search

Growing up, everyone told me that if I wanted to get a good job one day, I would have to go to college. Taking their advice to heart, I spent four years doing everything possible to graduate on time. I succeeded. So now I should have a great job and on my way to building a financial future, right? WRONG!!!! I graduated at the beginning of the recession, luckily landing a temporary job, but having it only last 6 months. A few more temp jobs later and I'm in worse shape then ever. Now, looking for a job IS my full-time job. I spend hours upon hours sending out my resume', filling out applications, and hoping and praying for the opportunity for an interview. I work away, bitterly noting that many people that never stepped foot on a college campus are working and making good money. Makes me think about whether or not I wasted four years where I could have jumped into retail and worked my way up to a managers' position. Instead, I'm jobless, four years of honors and achievement meaning nothing due to a "lack of experience". How will we post-graduates ever gain the necessary experience for the jobs out there if we cannot find a job in the first place? A few years ago, living a life of unemployment was a seemingly frowned-upon choice. Now, its a way of life for many of us just trying to make it.