On Receiving Hate Mail

I've been cleaning out my room lately, picking out things that I can either sell or donate. There is a bulletin board at work where people post things they want to sell, and I posted my old toys and books on there for cheap, hoping that I could at least make some money off of it and keep myself afloat.

While I've gotten quite a number of people inquiring about my things and actually buying stuff off of me, there are also a few people who have gone out of their way to email me to tease and berate me for selling things they deem useless at cheap prices--even though most people have given me positive responses.

One of the things that the 'hate mail' has made me think about is the fact that people very easily look down on other people who they consider are being cheap. The people who have been teasing me make six figure sums annually. On the other hand, I'm making less than a tenth of that, yet I'm being teased for being cheap because I'm selling my old toys and books in order to pay for school and generally make ends meet without my parents' help so they can have one less thing to worry about. It's incredibly rude that people will go out of their way to berate you, behind the guise of an email address, because you're watching dollars.

I feel so incredibly upset that my parents have poor health and make minimum wage but treat people with respect, whereas some chump making a six figure salary will take time out of his day to insult me. It's probably childish for me to rant that life isn't fair, but there is nothing I want more than for my parents to have their health and not have to worry about finances. I carry a heavy heart everyday about it, and I don't appreciate it when people take that for granted and judge me instead.

I've taken up the issue with Human Resources and hope that this will go somewhere because it's not right for people to talk to me in an unprofessional and disrespectful manner. I hope this experience makes me a stronger person as well and teaches me how to stand up for myself against other people.

Selling Stuff

I'm in the midst of cleaning out all the junk in my room. The last time I thoroughly cleaned my room I was still in high school, and even then, I didn't get rid of everything I should have.

I've got textbooks, books, furniture, stuffed animals, cds, electronics, and all sorts of things that I'd like to let go of. I want to sell all of this off, which I'm learning how to do. It's not possible to have a garage sale in the middle of winter, so I'm trying to find ways to sell online. I'm trying to figure out how to price things properly too. How do you determine the price of a stuffed animal that's been sitting in your room for a few years? I don't know.

Still Kind of Around...

I haven't been on this blog in a long time but I've continued to save money. I just didn't document it as much. I saved enough for tuition and accomodation in the UK, and also threw more money at my student loans.

Even though I've been saving money like mad, I've also been spending more money than I'd like to. I'm working on stopping but it's all about finding some sort of balance between saving money and actually spending money on things that I care about. Like, for instance, I save money by bringing lunch to work. But when co-workers ask me to join them for lunch, I hate turning them down because I feel like I'm turning down an opportunity to get to know people outside of the office. But I know I have to turn them down so I'll have more money to spend abroad. (I just reread that last part. I said "turn down" three times in total. Apparently my education isn't teaching me to use a wider vocabulary.)

In other news, my dad gave me an airplane ticket using his points (or miles or whatever they're called) but I insisted on paying the taxes and fees. The total cost to me for the return flight? About $400. Yikes. At least it's better than the $1220 that I would have had to pay otherwise.

Oh yeah--new blog design that I got off the internet. (I would make something myself, but this one was so cute. It's a little juvenile but the style is very reflective of my character and stage in life.)