April Book Club Selection - Nickel and Dimed

I had been meaning to write about our book club selection for April and am just getting around to it. We read "Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich where she travels around the country, works minimum wage jobs and tries make a decent living on her income. It is an interesting book, but not completely compelling. Some books I am unable to put down, this was not one of them. It did make me think though. One aspect I didn't like was she only worked the job for one month. It is tough to see how much money you really need to live on when you are settling in and that question was never answered. Another aspect that didn't sit well with me was housing. She always opted for the least expensive apartment even if that meant she didn't have a complete kitchen (if any). That meant she would have to eat out a bit more thus adding to her expenses. If she had a kitchen, even if it cost $45 more a month, I would think she would realize the savings by cooking large batches of food and then freezing individual meals. I suppose her experience is representative of how some people choose to live, but I would hope if she is honestly trying to see if she can live on her income she would have been willing to explore these options.

What I liked about the book was the analysis at the end of the book. It was very interesting. I also think it's important to be reminded (again) that there is a whole population struggling to keep food on the table. We sometimes struggle about our bills and how to pay what when, but we never wonder if our children will be fed dinner. It makes me grateful that I was born into a family that valued education and gave me the opportunity to go to college. I have worked every job that Ehrenreich performed, but always had an end game. Those jobs were stepping stones in college or used to supplement my income in the post college/ early marriage years afterward and never the only way to pay my bills for years on end. It's good to look outside of my realm and to walk in someone else's shoes for a while (even if only for a month at a time). While not on the top of my list, I would recommend it.