The fact of the matter is, living life in New York City can be difficult for even rich people.
So when you're facing down monstrous college debt and trying to make it work in this expensive city, things tend to get exponentially more difficult.
The good news, though, is that you're not alone.
Today, 42% of students at public colleges and 88% of students at private colleges take out loans to afford their education.
So read on and commiserate with us about the 8 struggles of never having enough money in NYC.
1. Trying to use your college education in everyday life
No, figuring out tips at restaurants and the 25% off sale at H&M doesn't count as utilizing your advanced knowledge of calculus.
And yes, you are dismayed that you've yet to find a way to use that silly periodic table in your every day life.
Whenever your friends complain about being hungover, you try to quell their ails by quoting Dante, Shakespeare, and Judith Butler. And no one wants to hear it.
The best way you've found to quiet your overwhelming anxiety that you're not using the college education you paid so much money for? Having extremely intellectual discussions with your stoner friends, obviously.
Does that work? Only sometimes.
2. You need experience to get experience
So now you've spent thousands of dollars getting into debt to afford your education.
And every job you apply to wants you to have experience to gain experience.
But you have all these towering loans. So you can't afford to toil away at an unpaid internship to gain the experience you need to make money. #TheStruggle
3. When your friends plan trips to Europe
Or Iceland, South Africa, and Australia. And they're like, "Do you want to come? We're booking on Friday."
And outloud you're like, "Maybe I'll book on my own next week!" But in you're head you're like, "I need to pay my rent. And my college debt. So no, I won't really book on Friday."
And the whole time, you know how this is really going to go. Up until the last minute, you are going to pretend you're going with your friends on this trip.
And then you're going to look at their pictures on Facebook from your couch and hate your life. #FOMO
4. Counting every luxury in debt
And you Just. Can't. Stop.
You're in the beer section at Duane Reade, deciding what to buy, when your mind spirals out of control.
If a case of beer costs $30, and you owe the government $90,000, then it would only take 3,000 cases of beer for you to pay back your debt.
You usually wind up telling your inner monologue to shut up. Then you just buy the case of Budweiser and chug all of them to forget about your college debt.
Thanks for nothing, college education.
5. When old people are like, "When I was your age, I just worked hard and didn't complain."
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And you're like, yeah, but college tuition costs have risen by 538% since 1985.
In 1974, minimum wage was $2/hour, and tuition at Yale was $2,550. So if a student worked four hours a day at minimum wage, they could afford Yale.
Today, minimum wage is $7.25, and Yale's tuition is $63,250.
So today, a student would have to work 23 hours a day, seven days a week to afford Yale on minimum wage.
Which is obviously not a feasible number of hours.
There is good news, though. Minimum wage for fast food workers in NYC was recently mandated to rise to $15 by December 31st, 2018.
Which means if Yale's tuition stays the same until 2018 (which it totally won't) then a student would only have to work eleven hours a day to afford Yale. Hooray!
6. Guilt
The emotional effort of going out to eat, ordering a second drink, and buying groceries is almost too much to take.
Facing down a mountain of guilt every time you buy new clothes, take a taxi, and pay for concert tickets is almost as extreme as the joy you feel when you get things for free.
Luckily, there are ways to get around dropping mountains of cash every time you want to have fun. Click here to learn how to life hack the hell out of this city.
7. Golden handcuffs
You really wish you could work for $30,000 at a really idealistic company fighting for human rights to try and make a difference in this world.
But instead you have to work for a sleazy advertising agency that's able to pay you more. Since, you know, that whole student debt thing.
8. You sort of want to sue someone
Like if you were in a crosswalk and someone tapped you, and very gently broke your leg with their car. Then you could sue them for the precise amount of money you owe the government.
That'd be great, right? But do you really want that? Sometimes, you do.
And then you realize, this is New York Effin' City. The hustle's sold separately, right?
The struggle is way too real. Check out 8 Struggles of Apartment Hunting in NYC.