I'm irresponsible with money

[scfr]

If no jobs are available, then what about volunteering your time with something that interests you? Future employers will be impressed that you put your time to good use, and volunteering sometimes leads to paid work. Also, you will have less time for partying which would be helpful for you on many levels. This may not be exactly your cup of tea, but think about volunteering helping out the homeless or indigent elderly. It may open your eyes to see where you DON"T want to end up.

[scfr]

Y'know what? You're a real dick Steve. You don't need to take a moral axe view on drugs just because you don't do them. Have you ever tried weed? If not then you don't have a leg to stand on, you're just going on assumptions, propaganda and what other people say.

disneysteve is 100% qualified to comment on this. As a family physician, he can speak with authority on the ill effects drugs and excess drink have on one's health.

[scfr]

I'm horrible at paying my debts. When a friend owes me money I usually forget or just spend the money anyway which results in them getting pissed off at me.

Good friends are worth more than any amount of money. How do you remember other important dates or things in your life? I'm an old fart so I write them on my calendar. Lots of people put reminders on their cell phones. Whatever you have to do, do it. I am still friends that with 4 girls that I met over 40 years ago ... Their friendship is priceless to me. Take it from an old broad, don't screw your friends, even if it's "by accident." Do whatever will work for you to remember.

[bjl584]

Y'know what? You're a ******** Steve. You don't need to take a moral axe view on drugs just because you don't do them. Have you ever tried weed? If not then you don't have a leg to stand on, you're just going on assumptions, propaganda and what other people say.

Stop and think about the following:

1) You are 17 therefore you don't know much about the real world yet. You are unemployed and your parents give you money. Spend a few years on your own paying a mortgage, then come back and tell us about how the world works.

2) Maybe if you didn't use drugs and alcohol at such an early age, then you wouldn't have felt it necessary to come to an internet board asking advice for all of your financial woes. Maybe if you were sober and hardworking you would be just fine financially speaking.

3) One doesn't need to use drugs or do any other activity in order to pass judgement upon it. There is right and wrong in this world. Those that can recognize the difference between them and make sound judgements and choices are typically the ones that will get ahead and live prosperous lives.

[JoeP]

You don't have a money problem. Fix your life problems, and then come back. Then you will realize that what the advice given here actually makes sense.

[disneysteve]

Have you ever tried weed? If not then you don't have a leg to stand on, you're just going on assumptions, propaganda and what other people say.

One doesn't need to use drugs or do any other activity in order to pass judgement upon it. There is right and wrong in this world.

I loved that comment. I don't do drugs so I'm not qualified to say they're bad for you. I don't snort coke or shoot heroin either. Does that mean I'm not qualified to say you shouldn't do those things?

Ah, to be 17 again and convinced that I know everything about everything.

[BuckyBadger]

Hold on there, Steve -- I think you're giving 17 year old a bad rap. I certainly wasn't anything like this kid when I was 17!

[SeanH]

I think there's a tendency when you are young to believe that social convention doesn't exist or that because you or people like you believe something is acceptable therefore older people probably do the same. As much as I wanted this to be true, raged against the unjustice of it, and yelled it at my mother - it wasn't the case.

Young men think old men are fools. Old men know young men are fools.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I agree with you that connections through friends and family raise your chances of finding a first job. So let everyone know that you really want a job and ask them frankly to let you know if any possibilities come to their attention.

Because you feel like you do not already have good connections through friends and family, try to make more and different friends.

Do you know of any online services where entry level jobs are posted? Some might be one-time only jobs, but they can be worth taking not only for the cash, but to expand your awareness of what work is out there and to expand your connections. Where I am, those kinds of jobs might include things like delivering advertising packets door-to-door for a week in targeted neighborhoods, taking inventory for a weekend at a retail store, packaging promotional items for a mailing service for three months, unloading a small itinerant stage show one day, cleaning up a construction site and lifting lumber and other materials to where the skilled workers need them, planting seedlings into pots in a greenhouse four weeks in spring, etc. Many kinds of entry level work! You might find more permanent entry level jobs listed online as well. But sometimes the temporaty jobs lead you to full time, regular work.

Also, post your own ads! Let people know you are available. Do that as often as allowed on the sites without being obnoxiously frequent. Change the wording from time to time and mention different things you can do.

Once I was at an agency that places people in temporary work. I was there to register and to take exams for office skills. While in a waiting room, another job-seeker told me of an open job. The next day I went to the company he told me about and was hired on the spot. That was for an entry level job...You just never know when a connection will turn up. In this case it was from a total stranger who I would never have met had I not put myself out there where I would bump into him.

Now what about your school? Do they not have any counselors who teach how to get a job? If you have to specially ask to see such a counselor, do so. Don't turn down any possibilities. Frankly, some places have better counselors than others, but give them a try. Sometimes school counselors will have have calls from employers for student workers.

Will you be collecting a job seekers allowance once you finish your school/exams? If so, make plans now for how you will use that toward actually helping to support yourself, I assume within your parents' household. Think about how you can use some of it for things like transportation to job interviews, tools for the sort of job you are likely to find (if it is the sort where you supply your own tools), any special clothing needed for work, etc.... and how you can contribute some of it to the household. It is fairly common for young people finished with school to start paying "rent" to their parents to help with food, heating, taxes, phones, and licenses for the household.

[Nika]

You really think I'm bothered by the dog and pony show called life? Those people may have the houses and the cars but inside a majority will be unhappy and drink themselves into an early grave, working 9-5 just rotting away in a mundane cubicle.

I can't fathom why employers are not tripping over each other to hire you.
Think about it, you wouldn't even hire you.

BTW, you can have this attitude because someone else feeds you, provides a place to live and pays bills. In return, you give them attitude and disdain.
If all of these things were taken away, and you had to take care of yourself, not being equipped at all to do so, yet being affected with that level of arrogance and entitlement, you'd probably end up "rotting" your youth away in jail instead of a cubicle. And from there, your choice to change your mind and want a better future would be pretty much gone.

(I'm anticipating, "that's just fine" type of response from you.)

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

After my long reply just above, I went back and read your original post. Sorry, I somehow got it in my head that you were asking how to increase your income, how to get first jobs.

But your post was asking about stopping bad spending and borrowing habits so that you could save to buy things you want and for a rainy day.

Well, my biggest suggestions is that you when you get money, always set aside some into your savings. Always. And since you owe people money, when you get your "€30 a week, sometimes more," you also should use some of it to pay back part of your debts. If you owe your parents, include thm in the debt ay back. If the debt to one person is, say, €50 and you cannot make yourself save up €50, then pay them back bit by bit, maybe €5-15 at a time. Write down for yourself how much you owe each person. Write down how much you pay each back as you do, so that you don't lose track.

To me you sound depressed, as if heavy clouds are pressing down on you, preventing you from developing interests and goals. That could certainly affect your ability to use your money in ways that help you. And it depression can affect habits. Perhaps you could seek help for that. If you are depressed and can get it lifted/fixed, you can look forward to a much brighter existence all around.

[UnknownXV]

It's a mental state. You need to think responsibly. Are you still in school? Regardless, you should try to get a job. You're in a very good position in life where most of what you earn you can save because you still live with your parents.

Even earning a minor salary of 10k a year, you could save just about all of that and actually have ten grand saved up. In one year. It's not that hard.

[Gailete]

I'm still trying to figure out who is the knucklehead that is giving this loser 30 euros a week. And yes he is a loser with a loser attitude with excuses for everything. He knows exactly what he has to do to have more money but other than sharing his weed he won't do. If his parents are handing out this money shame on them for enabling this guy and if it is his government, that is even a bigger shame. On today's exchange rate he is getting $23 a week/$100 month and is basically wasting it all.

How to get more responsible. Make a list NOW of everyone you have borrowed money from and how much. Then each time you get your weekly money pay someone back. Eventually you will have them all bad back, and you will have kicked your drug and alcohol problem at the same time. With a hopefully much clearer head, you might actually impress an employer into letting you have a job so that you can earn some money. Then first things first. 10% of each pay should go into savings, 10% should go to charity, and learn how to live on the rest (hand if over to your folks if you still live at home other than what you need for clothing).

I've been supporting myself FULLY since I was 17 by doing every odd job that I could find and that is how I handled my money. Even if I had wanted to smoke or do drugs, I couldn't afford to, so I didn't and that is what you need to realize is that as long as you owe people money, you can't afford any of what you have been spending on currently.

[fsumom]

Please just listen to everyone's advice. You are 17 years old and seriously have potential to be the person that is way ahead of the game with savings, etc. I would start by saving everything but a small percentage of what you get paid. Obviously if you're responsible for any bills, those would come first. Do not, and I repeat, do not ever get in credit card debt. Pay cash for items you want by saving up for them until you can afford them.

[fsumom]

Y'know what? You're a ******** Steve. You don't need to take a moral axe view on drugs just because you don't do them. Have you ever tried weed? If not then you don't have a leg to stand on, you're just going on assumptions, propaganda and what other people say.

Your first step is to grow up. At 17, you are old enough to take responsibility for your actions. Don't post on a message board and ask advice and then trample on everyone that gives it. Ultimately, by doing so, you're showing that you didn't really want the help.