Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
Author:
Genres: Business & Money, Nonfiction
Book Type: Paperback
Author:
Genres: Business & Money, Nonfiction
Book Type: Paperback
Helpful Score: 3
Not much about this book impressed me or opened my eyes. Granted, I very well may be biased as I was one of the working poor back in my younger days and though I earn somewhat more now, I'm not well off by any means, and we're still only a few paychecks away from disaster if the circumstances are right.
I don't feel that the author ever immersed herself in the lifestyle that she chose to write her next book about. She played at it, but she didn't truly live it on a daily basis. She had a debit card to fall back on and started each leg of her journey with cash. Blech. If you want to write about the animals in the zoo, become one of them.
The author seemed to take a voyeuristic approach and at times came off as very condescending when describing her jobs and her fellow employees. Sprinkled throughout the book are veiled and not so veiled remarks about minorities, those without much education, etc. The author chose Maine as one of her locations because of the 'whiteness' the state had to offer (and we're not talking about snow or the dead of winter).
I think she set herself up to fail (or was totally clueless). At one point, she needed slacks for work and chose to purchase a pair that set her back $40 with the justification that they would wear longer. Seriously? $40 was acceptable for a friggin' pair of slacks when you're trying to live as your fellow employees live on a daily basis? Why not ask them for suggestions on where to purchase work clothes? (I'll bet they would have suggested the nearest thrift store where the same slacks could have been purchased for a few dollars).
She also chose to live in a couple of hotels (granted, they weren't the Ritz) and turned down a more lucrative job because she didn't want to work 11 hours per day. Hello? She had no children in tow for this 'experiment', nor a husband or extended family. An 11 hour a day job that paid reasonably well given the time she conducted the research for this book was less enticing than how many folk work at two jobs, extending the gas budget, public transportation budget or shoe leather to work two jobs?
Her meal choices also baffled me. Take out just because you have no fridge or microwave available? Seriously? Less expensive and healthier choices would have been dried fruit, raisins, peanut butter and a loaf of bread, tuna and crackers, canned or fresh fruit (even bruised or less than fresh fruit on sale), etc.
I didn't totally hate this book, though it left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
I don't feel that the author ever immersed herself in the lifestyle that she chose to write her next book about. She played at it, but she didn't truly live it on a daily basis. She had a debit card to fall back on and started each leg of her journey with cash. Blech. If you want to write about the animals in the zoo, become one of them.
The author seemed to take a voyeuristic approach and at times came off as very condescending when describing her jobs and her fellow employees. Sprinkled throughout the book are veiled and not so veiled remarks about minorities, those without much education, etc. The author chose Maine as one of her locations because of the 'whiteness' the state had to offer (and we're not talking about snow or the dead of winter).
I think she set herself up to fail (or was totally clueless). At one point, she needed slacks for work and chose to purchase a pair that set her back $40 with the justification that they would wear longer. Seriously? $40 was acceptable for a friggin' pair of slacks when you're trying to live as your fellow employees live on a daily basis? Why not ask them for suggestions on where to purchase work clothes? (I'll bet they would have suggested the nearest thrift store where the same slacks could have been purchased for a few dollars).
She also chose to live in a couple of hotels (granted, they weren't the Ritz) and turned down a more lucrative job because she didn't want to work 11 hours per day. Hello? She had no children in tow for this 'experiment', nor a husband or extended family. An 11 hour a day job that paid reasonably well given the time she conducted the research for this book was less enticing than how many folk work at two jobs, extending the gas budget, public transportation budget or shoe leather to work two jobs?
Her meal choices also baffled me. Take out just because you have no fridge or microwave available? Seriously? Less expensive and healthier choices would have been dried fruit, raisins, peanut butter and a loaf of bread, tuna and crackers, canned or fresh fruit (even bruised or less than fresh fruit on sale), etc.
I didn't totally hate this book, though it left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
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