Many college students are familiar with the concept of living your life on a budget. Most of the time that means getting the store brand of something that you need instead of getting something that is name brand and tends to be more expensive. However, many of us don't know how absolutely stressful it is living paycheck to paycheck.

I left this semester having a really high credit card bill, and also knowing that I needed to save up enough money for my rent for the next year since I don't work during the school year (yet). I got a very small glimpse into what it's like putting 100% of your paycheck into your bills. I have been picking up as many hours as possible at work so I could try and make a larger dent in my bill sooner, but it can be difficult with all of the other responsibilities life can throw at you. This made me really think about the people that are in this situation all the time.

I am by no means saying that I am in the same position that many people in the United States face today with struggling to support themselves in their families. I am extremely lucky to have the financial support of my parents during my time in college and I know not everyone is that fortunate.

What I find hard to wrap my mind around is that there are families all over the United States that do this all the time. They have to figure out to make ends meet and all of their money goes towards making sure that they have a roof over their heads.

I couldn't imagine if I had to decide between providing for my family and giving them the food that they need and also try to pay the rent so they would have a place to live.

The problem especially around where I live is that the cost of living is so expensive - you can't really find an apartment around here for under $700 a month and even then they aren't the easiest to find. Some of the ones that I have looked at have even exceeded $1,000 a month. This is a huge issue because there are so many people who come to the D.C. area in search of job opportunities and once they secure a job, they have to figure out how to pay for the high cost of living. I know this is true in other larger markets such as New York City and Los Angeles.

An even bigger potential issue is when people have to decide which they value more - their happiness or the chance at financial stability. I could not imagine staying at a job that I absolutely hated. Parental figures have to put up with jobs that they hate in order to provide for their families. My dad did this for a while, where he absolutely hated the job that he worked to the point where it would make him nauseous every morning before he went into work. I hated seeing him unhappy.

The cost of people finding a place to live can take up the majority of someone's paycheck. As sad as it is, It seems to be an inevitable thing. People tend to move where the jobs are. The places where most of the jobs are at or the jobs in high quantity are in the places that are extremely expensive. I understand why this is true economically, but it would make it so difficult for a family who doesn't make a lot of money to live in those types of situations.

Many people think about the less fortunate as people that are outside of our country, but the sad truth is that we have so many people who are US citizens that are either are homeless or don't have enough money to pay for a place for them to live. Look no further than people around the streets of DC begging for money so that they can support their families.

There is no simple fix to this solution but what I can say is this. Think about donating to help make people's lives easier. Whether that be at your local food shelter or puttng faith in the person on the side of the road begging for lose change that they actually will spend it on what they said they will. Together as a community I truly do believe that we can come together as one country and as United States citizens and make this country better and stronger.