Submitted by Legionnaire1856 t3_10uwgcc in personalfinance
I work in automotive manufacturing at a very large Japanese company that pays pretty badly. I take home about $2,400 a month, and the work is a GRIND. It is a very difficult way to make such a poor wage, physically and mentally.
I have close to $20k in CC debt that has accumulated over the last decade, simply because I haven't been making enough money to cover large expenses as they come (tires, etc).
My background check looks really bad. Quick rundown, my girlfriend died from doing too much cocaine and I was charged with 2nd degree murder because I told the police I was the one who bought the drugs (for the two of us to do) and was charged because they said I delivered the drugs that killed her. Also there were drugs at the scene so I got charged with that as well. The plea deal got negotiated down to reckless homicide, with drugs and a gun that I had legally registered. I'm halfway through my probation, with quite a bit left to go. This happened years ago.
I do have the GI Bill available to me, but I'm getting older and it won't be there forever. I barely finished high school...I absolutely hated it. Unless a subject fascinates me, my eyes will glaze over and the words of a lecture will bounce off of my head. If a subject is really interesting to me, I can do better than anyone at test time. Abstract general knowledge courses won't work well with me.
All I do is work and come home to this box I live in. I can't have a vacation, raise a family, save for retirement, drive a decent vehicle. I am lucky that my family knows a man who is renting me a home for $650 a month, but I don't know how long it could last. I have to make more money, but I'm concerned that anything worth having will background check me into oblivion.
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I haven't done drugs in years, I don't even drink anymore. I'm going crazy and I don't know where to begin.