Take this job - or shove it

"I was working as a personal banker at Chase Bank in Peoria, Ariz., and making $40,000 a year when my roommates and I decided to try our luck and move to New York in June 2008. Little did we know how hard it would be to get a job in banking out there.

To make a long story short, we failed. And I was broke.

My roommates moved back to Arizona, and I moved to Massachusetts to stay with my dad. I thought it would only be a few weeks until I got a decent job. That was seven months ago.

I work at a restaurant, Rebecca's Place Too, making $8 an hour.

This is a vast contrast to where I was a year ago. In Arizona, I was going out every night, having fun. Now life's a lot more simple. I wake up and walk to work because I had to sell my car. I don't go to restaurants or bars anymore. I canceled my Internet, and I use the library computer. I cut back the plan on my phone.

I would tell people that if you have money, save it right now. You never know what's going to happen." - as told to Lara Moscrip

NEXT: Jarrod Posner - 70% pay cut