Financial Worries and Job Searches

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Hello, all. This is my first post.

Anyways, I am a teenager who has just obtained a personal vehicle. As most of us know, cars come with huge expenses, and as of right now, I have no income. I am by no means ready for such responsibility, but I suppose I must adapt.

The job market is awful right now for individuals like me, and as such I doubt that I will succeed in securing enough money to balance these exorbitant insurance payments and all other expenses. So, I ask, how do I find a job, and more importantly, what do I tell my mother if I fail in my quest?

I look forward to reading your responses.

What worked for me was to first get some sort of work experience on my resume. My first job was as a restaurant busboy. I hated it and was bullied, but I stuck it out for a few months until I got a fast food job that was not so bad. I stayed there for a year or so, and having a track record of steady employment I was able to get a job I really liked and even considered keeping for a career.

So I might say: keep realistic expectations for your first job. Just demonstrating that you can be a reliable employee counts for a lot. It is sometimes called "paying your dues". Some income is better than zero, and just proving you can hold down a job lays a foundation for better things later.

If you fail in your quest to get a job, you should sell the car you can't afford.

There are always part-time jobs available for teens -- if the "usual" places (fast food, local pools, etc) aren't hiring, there's always babysitting, mothers helper-ing, approaching neighbors to see if they need their lawn mowed/snow shoveled/mail brought in while they're on vacation, etc).

The problem is that I cannot sell the car. I don't mean to sound like an entitled moron, but I didn't ask for it. I knew I wouldn't be able to pay the bills, but nobody listens even when I provide two or three spreadsheets.

Anyways, I've applied at six locations for various jobs, and plan to apply to more this week. I would do the standard lawn care gig, but every household within a 20 mile radius either does it themselves or hires one of the massive contractor firms (yes, we do have lawn care contractors.)

Either way, thanks for the replies. I don't believe that there is anything special I can really do, so I will continue the ancient ritual of burning excessive amounts of petroleum to scavenge the town until something sticks.