I went to my aunt's house on Saturday for a cookout (my uncle was in town from Cali for the first time in seven years!). My older sister and younger brother were both there and we got onto the topic of work. My brother (who cleans and maintains pools) was saying that although he is paid well, he can't stand being outside all day (we live in FL where it is VERY hot and humid). I said that he should come to work with me (in a call center at a bank). I went on to say that he would be starting as a temp, where the pay and benefits are very good, but the work is really boring/repetitive. He asked how much I got paid, so I said "as a temp I made about $13.50 an hour, plus benefits, but once I was hired full-time, I got a raise of about $3 per hour, better benefits, and paid days off." He was really excited and said he would send in his resume.
Then, my older sister (who was silent for the whole conversation) started scoffing at me because I was saying that I couldn't wait for my next raise because then I would be eligible to work a part-time schedule, but still earn enough to pay my bills. She got agitated and said I was being ungrateful for the good wage I earn. She then told the group that she gets paid about half of what I earn. But here's the thing: she is working her DREAM JOB as a cake decorator at a local shop. She only works weekends, too, so she can spend more time with her daughter, and her boyfriend is a nurse, so he earns enough for her to be able to bring in so little money.
In addition to that, she started trying to make me feel bad for being "such a consumer and corporate puppet" for wanting nice/new things. For instance: I recently bought a new phone (LG G3), but I didn't like it, so after a week I got a different phone (Samsung Galaxy S5, which is amazing and I would recommend it to everyone!). She said "well I've had the same crappy phone for two years and the front camera is broken and the screen is cracked and you don't see me complaining." So then, later in the day, my BF and I were talking about Christmas and what we wanted, and I said I wouldn't mind a new TV (since mine is an old box tv with color spots on it). My sister loudly proclaimed "We don't even OWN a TV and we don't want one." I said "wow, I don't know how I'd live without mine and netflix!" She rolled her eyes and mumbled something about me being brainwashed by the system???
I love my sister, and I'm proud that she has found a career and a lifestyle that she is comfortable with, but it annoys me that she judges me so harshly for mine. Is it wrong for me to want to make good money? Is it wrong of me to want nice things??? Ugh!!
(thank you for letting me rant. any comments are welcome)