What's Been Going On

A Lot.

I know I've been absent quite often lately, but I honestly have been really busy. First, to be honest, I've had to increase my hours at work, to be even more truthful, it's because of gas prices. Yep, gas prices are officially kicking us in the rumps. Hubby drives Oh, I don't know, about 8 hours to work and 8 hours back. Of course he doesn't make that journey every day, but he does do it approximately 4 times a month, at say 100-150 dollars each way, well that takes it's toll on the old pocketbook dontcha know.

Gas has always been an expense that we endured because he was making so much money, it was still worth it, but now, now things are different somehow. We just can't get a handle on things. My car, it costs almost 15 dollars more to fill up now than it did the day I bought it 2 years ago. And as we all know it's not just gas that is rising, there are groceries, and our health care costs add up quickly, with several hundred dollar bills for things as simple as an ultra sound.

We've discussed at length that perhaps we should move closer to his work, but that would mean losing my income. Income we've come to rely on, that would not necessarily be as easily replaced in the market we would be moving to, and besides, there is that little issue of being unemployed which I'm not too crazy about. Plus there is that sticky issue of buying this house, and the prospects of selling it are not all that great right now. We're not in the position to become landlords by renting out the property, it doesn't seem feasible right now.

We've discussed that perhaps he should move to a job closer to home, but that would mean leaving a crew he's really really happy with, and frankly, good crews are hard to come by. Those guys put their lives in each other's hands every day, and it is a comfort knowing he works with competent people out there, and not a bunch of drug addled drunks. Besides there is not really a job close to home that would provide equal compensation, or even close for that matter.

No easy solution to our problem, though we have thought and thought about it. We just don't know what to do, but the bottom line is we've decided to ride this thing out as long as we can. That seems the most secure choice at the moment. That means toughing up on a lot of spending.

Speaking of spending, I'd like to know just where exactly our stimulus check is. The letter said it would arrive May 2, and we still haven't received a darn penny. The letter said, if you don't get it, then call, well I called, and was redirected to an office somewhere on Mars or something because the chance of speaking to a human was nil to zero. I would love to stimulate the economy if we could just get our check please! Don't worry, we paid in way more than what they are sending us, so it's not like I'm being greedy here. It's just some of our money back.

That in a nutshell is what has been going on around here. I know it seems a silly reason not to have even a few minutes to blog, but I've practically gone full-time to work, and I'm pretty much useless when I get done with working all day at that job.

The thing that gets me is I'm not even sure if putting money into my 401k is even a wise choice right now, but I see every check I am contributing to it. I hope it is not in vain.

It's amazing really what a few more dollars at the pump has done to our finances. I'm really in awe at the effect. All in all, I guess we're better off than a lot of people, and I'm not complaining about our situation, just noting the effect these prices are having on us. We'll be all right come what may. We're grateful for what we have. Just have to hang in there I guess.