FEELING THE PINCH

I knew that this summer would be hard as we live in an extremely seasonal area. Last summer was bad enough and I worked full time! What hurt us was the high energy bills ($600+ a month) and the fact that my daughter’s job opportunities tend to dry up in the summer – there are less dogs to groom, less staff needed in retail, etc. To stay afloat, I took in boarders and sold everything that wasn’t nailed down via ebay, craigslist and a couple of garage sales.

Over this past year our circumstances have changed quite a bit. I was able to be rehired by the school district at a very good pay rate, but had to take a job at a school - so I have 7 weeks off in the summer. We moved into a condo inside of a gated community. Our energy bills aren’t as high, rent is less BUT we are unable to take in boarders or hold garage sales. Our computer is dead, so there is no ebay or craigslist, not that there is much left to sell anyway.

How are we managing? We are laying low, staying home, trying not to spend money. One ray of sunshine in all of this is that J misfiled her tax returns back in April which means she hasn’t gotten her refunds yet. We straightened out the mess and are expecting them to show up any day now.

I’m worried because our car is falling apart, literally. The engine is missing a motor mount and our muffler is hanging on by a thread. We need new belts and brakes, not to mention an oil, lube & filter change. If those returns don’t materialize in the next few days, it’s food bank time!