Photo Challenge #15
"A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently"
Last year I spent a lot of money. And this year I'm forced to deal with it. I sort of ignored and was naive about my budget last year and instead focused on my triathlon team, training, and races. Then I took a trip to Germany in the Fall. 2013 has so far been financially stressful. My mortgage and health insurance payment has gone up this year. My paycheck is now less than it was last year because of taxes. Due to my job situation, there hasn't been an opportunity to request a raise in the last 5 years. Simply put, my bills are higher and I'm making less money. Not a great situation. So I'm working on being a better manager of my money. It means saying no to a lot of things I'd like to do. It means cutting back on things that I didn't used to have to worry about. I love being a home-owner, but sometimes it is extremely stressful. Not having a money cushion is stressful. I've wanted to go back to school and take some classes, but the certificate I wanted to pursue isn't covered under financial aid and I can't afford it out of pocket. Kind of knocks the wind out of my sail.
But I'm working on taking care of it. It is a slow process and will take a long time to complete. A mind-numbing test of my patience.
But it's the turtle that still wins the race, right? As always, I'm working toward simply crossing that finish line!
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