Tag: gas prices

Budget Beating

by eileentroemel, posted in Uncategorized

Tonight I worked for an hour and half trying to figure out our new budget because I got tentative notification of the date that our checks will be lower.  Our household isn’t going to be doing anything.  All I can afford from this point forward is to just pay the bills. 

A HUGE concern for me is the cost of gas.  If that continues to go up we could be having further issues because it will affect my expenses which are already too tight.  We already buy a minimum for groceries every week so I can’t cut anything there.

Many things are rumbling through my head tonight.  I’m worried for my mom because the new budget which is being projected will raise her premium for her prescriptions coverage.  This will mean she is either spending more on the premium or paying for scripts outright.  I’ll have to figure out which is most cost effective for her.

What happens if the cost of food goes up?  It’s an area I’m already scrimping on.  What happens if the cost of heating / cooling goes up?  Tonight my house is set at 68 and I HURT.  In the heat of summer, I can’t handle the heat and my daughter gets sick from it.  A/C is a necessity for us.  What if we can’t afford to run the a/c though?

I can see a second job in my future but I’m worried there won’t be any available.  With so many people having to scrimp and save it is possible all the part time positions will get snapped up.  Plus I have limitations on what I’m able to do. 

There is definitely a lot to think about right now.  I know I’m not the worst off and I know I’m not the only one.  Still it doesn’t help when I spend my evening trying to figure out where the money is going to come from. 

A Look Forward

by eileentroemel, posted in Uncategorized

I’m feeling a lot stressed out tonight.  I get all sorts of emails from my union and other political places and I try to be very conservative about what I pass on.  Today one of the things I got from my union was a link state employees can go to plug in their gross income and then answer questions about union status and insurance.  It will tell you how much you might lose from your check if this goes through.

Someone who is good at math do the math for me.  Okay I’ve already done the math.  I’m losing 11% of my income.  In one check I’ll be losing nearly $200 in the other I’ll be losing about $65.  This is on top of the 3% they are already taking for the furlough days. 

On top of this possible loss of funds, I’m looking at a strong possibility of being laid off because I’m still on probation.  The governor said today that layoff notice will go out tomorrow afternoon to 1500 workers who will have to be cut.  You only get like 65% of your income on unemployment right?

Then I look at the pump and gas just keeps going up and up.  It was $3.43 a gallon yesterday and they are calling for it to be nearly $5 a gallon before summer. 

On the news tonight I heard that our city is looking at having to up either taxes or fees because of the cut to the recycling program proposed by Walker’s budget.  This doesn’t address the nearly $300,000+ that the school district is losing (not sure on that number)

All I can see is money out of my pocket.  I’m trying to meet my bills and stay on top of things but at this point I don’t know if I will be able to. 

It doesn’t help that most of this is just a what if thing.  Will I get laid off?  Will I lose 11% of my income?  Will fees and/or taxes go up in the city?  Will gas prices go up?  If gas prices go up will food prices go up?  How many will end up unemployed? 

I guess the question becomes will there be a second job available for me when I need it?