Speaking for a large portion of the population here, at least the ones I know, it’s almost impossible to live within your means. Every time you get a yearly raise in pay, and feel good about it, it takes about three months for commerce to catch up and pass you once again. It’s almost ridiculous. It has occurred to me to give up the ghost and go on welfare or something. Of course, I could start using the hospital emergency rooms for every minor ache and pain, then not pay the bill, that should save some money. But I digress.
The real problem is the bills you just can’t pay off. There’s insurance, utility bills, food and all the other monthlies that never go away; they just get bigger and bigger. It’s like buying a puppy that grows into a 200-pound creature with a 400-pound appetite and it looks as thought it will outlive you!
I got home the other day and my wife told me that she had to use the credit for her doctor’s visit that day, I said, “Why? It was only a twenty dollar co-pay.”
“Forty dollars, the co-pay went up. Not only that but the insurance premium went up ten percent.”
“Well,” I sighed. “That’s not so bad…is it?”
“Don’t forget,” she went on. “Our granddaughter, Brea, moved in with us so our food and clothing bills have jumped dramatically. To make things worse the power company got a 20% hike, the car insurance went through the roof, the HOA…”
“STOP! STOP! You’re giving me a headache!”
“I hate to tell this my darling husband,” I knew I was in trouble right there. “But you just may have to work over-time, take a second job and we may have to refinance the house just to pay the bills.”
I said "Whaaaat?"
She said "Ooo-ooo-ooo-wee"
(Where in the hell did that come from? Alan O’Day I would say.)
I said, “We just refinanced 3 months ago?”
Anyway, where did I go wrong? When my aunts and uncles reached my age they were set. They all owned property in some rural community in Oklahoma or someplace like that, and were ready to retire to a comfy life. I don’t get it.
I suppose retiring at 66 is out of the question. Not that that matters, I don’t think I could retire that early anyhow... I’d go crazy. But I sure as hell didn’t expect to be working three jobs until I was 90! Do you think Wal-Mart would mind if I just lived in one of their tents?
“Good afternoon, welcome to Wal-Mart.”
