It's been tough.  I am thankful I have a decent job…even if I haven't had a raise in 2 years.  I am lucky that we still have clinical trials going on as these are what pays my salary.  Since the son moved in with me in December it has been a little harder.  My grocery bill has certainly increased!!  I am just barely managing.  It gets pretty tight at the end of the month…I only get paid once a month and it can be a challenge sometimes to make the paycheck last. 

Last year I changed my exemptions on my W-4 so that they are holding out less.  It worked out well…I didn't get a hugh tax refund, but that was the whole point.  This year is gonna be harder.  Jimmy is turning 18 and unless he goes to school full time (doubtful) I won't be able to claim 'head of household'...I will most likely have to change the exemptions again.

We are managing…but there really isn't much left for "fun"...  I haven't had a vacation in over 2 years and it doesn't look like I'm going to get one any time soon.  Unless I find some rich guy to adore me…lol

I got out of EDS just in time. I just heard from people that I know that they are taking a mandatory 10-20% paycut. It will depend on what your title is, but it's across the board.  After the 25% pay cut I took that made me leave…it was good that I’m not there anymore.

Not that the hospital is paying any better…it's still less that I was making before..but at least I'm working.

I'm thinking about getting back to the basics.  I have to do something because I'm about to have less in my paycheck…and in my pockets.

In, as Obama said, the worst economical time in history, we're about to start getting taxed up the wazoo.  And this isn't the time to start taxing the people.

There's talks about a 26 cent gas tax increase, a raise in the State Income Tax and a raise in our Sales Tax.  So that's less money that I'm going to have going forward.  A whole lot less.

But we can blame the people in MA that didn't want to give themselves a 5% pay raise last election.  They told the government that they like us taxing us…and from that, that's just what they are doing.  We told them that they can spend our money better than we can…and they sure are spending it…

I'm seriously considering getting rid of our cell phones.  We've become too addicted to them…  And I think that I'm going to have cable come out and take our boxes…and go to the basics.  That's about 300 bucks a month I could save right there.  And that's the easy ones..there's so many places to cut back spending.

Anyway, yea I think that this is hitting everyone except the rich.  If you have money, you have means to make more money…  So those people won't really feel the hit as much.

But the majority middle class is screwed.  We're about to be taxed to death, and it's not going to be pretty.  We're the ones that will feel the hit before anyone else…mainly because we were able to just chug along before. We made enough money to do the things we wanted when we wanted. But that's changed…we're getting the pay cuts. We're losings the jobs. We're getting the tax hits, and we're the ones that are going to be first in line to stop spending.