Bills

bill (noun): an itemized statement of charges for goods and/or services that severely depletes your bank account

Both my husband and I get paid on the first of the month. This wouldn’t be so bad, except that is the only time we get paid for the month. A majority of our bills also are due at this time as well. Sons of bitches. Basically what this means is strategic planning to make sure we not only have enough to pay said bills, but also enough for gas and food and other provisions, both seen and unforeseen. Oy.

I’m sure our stress levels wouldn’t be so bad if we didn’t live paycheck to paycheck, but alas, our low-paying-thanks-to-a-weakened-economy jobs are barely enough to get by. I did just get an eleven percent raise, so that should help out. If not, then it will be time to panic!

The First

The first of the month is always a busy day, both at work and in terms of bills. Hence, crappy late blog post today.

It always seems like the first of the month both can’t come fast enough and yet when it happens I wish it weren’t the way it is. I mean, everyone likes a paycheck, and for those of us only paid monthly, this means all at once, which is nice, but also means that it almost all goes away faster than it was deposited. Thanks rent. Thanks phone. Thanks water, electric, garbage and gas. Ugh.

But on a happier note I am making cupcakes for the kids at Ridgefield High School for the final rehearsal before the big play Saturday in Downtown Portland. I was originally going to make a cake but decided it would be easier to simply do cupcakes and decorate them with play themes rather than baking a larger cake and trying to find a way to not make it look ghetto with either too much or too little flotsam. Alas, I also like making cupcakes because they are way easier to portion out. And let’s face it, I like things easy.

Bills

Yesterday I paid our bills. Today we are broke again.

Paying the bills is like a bad dream you never wake up from. They are always there. While yes, it is nice to live in a more energy efficient house concerning the electric and gas bills, the water, garbage, internet, phone and car insurance all seem to continue to go up more and more. And this is definitely where getting paid only once a month has its drawbacks, especially when both incomes in the house are paid monthly. Because all of these bills are due at the beginning of the month, along with rent, we’re left with quite a small amount to use for gas, food and emergencies.

I suppose there is another way to look at it. I am using these services because, at least currently, I require them. Albeit, we don’t need to carry car insurance, however, the law says we do, and I really don’t want to deal with another nine-hundred dollar ticket for not carrying car insurance. Of course, that was also with an unlicensed car because it would not pass emission testing after spending hundreds of dollars to supposedly fix the problem. Still, it was my one and only time being pulled over and, while the officer was quite cute, I don’t want to go through that again, nor going to the courthouse to ask the judge to lower it (which, by the way, it did get lowered to three-hundred dollars after getting insurance and a temporary tag for the car.) Anyway, that’s me on another tangent. I use these services and therefore I should pay for them. I just wish they didn’t cost so damn much!