Saving up is hard to do. I'm spending every dollar I have after the holidays to move Kelly here next week, then we have to move again in two months to a larger place. And I have more than a grand to pay in taxes. And I just got hospital & doctor bills totaling nearly three grand, with another five grand looming in possible medical bills. I don't even have a mortgage or kids yet and already I feel buried under life's expenses. I feel bad complaining when friends have worse debts and worse problems right now, but it still feels like I can't come up for air.


Ten Replies to Bill$

Amy Austin | January 25, 2008
In my best Bill Clinton tone, Scott... I feel your pain. ;-)

I know you want to move Kelly there as soon as possible -- I'm guessing the wheels are probably already irreversibly in motion -- but is there any reason why you couldn't/didn't plan your two moves simultaneously???

It's so scary how easy it is to be devastated by a hospital trip. I have been *very* lucky in that, as a military dependent, my emergency visit when I wrecked E's car didn't cost us a few grand. And ten years before that, when another crash/head injury put me in the ER, I was "lucky" enough to be unemployed! That way, I was covered as an "indigent" -- if I'd had even a minimum wage job, I'd have had another few thousand to pay!!!

This being the major issue that it is, part of me thinks that Michael Moore's latest will get the award... but I chose to go along with you on that one. I *might* feel differently if I'd actually seen it -- I don't know -- but I do think it's probably worth seeing, at least.

Oscars aside, I hope all this other crap will sort itself out in a way that lets you see the light at the end of the tunnel! Please let me know where/how you'd like to receive that donation I mentioned -- I was serious! -- by PayPal maybe? And I might very well be interested in setting up a site on your server, too -- "personally" at first, and then perhaps a bit down the road as a paying "business" guest. (I have a *whole lot* to learn about building a site first... can I choose any domain name that isn't "taken"??? I really am interested -- let me know!!!)

Denise Sawicki | January 25, 2008
It definitely sucks that all the things people *have* to pay for are so expensive... makes it difficult to justify buying anything just because one *wants* to. Or maybe that's just my twisted take on things. I feel for you.

Lori Lancaster | January 25, 2008
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Anna Gregoline | January 27, 2008
Even without kids, life's bills add up. I know you feel, Scott. That money pressure is the worse feeling in the world (debt consolidation was the best thing to happen to us - except for a future house payment, I never want to be in debt again - EVER). I'm sorry you're feeling that pressure. Soon Kelly will probably be working to help pay bills though, right?

Lori Lancaster | January 27, 2008
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Anna Gregoline | January 28, 2008
? Lori, honestly, I don't know why you think I'm antagonising you simply by speaking. I wasn't trying to fight with you at all. You're reading my words as snarky when none is intended, and I wish you would stop viewing me as your enemy. I thought we put this all behind us? I don't have any grudge against you.

Lori Lancaster | January 28, 2008
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Aaron Shurtleff | January 29, 2008
I totally second the donation idea! I would love to give back to the site in a more substantial way than annoying people with my bad Rock Block playing, and promising to make a few GOOs which never materialize (they're coming!).

But, seriously, (and not that I'm not serious about donating) I know what you mean (sort of...different bills, same results), and it gets more managable with time. It doesn't seem like that now, but you'll see.

Kelly Lee | January 29, 2008
Welcome to my life Scott...:P Though I'm in debt cause of college which did nothing for me, and no high paying jobs in Springfield. That last paycheck I'll get when Imovethough should help our problems I hope..it has two weeks plus my vacation balence.

Jackie Mason | February 2, 2008
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Logical Operator

The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »

No Disrespect

One of my pet peeves is people saying, "Have you ever noticed that the phrase 'no disrespect' is immediately followed by something disrespectful?" Well, YEAH. That's the point of the phrase. Go »

Screw Delta (Gotta Rant)

When I flew to Fargo a while back for Denise's wedding, I woke up at 2am to be out the door by 3am to get to Tampa by 4am to check in by 5am for a 6am flight. I stepped into the long Delta check-in line an hour and fifteen minutes before my flight, but I was concerned at the signs all over the place saying I would be turned away if I arrived less than an hour before the flight. Sure enough, it took me half an hour to get through the line, and the rude Delta clerk refused to let me on the plane even though I could easily make it to the gate in time. Go »

Gigantism

Thanks to a friend who couldn't use them, I scored They Might Be Giants tickets to replace the broken Valentines gift that I originally bought for Kelly. We took in the show last night with two other friends who happened to be going, Nathan and Raquel, and it was a great time. Most of my concerts have been metal, so I'm used to screaming and head-banging, and I didn't exactly know how to get into the music, especially since I was the least familiar with the TMBG catalog. Go »

The Phoenix

This is the last of four weekly blog posts about diagnoses that have completely changed my life since the pandemic started, after The Dragon, The Tiger, and The Serpent. I saved the lightest one for last. Many people who discover later in life that they're neurodivergent have reported spending years aware of the symptoms and signs of their condition without ever considering that the description might apply to them, and when they do finally realize, it's as if a thousand mysteries are solved at once: Things that never made sense are all suddenly explained. Go »

February 10-16

I don't really blog much about my day-to-day existence because it feels too mundane. But life is made up of those little days, and we don't get an accurate picture of each other's lives if we only discuss the big events. Here's a snapshot of my life last week. Go »

Modern Music

Sadness is not when one of your favorite bands (Smashing Pumpkins) puts out their final album in MP3 format only and you miss it because you don't want to get into file-sharing. Sadness is five years later, when you happily stumble across a website with the entire thing available for download and you finally learn how heinous and unpublishable the album was all along. Go »