December of 2011 I lost all my overtime and went from 60+ hours a week to 40, while at the same time my wife Allisonn's position at work changed and she went to working 4 days a week from 5, and a pay cut on top of that. Those big blows were bad enough, but then coupled with the rising cost of, hell, everything around here and we're stretched ridiculously thin right now.
We were able to refinance our mortgage (for the second time) which is helping save a few buck each month, but our utilities (cable, phone, internet, cell phones, home heating oil, electricity, water, property taxes) all seem to be on the rise. The grocery stores are over-charging for everything, gas is climbing, yet we both keep losing hours at work. Add to that the fact that we've got a 15 month old son, man; kids are expensive. Between diapers and formula when he was an infant, I thought we'd be belly up by the time he was 6 months. At least now his biggest expenses are diapers and daycare. I cannot wait until he's potty trained.
Stuff for me at work has only just started to pick back up, it's been a very painful 4 1/2 months. My bank account has been in a constant, steady decline since Dec. 2011, and I've already cut most of the obvious expenses out. I've thought a couple times of getting rid of the X and getting some lame econobox, but that's not really an option. I still owe far too much and don't have the cash upfront to get a proper replacement. The only maintenance I've been able to do to our vehicles is oil changes, we can't really afford to do much else so everything keeps getting pushed further and further back. I need rotors, pads, upper and lower ball joints and a couple wheel studs. Allisonn's Focus needs a muffler.
I'm a pessimist by nature, so all of this has actually been expected and easy for me to deal with mentally - but it still sucks. This time last year we actually had extra cash around, and we were able to put it towards the house and vehicles. Right now I'm considering a second job to supplement where my primary job is failing me, which would definitely provide the extra coin, but my family life would take a hit; and that's something I don't want to lose. I can deal with losing my social life, but I don't want my little boy to be sad looking for daddy at bedtime while I'm at work. I'm all about supporting my family, but I don't want to risk causing my little guy any emotional damage by not being around. Not to mention the added around-the-house-workload that my wife would have to pick up. We split the housework/child care 50/50, but if I had to work a night job it would surely turn into 90/10 since I'd never be home. I don't want to do that to her, that's how marriages find themselves on the rocks.
I really wish this economy would just pick itself up, dust itself off, and get back to a better place.