I Got 99 Problems But A B*tch Ain't One (Unless You Count Our Vomiting Cat)

I'm in a mood.
Blame the hormones.
Blame the COMA-INDUCING anti-nausea pill, which I had to take last night because I spent the last 4 nights awake and vomiting.
Blame my crack-head cat, who finds it necessary to vomit REPEATEDLY on my clean clothes.

Whatever.

Personally, I'm blaming Governor Christie, and his retarded pension and health care reform bill that seems singularly designed to drive hard-working firefighters and other public employees to an early grave from being overworked and underpaid.

Thanks to the increased pension and health care insurance payments, my husband, like all other NJ firefighters, will now be bringing home approximately 40% of his salary. FORTY PERCENT, people! Do you realize exactly how little money that is? Do you realize exactly how much he would have to be making to take home a reasonable income?
AARRGGHHH.

This couldn't come at a worse time.
It seems like the minute we found out we had some buns in the oven, the world has conspired to strip us of our piddling income and savings.
We ran out of bedrooms in our house, due to the fact that we were planning on ONE child and we got TWO children.
The A/C went postal and the compressor went on strike, even though the damn thing is only 4 years old.
The boiler has been giving us the stink-eye and making these HUGE, AWFUL noises, which can't be good.
Etc, etc, etc.

(Did I mention that our sun-room is being held up by 2-by-4s? LITERALLY).


And now this.
It's like the world kicked us in the balls, and then decided to give us a wedgie while we were laying curled up on the floor.

So now, despite the seemingly decent income my husband makes, he's probably going to have to take on a second job. Belts will have to be tightened. Rice and beans will be eaten. Our children will be wearing potato sacks. Our dogs will be flea-infested, and our yards will be full of living room furniture and dissected automobiles.

Okay, so it won't be THAT bad. But seriously - how does one cut back in spending when one spends very little to begin with? I rarely go shopping (except for a recent "spree" at WalMart to splurge on $7 maternity wear). We rarely eat out. Our vacations costs are limited to campsite fees and dehydrated meals, and we have zero debt, other than the house and our truck, which we bought new last year.
We don't even have HBO, for cryin' out loud!
So where are we supposed to cut? Eat less food? Cancel cable (which would end up costing us MORE money just to have internet alone)? Stop drinking water? I just don't understand how we can tighten our belts when we're already on the last hole?

ESPECIALLY we're looking at a future that involves up to 20 diaper changes a day.

I'm sure we'll make ends meet. People always do. But I find it unfair that we should have to clip coupons and make do with Milo-ingested couches when both my husband and I are educated and employed.
We've worked hard.
We've managed to save.

And for what? For that ass-clown Christie to rape us, take our money, and then spit on us for good measure.

*sigh

Our household needs are small. We don't dream of 46-inch plasma TVs or Audis. All we want is a family, a roof over our heads (that isn't about to collapse in on us at any second), and the ability to enjoy life a little.

But these days, wishing for enough money to make ends meet seems like wishing for world peace...

A nice idea - but entirely impossible.