the walls are moving in ... it seems

Seldom in my life have I felt so squeezed I couldn’t find money in my resources for normal/expected increases in daily life. But I feel some economic walls moving inward the past couple of weeks. It’s like I’m watching them actually move and it’s totally unnerving.

Mostly it’s because of many things, property taxes are one. They went up this year, that was expected, but more than I thought. And this is the time of year that my health insurance opens enrollment. This year there are no new plans but the same as last year although I could change plans if I wanted. I don’t want to change but the cost isn’t staying the same, it’s gone up by $40-50 (?) a month. I expected some kind of increase but that seems a lot at once!

As soon as the health care act passed this summer, I received a letter from the state retiree’s plans that warned us all that this would only increase costs including our premiums. I wasn’t really surprised but seeing the costs going up is anxiety provoking. Of course, the co pays will go up as well.

Fortunately, I don’t have lots of meds to take but I have a chunk of stainless steel in my right hip joint that I can’t go with uninsured. As temporary as it was, that year or so with a hip deteriorating saw me going more and more disabled and that’s a frightening feeling. The replaced hip was like a miracle to me postponing aging and disability for a lot more years! (Knocking on wood!) My hip is good is good but it may required revision someday, and my other hip is wearing a little more all the time and maybe I’ll need that replaced someday.

And I’m a few years away from Medicare, and what form will that take by then or not???

And there’s some increase in my taxes coming in 2011 that I have to talk to my accountant about before the end of this 2010.

What I'm personally afraid of is having to do without way beyond what I know how to do! And then doing without even more and more and more down the line.
Doing without can be relative depending on what your normal economic levels are. I've done without at times in my life, but they are nothing compared with what others have had to do without, like really no money for anything but food.
I've always been able to have the right kind of food and enough of it. I cut other things out of the budget at times but never had to worry about food. Whatever I cut out was a matter of time before things got better and I could spend on those things again. And maybe now there will be no better times for a long time or not in my lifetime?

just some serious thoughts today,

shamba

Snippet of Phoenix Budget Struggle

From www.ktar.com:

by KTAR Newsroom (February 24th, 2010 @ 1:27pm) PHOENIX - Hundreds of Phoenix firefighters have voted unanimously to take a 2 percent pay cut and four furlough days over the next two years to save jobs.

The head of the United Phoenix Firefighters Association Pete Gorraiz (guh-'RYE-us) says the pay cuts will save three engine companies and 42 jobs.

Gorraiz says the Phoenix Fire Department will lose 40 jobs but those will be offset by retirements that will happen by June, meaning that no firefighters will have to face layoffs.

Phoenix Fire Chief Bob Khan tells KTAR Radio in Phoenix that firefighters like what they do, believe in what they do and want to protect the community and save jobs for fellow firefighters.

The final city budget hasn't been set but it will be in early March. No matter what they do the city council's action seem to enrage somebody, lots of somebodies. the public hasn't come to realize yet that less and less is what's ahead of us for a few years.

I don't blame "somebodies" for being angry. If I was 30 years younger--I'm so old I can say that now!--I would be very angry for the things I would not have in my life that I expected to have, and angry because of my children not having these things either. And not just expected material things but the choices of traveling, pursuing almost any interest I wanted and finding people to share that will also be lessened in the coming years.

Peace , shamba