To the members of Congress:
I am respectfully asking you to get it together and raise the debt ceiling. It doesn't matter what side of the isle you are on, it needs to be done.
To the Democrats, cut the entitlements. Cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. I know that is your pride and joy, but it is time to make some hard choices. Just so you are aware my son is on Social Security and I am on Medicaid, so I will be affected just like everyone else, but I am still willing to make the sacrifice. Are you?
To the Republicans. Why are you willing to let the middle and lower class shoulder the burden of tax cuts? Why aren't the people who can afford it the most having to pay their fair share? It's time to close some loopholes and raise revenue to help the budget.
I have no doubt that you all feel you are doing what's best for this Country. But in reality, you are not. If you cause the Government to default, you are putting the economy at risk, as well as the people who hired you. Why are you not willing to make the tough decisions? Are you afraid you will upset the voter base and not get re-elected? Oh well, you were sent there to do a job, it may be tough and it may eventually cost you the job, but nonetheless it is a job, so do it. Thank you for your time.

Just got back from my brother's wedding in Chicago. I was in the party which was a blast except for the insane heat and humidity but I would do it in again in a heartbeat. It was of course one of those weddings that is a four day event. Which when you aren't filing bankruptcy and have a job is okay, but when you are broke off your arse, it gets a little tougher. Luckily we knew it was coming so we were able to save some money up for the event. Of course, having my parents step up and pay for the hotel and train tickets saved us about 600 dollars. So that was nice. I will say watching the people driving in Chicago remind me a lot of Vegas. Crazy arse people.

It would be nice if the freaking state would send us our refund. (our tax guy messed up and we had to amend our returns) So now instead of getting a refund, we have been getting letters that we owe almost $800 dollars. I have been calling and sending letters but they don't seem to care. If it is dealt with soon, I am going to throw it on the tax guys desk, and tell him you frakked it up, you spend the time fixing it, I'm done. That would be more money to put into an EF (If I ever get to start it).

My wife got told right before we left that she will be unable to work for 10 days because the doctor she works for is going on vacation. She will probably file for partial unemployment (he suggested it). She has vacation to use, but that PTO also includes her holiday pay, so if she uses it now she has nothing left for the holidays. I told her once I get some money it might be time to find a new job. Her hours are to erratic. 40 hours one week 30 the next making it hard to budget stuff. So when she goes back to work I will probably try to start an emergency fund with money we have left from the wedding and living.
And of course her cell phone died sunday night, but we had an extra one laying around that the verizon people were nice enough to switch phone number and let her use so that saved us from having to come up with a crapload of money.

On another note, we got $6.00 worth of coupons from Hershey's on any of their products. I complained when I found a piece of hair in some Twizzlers I ate. So that is good at least.

Okay, so I decided to start blogging. I will write when I can or the mood strikes me.

I think the best place to start is that my family and I got into some financial trouble over the last several years. While we had managed to stay on top of things when we moved we found out I had to have another surgery which is going to keep me out of work for at least a year. Luckily my wife was able to get a job right away. Even though we had 6 months of living when we moved and moved in with mother our money was spent on keeping us above water. Unfortunetaly the people who were supposed to be paying for my surgery still haven't paid yet after a 8 months. So between that and our credit card debt we are broke. Tomorrow we are signing the papers to file bankruptcy. Talk about a pride hit. I have done everything I can but not enough. It's hard with one income and some social security for my son. We are filing tomorrow.

My point is that we need to start trying to save money with what we have, and I figure if I make it public, hopefully we can do it. I also thought, I would document my experiences with bankruptcy and anything else. I hope this stuff is interesting to you.