It’s that time of year. You know, when we get our annual cost of living raise.
I was kind of looking forward to it this year because I’ve been in my house for a year now and things have been tight and everyone says we’re in for a cold Winter which means outrageous heating bills — I have gas heat and I don’t care what anyone says, keeping the thermostat at 68°F when I’m home and reducing it to 62°F when I leave or sleep doesn’t stop the massive checking account suckage. I nearly died of shock when I saw my first gas bill last year…and then it never got better.
Anyway, I was hoping for some sort of breathing space with my raise this year. Isn’t that what one of the benefits of owning a home is suppose to be about? Your salary goes up but your residential cost remains the same so eventually you’re living a little freer?
Anyway, I’m one of those anal people who has to calculate everything once I get the totals and figure out what I’m going to be bringing home and I figured out that once they pull out all my deductions for retirement and the government, I’ll be getting a measly extra $100 a paycheck, which should just pay for the increase in health insurance HR has notified me will be starting on January 1rst. Whoo. Hoo.
Sometimes I lose sight of what it is I’m supposed to be working for.
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Every time I’ve had a raise, it’s just barely covered the increase in rent + increase in health insurance.