Dear So and So

[tulip]

Tulip, please do tell what you're using?

You Need A Budget (ynab.com). Very aptly named.

Truly revolutionizing for me (I have never been good with money, and this is helping me be really good with money).

PM me if you want more details of how it's helping me.

[bmccasland]

Like figuring out how to pay mortgage, rent, and now a whopping VISA bill for the auto repairs that I'm getting?

[jessmarimba]

Dear eyes -

Please stop conspiring to bankrupt me and/or keep me from running and biking. I can take the bad vision, but being allergic to my own sweat is not cool!

Or - Dear work - pleaase please please please, I'm begging here, will you look into a vision plan that covers something besides 15% of lasik? any sort of prescription coverage would be fantastic! (to compare, the cost of breaking my back was about equal to two years of eye care)

Thanking you blindly.

[Owlie]

Dear health insurance company--
You majorly suck.

Dear pile of stuff--
Please fit in the car!

Dear bike--
I'm sorry that I'm not taking you back. It's going to be icky until April, there's nowhere to put the trainer in the apartment (or the car!), and I don't want to risk taking you on a four-hour drive in potentially nasty weather, particularly with all the salt around. Remember Thanksgiving?
If the weather over spring break is good, DBF and I will take you and your "boyfriend" out for lots of long rides to make up for it, okay? Oh, and we'll have you tweaked to fit me properly too!
Me.

[limewave]

You Need A Budget (ynab.com). Very aptly named.

Truly revolutionizing for me (I have never been good with money, and this is helping me be really good with money).

PM me if you want more details of how it's helping me.

I tried the YNAB free trial for a month. I really liked it. I haven't made the leap to buy it yet, but your recommendation is swaying me in that direction.

[tulip]

I tried the YNAB free trial for a month. I really liked it. I haven't made the leap to buy it yet, but your recommendation is swaying me in that direction.

I bought it last year but I didn't stick to it. I thought I'd give in another shot this time around...and I'm serious it's paid for itself several times over already. For the first time in a very long time, I'm looking at not being broke at the end of the month--I've already got a buffer of a few hundred and could end up with even more if all goes according to plan. And I'm not starving myself or anything, either.

I'm combining with some very important lessons by Dave Ramsey. It's waaaaay overdue for me.

[sgtiger]

I'm actually pretty good with budgeting but I'm in the process of shopping around for something other than Quicken. Not that I'm not happy with it but I'm forced to upgrade every couple of years and it's getting annoying. I never end up using all the bells and whistles that they add. Their helpful suggestions are a pain to deal with sometimes too.

[jessmarimba]

WOOHOO!

Work answered my pleas - we're going back to the health insurance we had until this past year, and glasses are soooo much cheaper!!

[Melalvai]

Not-dear-at-all ex-friend,
Blast it all, why do you have to be the one giving the bike/ped advocacy workshop here? I thought at last I could safely participate in all the bike/ped advocacy I wanted without risking running into you since we've both moved to different cities. Once again I'm faced with that awful decision of foregoing a bike/ped advocacy opportunity that I'm passionate about--or interacting with you. You can have all the rest of the world, just leave my little town for me. Will my own mistakes 4 years ago ever stop haunting me?
Frustrated Me

[limewave]

Dear Recession,

I hate you. I despise and loathe you. We had a plan, we were on good career paths. We were just getting started and then you had to sweep the rug out from under us.

I'm tired of working two jobs. I want my life back. I want to spend time with my kids. I want to take a day off of work to take a day off--not to work another job. When my kids are sick, I want to be able to stay with them, not send them to yet another babysitter. I'm exhausted from working 7 days a week.

I miss vacations. I miss being able to buy something when I need it.

You are crushing me. I have never claimed to be super-woman or to be able to do-it-all. I'm not one of those amazing mother's that we hear about all the time. I just can't do that much.

Please let up. Give us a break. We need it. I need it. My kids need it.

I know there are many others out there much worse off than we are. I feel selfish for even writing these things. If you could just let up for a moment, I'm sure I can rally again for the long haul.

Limewave