In reply to white_fly :
No, I'm certainly making more than entry level pay. But it's $5.50 less per hour than I was making in my previous position. I've been here for three years so we've adapted. I'll admit that I've cut my own personal allowance short to throw that little bit extra towards other things. It's always something though and I never feel comfortable taking more. First it was saving for the vacation, then throwing the extra towards some bills we wanted to knock out. I sold the Civic and decided to finish those couple bills off with that money. Then no more than a week later the wife ends up in the ER for a couple hours and we're right back to trying to knock out an unexpected $3k doctor bill. So I've made the decision to limit my own money to try to get us a little more breathing room. Honestly it was much better before they ended OT last year. I went from having 15-20hrs of OT per week to nothing, just after I bought the Civic and a week after convinced the spousal unit to agree that I could use my OT money to work on the car and race it. (which was no easy task as many here may know) Then her work cut out OT a week after that. So we got a little tighter with our money. I still bitch about it though.
Look I'm not trying to lay the blame for any of this at anyone else's feet other than my own. I made the decisions that put me here and I take full responsibility for that. I'm having a hard time seeing a path forward though.
I'm very grateful that I have this place to vent to. I appreciate all the support and encouragement I've received and it means more than you all know. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You guys rock. Your advice and experiences are not falling on deaf ears but I've twisted my mind so much since I started this thread trying to put it all together that I've made myself sick about it. I'm going to try to let it rest for a while. I need to get Robbie's injectors finished up that I've been holding hostage for what seems like forever and maybe just try to focus on something else this weekend.
