With everything going up like gas and food, I am changing the way I live. I just went shopping last night and decided to buy things like rice and beans to pull me through the week. I work at a retail store and see prices going up by the day almost and it is very scary. Some people have the money to back it up but I so don' t. I am stuck paying the same bills and making ends meet. I know that daycares are putting their prices up higher cause of the cost of gas, having to run the vans back and forth from school is making it hard on them not to raise the tuitions. My job gave some people a pay raise but I am not one of them. I am saving my money and just push numbers from one account to another. I am probably having to live on my savings if this is getting more ridiculous. I wish that the government would do something about us common folk and not make the rich richer and the poor poorer. I am not using my a/c in summer or my heater in winter. I am not going anywhere fun with the kids anymore and save on every grocery bill I have. I try to make meals cheap and sometimes we only eat grilled cheese sandwiches and pancakes because it is still cheaper than buying meat and such. I make dinner once a week for my boyfriend and try to buy cheap meat like pork or chicken, hopefully this week I can find some good red meat for him. My gas bill went from $40 twice a month to almost $60 twice a month. It is more than I can afford and I am happy for my gas card which at times I roll over on the payments. I pay off my credit card every month but I fear that at one point I am not able to do that. I put my food on there and know that some people are already in debt because of that. I have been telling my kids that I am not able to buy snack foods. So now they are hungry alot and I try to keep their minds off food and buy certain items in bulk. I can't even afford to drive to Sam's Club to get those items. Such a shame that we have to suffer now. It is not like it used to be and alot of people are relying on the state to provide. I was only getting like $240 a month and it was still not enough to eat. Now I only spend $200 a month of my own cash since I took myself off the help. I was getting upset with my appointments having people pry in my personal life and question every purchase or bill of mine. I like to keep some money in my savings for bad times and then I get asked why I have a savings. Every extra penny I own I put away so my kids can have clothes and shoes and things they need for school. I still have to buy summer clothes like shorts and shirts for them so they can wear it in daycare all summer long. Both of them have outgrown their clothes and this year I have to buy more. With no child support I am really shorted out! Its Sunday and I am cooking things like hamburger meat with Fideo and spanish rice for my beans and sausages. I try to buy things that would last me a week and eat the same thing everyday. I cut myself on food for the weekends so my kids can have theirs instead. Breakfast and a small dinner. Throughout the week I have three meals cause I need my bloodsugar to be normal when I am at work. Many people at my work risk their health over paying bills and buying food. Many have started working even after retiring from their past job for 2 to 15 years. It is so sad. And not many jobs are available anymore. The hours are not there either...

What has the world come to??? I am at a total loss for words and thoughts and try not to think of everything in detail. My blood pressure and the life of my kids is more important to me than anything else. I can just hope for the best and have the angels take care of me.