This year has been a pain in the heinie. It's costing me piles. New car, unexpectedly. Moving house on short notice. Taxes on a retirement plan cash-out that really was the best of several bad alternatives at the time. (Or so I keep telling myself...) Certification exams that absolutely blow goats. Little bitty incidental expenses piling up. The power bill has soared by $200/month due to this damnable heat wave, and food seems to cost more every time I go shopping. On top of that, although I finally have medical insurance and a proper 401k plan again, that's meant that my take-home pay has gone down by about $200 per month. All these little nickel-and-dime items, and pretty soon it's real money... Bah. Just needed to vent somewhere. Things aren't dire just yet, but I'm only one stroke of bad luck away from real trouble.