By the way, I had someone tell me that I'd just have to learn to give
something up to cover new costs. I could eat out less, pack my lunch, etc. Well,
guess what. I don't eat out. I pack my lunch every day as does my entire family,
the dogs are eating store brand dog food, the truck is 11 years old, the trailer
is a 2 horse 1988 steel and I buy my hay in the field and put it up myself (too
cheap to hire any help) give my own shots, buy used saddles and have to write a
funny article to pay for my entries. I don't have much left to give up and it's
getting pretty darned hard to be funny! :-(
I do about the same, no meals out, '95 p/u (bought
used), $2500 trlr (bought used), Costco dog food, buy hay in field, do own
shots, used saddles (cheap ones.....but they are comfy & the horses have
no complaints either). And now PG&E customers in CA are also facing 11%
utility increase as well, already pay $250 in summer due to pumping water from
the well. Fuel up 100% (was $250 mo, now $500), utility up 10%, hay up
35%, and, we know EVERYTHING we buy is probably
going to go up 10-15% as a result of the fuel costs, with some companies
taking advantage & raising costs more like 25%. Yup, I think I can do without a raise in AERC dues.....probably won't be
able to afford more than one or two rides anyway. Thank goodness I live where I
have about 15 miles of cleared trails. Gets boring after a few months of the
same old trails, but it beats not riding at all.
