How do you spell STRESS?

I have two spellings for the word.

My first spelling is BALLET. Helena's ballet is the biggest expense we have outside of the standard home mortgage. It is even bigger than our car payment. No this is not a photo of Helena, but it is a photo of a former dancer from her ballet company.

This summer, Helena's ballet company will be travelling to Europe for 10+ days of touring. I remember the company girls going on this trip 5 years ago when Helena was a little dancer!

Most of the trip will be spent at the Austria Tanzsommer festival, with side trips to Venice, Amsterdam, London, and Paris! The trip is, of course, incredibly expensive. Bill and I decided early on to do everything in our power to send Helena on this trip. What is the point of spending years of dedicated hard work in a grueling discipline if you don't get the huge reward offered for your efforts?

Of course, we didn't realize the economy would have such a strong impact on our lives. The company Bill works for is in a job slump right now and has laid off all but a core of 7 guys; Bill being one of the seven, thankfully! His paychecks have been smaller than usual because he is working fewer hours.

We have about 1/2 of the trip paid for so far. I stress about how to pay the remainder, especially the airfare, which will probably need to be paid very shortly. I am feverishly filling out taxes so I can receive the refund ASAP!

The other spelling is FINANCES. This is probably a spelling of stress for many people these days. You know, we only have one credit card. I have a balance on it, unfortunately. They just sent me a notification that they are going to raise my rate to 17.9%!!! Is this because I missed a payment or two? NO!!! It is 'due to the current economic conditions and the length of time I have been a customer'. HUNH?! I have been a customer for 15 years! I pay more than the minimum each month!

I have heard that this is happening to many people across the country. I even got a phone solicitation (even though I am on the 'do not call' list) from a company that works with all the major credit card companies offering to 'mediate' for $30.00 a month. I told him to 'take a hike'!

So... I am going to cancel the credit card. I don't seriously entertain any hopes that I will be able to get another one with a decent rate right now, so we are going to live sans credit for a while. It scares me because we have no cushion and very little self control. I am hoping that this will force us to be more fiscally responsible.

I suppose all of this sounds incredible... finances are terrible but you are sending your daughter to Europe?! You know, life goes on and it is not all about money. Helena will have experiences that cannot be weighed and measured with a money stick. I feel like sending her is the best use of what little money I do have!