I'm telling you, this is tough. I'm so frustrated.
Due to car problems, my emergency savings is gone and I had to use the dang credit cards. And the cars still have problems.
I had been expecting a stock bonus this month, and I got it, except it's about 50% less than I thought (dang taxes), and our stock price of course tanked (dang Murphy's Law) so I'm hesitant to sell at the moment.
All the bills are being paid on time, still paying above minimum payments on debt, slowly socking money back into the EF, we're not paycheck to paycheck, both of us are still working, and all of that is good.
But geez. I feel like as soon as I get a handle on something, it goes to crap.
It's about this time I usually say SCREW IT and go shopping. But I am holding back. YAY ME! 
It sure would make me feel better though.
{{pause}} {{breathe}}
Maybe I just needed to vent. I feel a little better already...except...
I'm really getting worried about retirement though. I know it's several years off, but I am clearly not saving enough. I believe the usual plan is to pay off debt then aggressively save/invest, but I fear that is many years off and I won't have enough time. Sucks that I waited this long to think about it.
**EDIT** I do contribute to a 401(k) and there is a match. I only have about $57K in there though. I recently heard that by my age (39) I should have something like 2x my yearly salary?? That's when I started to worry about it more. **END EDIT**
But the last thing I need is to get depressed about it. I need to suck it up and forge ahead.
OK, rant over.
Man o' Man I'm trying!
March 8th, 2013 at 06:49 pm
March 8th, 2013 at 07:42 pm 1362771771
March 8th, 2013 at 08:16 pm 1362773788
Great job holding off on the shopping!
March 8th, 2013 at 08:41 pm 1362775270
We never totally stopped our retirement savings although some years we didn't save nearly as much. Are you getting a company match of anything at all? I was always completely against not getting that money.
I used to figure all the day to day month to month stuff would work out one way or another with the ups and downs but once that money was into retirement nobody could touch it and when we get to retirement we WOULD have savings. It is a marathon and when you finish it, you want to have the cash to buy yourself a nice long drink of water.
March 8th, 2013 at 08:52 pm 1362775948
March 8th, 2013 at 09:51 pm 1362779498
Jerry
March 9th, 2013 at 01:01 am 1362790879
March 9th, 2013 at 03:32 am 1362799959
March 9th, 2013 at 01:44 pm 1362836696
And then think about what you learned and incorporate it in to your plans going forward. Maybe you need to shoot for a larger EF (eventually, it won't happen overnight) if you find that your EF falls short regularly. Or maybe you create, in addition to the EF, and "extraordinary expenses" fund. Everyone faces extraordinary expenses when it comes to home & car repair, medical/dental /vision, pet care, etc. None of us knows when these expenses will crop up, we just know that they will eventually.
Once the debt is paid off and the budget & expenditures are normalized (when you no longer have to rely on the credit cards to pay for extraordinary expenses), you will have so much more to put towards retirement. And just to be clear, I am NOT recommending that you suspend your current retirement savings ... keep contributing at least up to the match.
You can do it! Really, you can. One step at a time ....
April 18th, 2013 at 11:55 pm 1366329313
If your employer matches, you need to keep contributing to get it. Don't think about increasing it until you get your spending under control (Goal numero uno), and get your self on a debt reduction path (Goal numero dos).
Oh yes, if you get company stock, and can sell it, sell it. Keeping it means you are already doubling down on risk. If the company tanks, the stock tanks AND you lose your job. Sell it and transfer the proceeds to a Roth, where you put in whatever index fund you like (spreading the risk around), in an emergency you can use it as an EF (you can take out the original contribution tax free at any time), and you can use it as a second retirement account.
And man, invite me to those happy hours! $700/month? No more buying rounds.