Something to be Thankful for

As Thanksgiving approaches, I have been thinking about how things are going overall. Once again, by taking myself back 1 year and comparing the situation then to what I face now, I realize just how much progress I have made.

In the past weeks, Spartacus, one of our cats has been dealing with an ear infection. The treatment for this has been rather costly. The vet visits and exams, the associated medicines that we have to apply each day have run several hundred dollars. If this had happened to us last year, I would have faced some really difficult financial decisions about how to pay for this. There is no question that Spartacus will be taken care of. The cats are just like children in the sense that they are not something that one takes the responsibility for without incurring the expense.

Having said that, this year I was able to just pay for the expense without making any major sacrifices. While I was rather depressed about taking the money out of savings to cover the costs, I was thankful that I was able to do this without hesitation. It proves that things are still getting better. 2014 will mark a major change in my financial situation as yet another bill will finally be resolved. By the summer, I will have more disposable income available which will go into my savings.

The thought that I would have reached this point was unimaginable at this time last year, let alone in the several years preceding that. I have stuck with my Plan to get out of debt and it is working. There have been some tweaks to the plan over the years, but the basis remains the same. I am now paying part of my bills every paycheck rather than trying to pay a complete bill every two weeks. This has lessened the pressure on my bank account tremendously. It has also allowed me some flexibility in getting everything in order.

Spartacus is worth the expense, no doubt about it. It makes me feel good to know that I can handle this unexpected expense without the threat of throwing everything into chaos. I will recover my savings balance in time, and it will be there for me the next time that I have to make a decision like this.

The point is that I am doing better than I was at this time last year, and for that I am very thankful.