It’s a new fiscal year here in West Virginia.

Which means that I’m now making less money that I was last paycheck.

You see insurance changes occur July 1, which means that insurance increases or changes appear on the first paycheck of the month.

It’s at times like this when I wonder why I work at WVU. Yeah, 6 hours of free tuition are fantastic, but thanks to the economy tanking, raises have been near to non-existant since W took office.

Money isn’t everything I know, and Michael has gotten regular raises, but it’s still frustrating. Bills are paid out of checking–the account that my paycheck goes into; Michael’s paycheck goes straight into savings, and the morgtage and car payment come directly from there. All of which means that as prices rise while my pay remains the same, we are more likely to pull money from the savings account to pay bills than we were even a year ago.

It’s frustrating. We aren’t really spending more money than previous years, yet I keep having to dip into money that is supposed to go into savings. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not such a huge thing. We’re still accumulating savings–like I said, Michael is getting raises–but it feels like we’re falling behind.

I know that I shouldn’t complain. We have a home, a car, food to eat, books to read, no credit card debt, and money in savings. All of this is far more than so many people have. Yet still, the feeling of falling behind is unsettling.