Thanks for your support folks. Word from the union is the strike may happen in March.

I have realized we need a huge financial overhaul due to accumulated debt and monthly high expenses. We have decent income but high expenses (for example, our daycare fees for 3 children are higher than our mortgage!).

I have been working to reduce our monthly expenditures:

- temporarily stopped investing in my children's RESP's
- lowered my cell phone plan
- made the decision to grow out my hair and stop getting haircuts
- made the decision to take my daughter out of competitive dance next year which will hugely reduce our costs
- got a consolidation loan for debts with a lower interest rate - on the down side the payments are $400/mo. for the next 5 years!!!! OUCH
- realized that I have to say no to a LOT of things such as holidays
- discussed using CASH ONLY to buy groceries for the week... once the money is done, it's done
- I returned an unneeded item at a store and got a refund

Other things on the TO DO list:
- increase deductible to lower car insurance payments
- sell some items (outgrown children's clothes to the used clothing store, certain items on kijiji, certain industry specific resources related to my part-time self-employment which I have decided to give up)

I came home from work today as soon as I got there as I was anxious about money and wanted to go home to deal with it all. I ended up sleeping for 5 hours as I have not been sleeping well the past few nights, awake with the stress of trying to figure out our finances.

Dh, god bless his soul, is not that helpful unfortunately. He keeps promising back pay and a raise at work but this department overhaul has been going on for a couple of years. I can't pay bills on a promise. He just trusts me to figure it all out somehow. That's his contribution to things. It is disappointing, stressful and very isolating to feel that I'm going at this struggle alone.

I took a teeny tiny bit extra on our debt consolidation loan to put aside for the strike, and my parents have offered to give us $1000.00 when we're on strike. God bless them. So that helps.

It's a relief to vent and get this out. Thanks for listening. I am very anxious.