Another Day Another Dollar

After the stressful week I had last week I spent the entire weekend trying to relax. I usually try to unwind by pampering myself. The more stressed I am the more I pamper! The last few days I've really tried to focus on the pampering because I can tell my body is feeling the affects of my stress. I haven't been sleeping good and my back and shoulders are in knots from tension.

I didn't go overboard on the pampering this weekend, but I did indulge in long baths, 2 one mile walks with my son, 2 naps, and lots of exercise to loosen up my body. Sunday I tried to get my mind off everything by having lunch with my family at a beach side restaurant. It was a perfect way to spend an afternoon. The wind was blowing a cool breeze causing big waves in the water and a gentle breeze to hit my skin. It was so refreshing to look over the snow white sand to see the sun glimmering in the water. Ohhh how I enjoy living in a beach town.

My attempts to relax this weekend didn't seem to be doing much to relieve the tension in my back and shoulders. By Sunday afternoon I was really hurting. I came up with the brilliant idea of having my son walk on my back. He thought it was a lot of fun and it did wonders for the tightness in my shoulders. I was able to get a massage this afternoon which has also helped a little. Of course I always wait till my body is really in bad shape before I get a massage. As a result, the massage always hurts and I have to schedule another one for the following week in order to finish getting all of the knots out of my back. Today was no different.

Work has been really busy this week, but things seem to be changing for the better. A few new policies are in place (finally) so maybe the office will be a little less stressed from now on. I am trying to be optimistic that things will get better. The receptionist has decided to come back to work due to the new policies being in place. She is going to give it a little while to see if the changes will stick or if things will go back to the way they were. It is sad that it had to come to her quitting before any changes were made at the office, but that is how my office works. We have to take dramatic steps in order for any changes to be made.

Last year I had to inform my boss that I had 2 other job offers in order to get a raise. Of course it is all in the timing. A person had quit and if I had quit too the office would have been down to 1 person selling/servicing insurance. A licensed insurance agent is hard to come by so I ended up getting a $7,500 raise. It sounds like a nice size pay increase, but the office was so far behind in the pay scale that it really only increased my pay to what others in the area are making.

Florida has become a very expensive state to live in the last few years. I kept wondering why it seemed like I was struggling financially, then one day it hit me that my pay hasn't kept up with the cost of living in Florida. Gas, food, electricity, and property taxes have all dramatically increased, but my pay hadn't. My home owners insurance has also went from $450 to $3,700 in the last seven years even though I still live in the same house. No wonder it seemed like I didn't have any money left over with after my bills were paid.