Everything costs more right now
Especially the fight for something better.
I picked a bad time to have my most expensive month of the year.
The price of everything is soaring.
From gas and groceries to housing and healthcare, nothing costs what it used to. We’re all feeling the heat. It’s a safe bet to assume that everyone longs for more economical times.
When the price of gas approaches and, in some areas, rockets past $5 a gallon, it warps reality. The sight alone makes you question everything.
The U.S. inflation rate hit a three-year high in April, data that only confirms none of us are crazy. Sticker shock has bled into basic necessities. Even a modest life is hard to manage in this climate.
For most of us, it’s the wrong time to have a high cost of living.
That’s why my April credit card balance stops me in my tracks.
Most of my purchases go on a credit card so I can rack up airline points. A few essentials — like rent, gas for my vehicle and apartment, electricity and my $10 monthly gym membership — are paid separately. Tracking expenses this way lets me monitor spending in real time, and each month I share my progress, for better or worse.
Last month’s total: $7,597.58.
May 2025 is the only month in which I’ve spent more. I could easily excuse that month’s spending, as the bulk went to a root canal.
I managed to land on something even worse last month: attorney’s fees.
Nearly 50 percent of my April balance went to the “professional services” category. That’s because for the second year in a row, I’m staring down another legal storm.
Divorce isn’t cheap, folks. And if you get caught in a web of court filings like me, the proceedings can drain your accounts dry.
A retainer cost me $3,500 — and that was just to get started. That doesn’t include other required court costs. I anticipate another drawn-out ordeal.
But I’m as prepared as I’ve ever been.
And what I’m fighting for — or rather whom — is worth every penny.
It’d just be nice to have some relief. I’m hopeful this will do the trick, and I wouldn’t have taken this step if I didn’t believe it would. I’ve been through more than you can imagine, but the update I hope to share soon will be sweeter than anything life can offer me.
It’ll bring the peace and joy that has eluded me for much of my fatherhood.
Meanwhile, I’m maintaining as best as I can through what has been a trying first half of 2026.
The good news is my spending on all other aspects is under control. Though I also paid $1,100 on furniture last month. I needed a new bed after my breakup. A nightstand too. And because I recently donated my seldom-used tools, I had to hire someone to assemble those items.
I also squeezed in a quick getaway for me and Parker to Niagara Falls on the final weekend of April. I vowed to not let money worries prevent us from having a great time — and I didn’t.
I even paid for a set of those overpriced souvenir photos.
We took in the sights, got soaked, enjoyed lunch at Rainforest Cafe, went shopping and caught a movie.
That weekend reminded me why any of this is worth enduring. I’m fighting for more days like that with Parker.
And for the first time in a long time, I believe they’re possible.