I’m getting tired of looking at my credit card statement.
I know what’s waiting for me. I know where the money went. And lately, I’ve had to talk myself into opening the damn thing.
Since spring, it’s been one hit after another. Every month brings another expensive shock, another bill I didn’t want, another reminder that life can get costly when you can least afford it.
Worse, I can feel myself slipping into an old habit: avoiding the numbers. Putting off the moment when I have to look at the damage and deal with it.
I know where that road leads. I’ve been down it before.
Ignoring a financial problem doesn’t make it disappear. It gives the problem room to grow. And the last thing I need is for my money to compound in the wrong direction.
So, here we go. September’s damage.
$8,196.63.
It’s my highest-spending month of the year. It’s also my sixth consecutive month spending more than $4,000. September now ranks as my second-most-expensive month ever, trailing only May 2025, when I had to pay for a root canal. Lately, it feels like even that tooth needs an expensive touch-up.
I spent $5,526 more than I did in September 2025.
That’s a helluva difference in 12 months.
There were two bright spots, though. I made a conscious decision to put some of my money toward things I actually wanted to do. I’m tired of watching my hard-earned dollars disappear into everyone else’s pockets without getting to enjoy some of the fruits of my labor.
First, I booked most of a birthday trip of a lifetime. I’ll share more about that next month, but the good news is that many of those expenses are already covered.
Second, my daughter Parker and I took a weekend trip to St. Louis. I spent $1,721.91 in the travel category for the month, including $828.31 for our two-night getaway.
And I refused to spend the weekend worrying about every dollar.
We rode the train down — Parker’s first train ride out of state — visited the Gateway Arch, took a riverboat cruise, tried an escape room for the first time, ate all-you-can-eat sushi (one of Parker’s favorites), went on a nature walk and caught a free telescope viewing under a full moon.
I can think of plenty of things I’ve spent money on that I couldn’t tell you a month later. This trip won’t be one of them. It was money well spent.
The rest of the month? A different story.
For the sixth month in a row, professional services topped my spending. September’s total was $3,462, the highest I’ve recorded for the category this year and possibly ever in a single month.
The legal mess I’ve been dealing with is finally in its 11th hour. I can see the finish line, but getting there is costing me. The bills keep climbing, and there’s only so much I can do about that.
It’s exhausting. Financially and mentally.
When the numbers get this big, looking away can feel like a little relief. For a moment, I don’t have to think about what I owe, what’s coming next or how much room I have left in my budget.
But that relief is temporary. The bills still come. The balance is still there. Ignoring them doesn’t change a thing.
I can’t control every expense life throws at me. But I can control whether I face the numbers and make smart decisions with my eyes open.
That’s what this column is for. Some months, the numbers make me feel good. Other months, I’d rather pretend the statement doesn’t exist.
September was one of those months.
I’m looking anyway.
