Financial and emotional stress

I'm feeling a little stressed right now. Nothing major...yet...just looking down the line at some potential "situations."

  • Last week, emails were sent out to several departments are work talking about how the senior leaders were ever so excited to get cracking on some new initiatives to win business. Of course, said initiatives need funding. And of course, said senior leaders will be looking at the current "staffing model" and "performance" to make sure they have "the right people" doing the right things. A lot of people think we're getting warmed up for a RIF (Reduction in Force). That could be true, but what can I do about that? Mind my performance, update my resume, and save money like mad. All of those things are under my control, everything else I'm not all that concerned about. Because of this, and saving for a house, cost of food, etc., I've put myself on a pretty strict budget. The entire month of June I didn't go out (like party, clubs, movies, etc.) and didn't buy any food other than groceries so I could save money for this weekend. I plan to keep this going for the next six months make sure I maximize my savings, especially since my employer has me concerned.
  • A few months ago The S.O. and I made arrangements for him to come visit me. Everything was booked and ready to go when I got a message for a dear friend saying she was going to be in town also. Well I couldn't possibly miss out on the opportunity to see her! So I've made plans to drag S.O. with me to see my girlfriends during the visit. Since he paid for everything when I saw him last, I decided to return part of the favor (what? I'm not rollin' in it!) and cover all his meals while he's here. Thank GAWD he likes Chipotle. :-D We may or may not spend Saturday night with my girlfriends, but we will definitely meet up with them for Sunday brunch. It's going to be a low-spend weekend as we're both trying to save money. Especially him because it's finally sinking in for him that he not only has to pay a mortgage on one salary when there used to be two, but he also has to repay a HELOC he took out on the house to pay out his ex in the divorce. I offered some budgeting help, and to his credit, he took me up on it. Gave me all the financials and we hammered out a budget. It's going to be a very difficult three to four months for him as he pays off smaller debts so he can start saving. I suggested that he cancel the trip to visit me, however he already paid for the hotel and his folks will watch the dog (instead of him paying $100 to have it boarded). I also suggested that I should go visit him since it would be less expensive for me. Still, part of me is concerned about how long this relationship can withstand financial strain inherent on LDRs. It's not a concern that makes me want to drop everything, just something in the back of my head that I think about as I look over my budget.
  • My cousin is coming to town to spend a month or so in the city and bringing her daughter. She mentioned this months and months ago but I never got a date. Well my Dad just asked me to pick her up from the airport on Thursday because he's not feeling well. I hope my aunt tells her to wait outside in the pick-up area, because I have no cash to pay for parking. I'm also hoping she's ok with me not seeing her this weekend because it's already booked, besides, she's going to be here for a month and I didn't know when she was arriving. I can visit with her next weekend. I love hanging out with her, but I hope she doesn't need me to keep her entertained, because the money just isn't there.

I kinda just want to crawl into a hole and come out once I've saved up enough money and these situations have passed. Meh.