Heather R. Breaux

SURVIVAL: It’s time to gear up for a little game I like to call “Survival of the Fittest”

I am 26, a college graduate and in the beginnings of a great career. I am not married (yet) and have no children. However, I do live with my fiance, Sean, who works for a contractor at Dow Chemical. And together we make what used to be considered a decent living.

Sounds like a pretty nice set up, right? Wrong. With the cost of living rising daily, these days we can barely afford to put food on the table.

Maybe I’m exaggerating a little. I never go with out food, but I am finding it increasingly harder to get by from week to week.

Utilities, food, medical expenses, and those pesky gas prices are really starting to put a dent in my checking account.

For example, I spent $50 more than I normally do during my last bi-weekly grocery trip - and that’s without any impulse buys! I bought all the necessities like milk, bread and eggs along with household items like garbage bags, toilet paper and paper towels.

But because the prices on nearly everything we need to function on a day-to-day basis have risen, I am forced to pay the extra bucks.

I only put regular unleaded fuel in my mid-sized sedan, but I’m still paying an average of $3.08 per gallon. Twenty-five dollars to fill up may not seem like a lot to masses who drive around town in SUVs, but I can remember only paying $12 to fill the tank when I bought the car in 2002.

Utilities like gas, water and electricity have increased by a few dollars, but in the long run it all adds up too.

And the medical expenses, don’t even get me started! While I do have insurance (and I am very thankful for that) the co-pays and deductables alone are killing me. It’s $30 everytime I see a specialist and $20 when I have an appointment with my primary care doctor.

I’ve had to meet nearly $2000 in deductables because of my surgeries and other tests. And because my current medical condition, I’m in the doctor’s office at least four to five times a month.

I don’t mean to rain on anyone’s parade or be a grouch, but I know that I’m not alone and that I’m probably speaking for most of you out there who are reading this.

What are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to continue living in this downward spiral of an economy? Does the president really think that his little stimulus package is going to make a difference? For me, that money is already spent and I haven’t even got the check yet.

It looks like we’re in for one heck poker game. Feelin’ lucky? Not me. All I want to do is cash in my chips and back to the way things used to be.