Screwy Finances Yet Again

So remember our recent bout of debt slashing?  We were flying high on our little burst of income, happily checking off items on our financial goal list.

The tables have turned yet again and we're now back to Square One.

(source)

I feel like we're in this cul-de-sac of financial repetitiveness, a merry-go-round I'd gladly exit if I could.

The dealio is that Mike was supposed to be on another month of orders during August.  So we threw all of that extra money he was earning at debt and a small pittance into savings, thinking we'd get to that with our surplus for this month.

Just kidding.

At the last minute, Mike's orders were canceled.  Yep, no warning, you can go home now.  While that's nice for us on a personal note because this summer has been completely hijacked, it also means Mike won't be earning money at all this entire month.

Lest anyone be super alarmed, we thankfully have enough to cover everything and Mike will back in classes with his GI Bill reinstated in September.  

But it's switcharoos like these that make me question our previous actions, and that's no fun at all.  How was I to know it would have been better to throw a bunch in savings first and not at debt because we would be losing income on short notice?  

I know I shouldn't be hard on us - we don't have a crystal ball and you can only make a good decision based on the knowledge that you have at the time.  

But this is what I think is the most frustrating about our financial situation - it's never consistent. No matter how hard we try, half of our income can disappear or be delayed at any time.  You cannot be financially responsible if you can't PLAN for anything.

<takes a deep breath and eats a piece of chocolate>

Things will be alright, it's just another bump in the road.  Worse things could happen.  But believe me, it will be a happy day when we have incomes we can actually count on.