Getting Screwed by Uncle Sam . . . Twice

Money has been tight the last few months.  Since we budgeted our rent through May, our loan money and tax refund money has been spent.  We'd been hoping on our stimulus check to help supplement our income so that we can move at the end of the month.  Since Josh had also been working for a month straight, we'd also hoped his first paycheck would show his earnings for the last month.  Sadly we got the short end of the stick on both accounts.  Our stimulus check was not only less than what we originally thought (we'd expected a bit lower) but it was half of what we thought we were getting.  Then Josh only got paid half of what he was owed.  And since we both now work for the Federal Government, I feel short-changed in more ways than one.  That and Uncle Sam decided he needed a bigger cut from both of our paychecks.  So now we're in a bind.  We can still move at the end of the month, in fact we have to.  But paying our other bills will be a bit harder.  I still have supplies I need to purchase for my project in Colorado which I will be reimbursed for when I get there, but that's still two weeks away.  In the meantime we have our credit cards, utilities, food, and gas to buy for the next few weeks until, hopefully, we're back on our feet again. But to say this doesn't make me a bit nervous, scared, and mad would be underestimating  my feelings on the matter.