Time to put on our big boy/girl pants

The last three years we've been through a roller coaster, and my credit has paid the price. Sure, I've paid my bills all on time but my debt to meet living expenses has piled up too.

So what have we done? We've found ways to trim our expenses. We cook (and grow) more fresh foods. We save by buying resale clothing or gratefully accepting hand-me-downs. We don't buy what we don't need. We track religiously any in-kind donations (something we previously didn't do) for taxes. I weigh heavily short-term versus long-term costs - everything from repairs to cloth pull-ups for my preschooler. And as our income increases, we've used those dollars to pay down our bills, instead of splurging on meals out, trips or extra "stuff". And eventually we will pull ourselves out of our crisis.

So why can't our government do the same? Why can't our legislators put on their big boy and big girl pants, play in the sandbox, ignore what "team" they're on and truly work together to solve this debt crisis?

There are few times I've been as disappointed in my government leaders as I am now. As for us, it's time to hop off the fence, write your representatives and tell them to work together for a long-term solution!