Where IS "The End" of Our Ropes?

I'm not sure why, but this afternoon I found myself thinking about that old expression "I'm at the end of my rope."

I suppose we all have different tolerances for the trials and tribulations of life so it would be difficult to determine where anybody's rope actually ends.

That said, I imagine more and more people these days are learning where the end of their ropes are, and how long they are. It seems I learn about it every time I go to the supermarket and am reminded that a carton of 12 eggs now costs almost $7.00!

Actually, I learned a little bit more about it a couple of days ago when we got a small postcard in the mail from the local tax assessor stating that the value of our house has supposedly increased by 17% since last year. Whether that's a real thing or not, that is now the increase for property tax purposes. In turn, it also means we're likely to see a 17% increase in homeowners insurance.

Even though I can't think of what they are right now, I'm sure there are other ways this valuation increase will affect us as well.

But aside from that, what really bothers me here is that there's no way in hell that our income is going to go up 17% this year. Heck, we'll be lucky if our income goes up at all this year!

And so, this is another place in which I am learning where the end of my rope might be. It seems to be a place where I simply can't figure out how to balance the budget anymore.

Of course, not all of these ostensible "ropes" are financial in nature. Some people experience finding the ends of their rope in relationships. We keep pouring ourselves into some situation, and no matter what, it never seems to be enough.

And so, we utter the words about "being at the end of my rope" about the situation.

I had a retail store many years ago, back when I lived in Texas. It wasn't doing terribly well, but we were getting by. Then I got a notice from the tax authorities that we were behind some $30,000 on our taxes. How could that BE?

Well, it wasn't because of bad accounting... but because my trusted manager was embezzling the tax money as her own "personal pay raise."

Coming on top of difficult economic times... I found the end of my rope. I let the entire house of cards fall... and let the pieces go where they might.

And it took about a decade to climb back out of that mess!

I really don't want to rediscover the end of my rope!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Sunday!

How about you? Have you ever found the point where your "rope" ends? How did you manage to get past it? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2024.10.20 02:03 PDT
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