A few months ago, I came face to face with the reality of my budget. I was shocked to find that my full time job was no longer enough to pay all of my bills. The reality of the situation was that the cost of living was skyrocketing, and my pay checks were not. I took a good look at my monthly expenses. I knew I could cut back in a few areas, such as entertainment and eating out. Still, I had several bills left and couldn’t quite make my financial ends meet. After exploring my options, I knew that I needed to find a part time job to help supplement my income. This was not an easy decision to make. I hadn’t worked two jobs in years. I felt I was moving financially backwards, because I needed to take on another job. I had a professional career, and yet I couldn’t make ends meet. I felt embarrassed. I felt guilty. I felt like a failure. Once I took an honest look at my financial situation, I came to a couple of conclusions. I was not the only one in this situation. Housing costs and fuel costs have increased immensely recently. Some of my spending I could control. Some of the rising costs of living were mostly out of my control. What I didn’t realize was how many other people were in the situation. Many people these days need to find a part time job to make ends meet.