Decisions, Decisions- Battles Between Heart and Head...

I find myself at a place (I wouldn't say it's a crossroad) where I have what I consider to be a tough decision. I have to decide between waiting to trial again in January to build up my savings or run (limited number of runs) November and December. My heart wants to run but my head says that agility isn't going anywhere and I need to take care of my finances. To a non-agility person it may seem obvious but when you have great runs at trials, like I did with Monster, it can be a lot harder than you think. I have hit a few bumps in the road financially when I thought I'd be in a good place financially for agility trial season. Phil and I have a weekend of zip-lining coming up after my internship and I want us to be able to do something together. I don't see how I can make that work if I also enter a trial that will cost $112 to run every class. I love USDAA and all the class options but it can get so expensive. I might be able to enter just the classes needed to try and finish Monster's AD (Standard, Pairs, Gamblers) for about $70. Tough decisions. I feel like the $70 option is a good compromise and I could even enter for less if I just run one day. That would cost about $42-$56 depending on which classes I enter him in. I don't want to bore anyone with my finances (although this is MY blog lol) but I need some where to vent and talk it out. I also wanted to attach a chart that some one in the agility community made about average costs of getting a championship with a dog in AKC vs. USDAA. Ultimately, the cost per class is cheaper in USDAA but there are more classes offered and required by USDAA to earn a championship. Championships are not on our brains but I still felt like it was an informative chart. As I am typing this, I feel like the answer to my dilemma (one that I can live with) is to enter 1 day of the November trial. That will give us the opportunity to try and earn our AD title and if it doesn't happen then I'll see what I can do in December. 

My dilemma and some recent Facebook newsfeed have alerted something in me. I have seen people who are willing to max out their credit cards, empty their savings, and stretch their funds paper thin to compete in agility with their dogs. I do NOT want to be like that. I've got a boyfriend who has children and a mortgage to pay, groceries to buy, etc. I never want to feel like I have to choose between those things and I feel like I am flirting with that line right now. I never want to catch myself talking about not having enough money for things when I CHOOSE to enter my dogs in agility trials. Agility trials and dog agility in general are not necessary to life and I don't want to find myself feeling like they are. My dogs will enjoy other activities just as much. I am the one who will miss it but can live without it if need be. 

Thanks for listening to me vent! I will keep you posted as to what I decide to do :)