Back in 2011, when Congress couldn't pass a federal budget, I was forced to cancel plans to go to FC 2012. The constant threats of shutting down the federal government not only became really old really fast, but made it impossible to plan or budget for the con.

Now with a new group of mostly conservatives coming in thanks to the 2012 elections, it looks like more people in Congress are going to play hardball with everything related to the federal budget. And they seem to be perfectly willing to shut down the federal government if that's what it takes to curb federal spending.

With our national debt at $16 trillion+, I agree that we need to cut our spending. We can't keep spending money that we don't have, and unlike the consumer that overspends, we can't just declare bankruptcy and have all of our debts erased. The federal government doesn't work that way.

The upshot of all of this is that there's no guarantee that I'll be getting a paycheck after March, and more than likely I'll have to cut back on my own personal spending.

That said, FC 2013 is already a go because I already planned and budgeted for it last year -- though I may still end up making some major changes at the last minute -- but FC 2014 will more than likely be a no-go.

If you'll be at FC 2013, I hope to see you there. But it may be a couple years, if not longer, before I return to another FC. Only time will tell (and/or you can also watch this space for updates.)