Budget

Ever since we bought our home our budget has been much tighter then what we are used to. After the mortgage is paid from the first paycheck we have only $450 to make it two weeks. Normally I budget $500-$600 for two weeks. We try and spend an extra $50 on our mortgage but sometimes it just doesn't work out. We pay all our bills in the second paycheck but some how one was missed so that's another $60. Instead of pulling from our savings we are trying to make do with our cash. Its not going to work very well, we're already down to $70. Bummer! However we have some cash, and $100 in another checking account. So we might be able to squeak by without taking from savings. The key to doing this is to not let it depress you. We look at it as more of a game then anything, and because its a choice (we have money in savings) we don't feel insecure about our lack of cash. I'm actually glad we're trying to spend far less as I feel like our spending has gotten out of control. A lot of it is spent on meals out because we run errands in the evenings (right now we're down to just one car and dh gets it during the day) so we grab a quick bite to eat. If we spend $15 twice a week that's $120 a month. Dinner 3 times a week at $15 is $180 a month. That adds up!