We're getting there!!

I was able to make a balanced budget, complete with the right amount of money for the jars. It's funny, we're going to be spending so much less, but we'll have so much more. How does that work? Well, before, sometimes an entire pay cheque would go no where, but now we'll have groceries on a regular basis, gas money always at hand, it's gonna be wild!

Tomorrow is pay day (just me, M's first pay isn't until Sept 5) and today I got child tax credit. With that money we're making last month's car payment, this month's car payment, our insurance, K's after school fees (we have to pay in advance), gas, and the kids' allowance.

September 5 is the day!!! On that day we'll be paying rent, but also making a payment on our $750 cable bill, we'll be putting a bit of money in savings, and doing the jars. This is how it will go:

We should have 35% of our income going to housing, but we actually only have 21.88%
We should have 15% of our income going toward transportation, but we actually have 24.78%. Ouch. Our 30% interest on our car is really hurting us! Not to mention the price of gas!
We should have 25% of our income for life. We have 32.75%. We do have a large internet and cable package, 3 cell phones, child care, pets, and active kids. If we can trim that we will, but right now I'm not sure where to start cutting.
We should have 15% of our income for debt reduction, but we only have 7.06%.
We should have 10% of our income for savings, but we only have 5.88%.

It's a start. For the first time, I totally see us coming out laughing.

Also, when M started this job, we figured she'd hate it and just stay there until she found something else. So far she loves it, though! That's great, because there's a real potential to make $$. She's starting at $29k which is what I started at exactly 1 year ago. Now I'm up to 33k. Not to mention commission and quarterly bonuses. Booyeah!