[PoeticJessie]

Congratulations!

You're not going to be a bad mom. Budgeting is hard. A good practice to keep with your budget is to write out exactly what you have to spend in a month on bills, gas, and groceries. Write out what you'll make in a paycheck. Split the bills into the number of checks you get a month. Subtract bills. Subtract how much gas you'll use in a normal pay period, along with a little extra. A reasonable amount for groceries. A bit for savings. And the rest you can spend.


Mine looks kind of like this:

Rent - 600
LP Gas - 200
Utilities - 120
Phone Bill - 100
Gas - 150
Groceries - 150
Diabetic Supplies - $300
Diapers and Wipes - $35
Altogether it's 1,655 a month

I make $2,000 a month.

I get paid twice a month, so I need to take $827.50 out of each pay week for necessities. That leaves me with about $172. I put $100 in savings each pay period so that least $70ish to spend freely.

I hope this helps a little. It's actually really easy to follow a budget once you get used to it. A little trick I've found that helps is to take what you can't spend out of the bank and keep it in envelopes in a safe place, so you're not tempted to spend it.