Budget....

Well we have had our new parenting roles/ working roles turned completly upside down the last six weeks or so. With Jeff finishing school and getting a new job I have been able to drop my hours and only wor 2 or 3 days a week at the most, while he is working 4 10 hour days, not including weekends. He had previously been working only weekends and taking care of Abby all week( and finishing his bachelors degree) while I worked all week.
We have finally adjusted and are doing very well. I was completly terrified at the idea of not having enough money to pay all our bills, with my pay checks decreasing dramatically. Blessings have definetly been coming our wayin thefinancial area of our lives. We got a pretty big check when Jeff left IHC. All of the paid time off hours he had accrued were paid out to him in full which paid off a couple pretty big medical bills, and then our tax return was able to go into our savings account,we now have some money saved!!!!!!!!!! After sitting and figuring the bills/ pay periods( we will be getting a pay check every week, getting paid on opposite weeks is great!) for some time I have also figured that Jeff's checks will actually be bigger than they were previously, no he didn't get much of a pay increase at all. Our insurance premiums through the sate are significantly less than what we had been paying previously and he is actually getting a full 40 hours a week instead of the previous 36 a week( three 12 hour shifts a week).
I am amazed that We should be able to put into saving each month!
I am soo glad that I have figured iut how to avoid buying cleaning products and how to keep my grocery budget to the bare minimum. Wich save us sooo much. I als enjoy the challenge when grocery shopping! Going to the library has become a great was to get out of the apartment with out spending money. Abby and tried out story time there yesterday and it went pretty well. We will be going agin!
Now if I can get through the last of this winter weather without spending too much time in the mall or other stores, we will be doing great! I hate that ther is not much to do with small children in the winter that does not require paying some money.