Natasha's spending information was coming in bit and pieces but if she is not constantly reminded to send it then it does not arrive for a few days. It's nearly a week behind, but that's pretty much par for the course.

Waiting around for the last 3 or 4 weeks hasn't gotten her any closer to getting a grip on spending, so I have decided to provide her with a budget based on the very limited information I have. But budgeting, or cash flow management as I prefer to call it, will only have a reasonable chance of succeeding if the person is primarily involved in putting it all together. This usually means they have thought about how much they really need to spend on certain items and perhaps more importantly, how much they CAN'T spend on certain things if cash flow simply does not allow it.

I can feel the shift in Lori's perspective now that the budget numbers are looking better and I can sense her confidence building along with her account balance. I was relieved to discover the childcare reimbursement deductions were already being deducted from her pay and that we could 'add' that money back in to her budget. I know Lori wants to increase her self-employment income by a client or two each month so that she has some additional room in her budget, but I am more concerned that Lori still find some time each week for herself than I am in the $100-200 in monthly cash that work may bring.

What a roller coaster week with the numbers.

Derek and I talked last week about the budgeting and he put together several excel spreadsheets for me to take a look at. I didn't have them in front of me when we talked, but I wasn't thrilled to hear him tell me that the bottom line was that ends would not meet. There was over $500 in short fall. I promised I'd look through things -- and I did.

At first, it appeared there was over $500 shortfall in the budget. So, of course, my mind starts spinning: "After all this, I finally get a job and I STILL can't make ends meet?" and "I'm making more than I ever have and it's still not enough?" Which emotionally translated into: "I'm not enough" and I got VERY discouraged.

One concern that did come up for me: When we discussed the financial counselors, Leah told me there were a few other bills of Eric's that she hadn't mentioned because apparently he hadn't been paying them. She said she planned to tell me about those when we met in person, back in November, but we hadn't gotten to it. It worries me that even with weekly phone calls, Leah felt she had to wait until we saw each other face to face to mention those bills. I hope there aren't other secrets. Financial planners can help the most when EVERYTHING is out on the table.

I've asked to see the stripped-down budget that she and Eric came up with over last weekend and, again, Leah stated that, with her debt payments, it was impossible to live off of Eric's pay. I know that! That's why my plan took the debt payments out: I want all of Leah's unemployment to go towards debt, and then they should be able to live off of Eric's pay.

I have a secret to tell.

Ready?

Every Tuesday, we'll report exactly how much our families have in their checking accounts -- and what they're planning to do with it.

Lori: $2,378.79

I meant to get to the bank this past week to transfer funds into a savings account. Didn't quite make it, but I feel like I'm doing well leaving the money there and watching my spending. In all honesty, it feels really good to have money in my account! I'm still taking lunches to work instead of going out, however tempting it might be to buy lunch. The expenses this past week have been mainly in daycare and fuel for the car. I'm going through 3 tanks of gas a week now! I'm glad to be working though, and glad to have the opportunities that I do. I'm thinking instead of a basic savings account, I may talk to Derek about other, higher interest (and yet still safe) options. Doesn't hurt to look at possibilities!

Leah: $358.28

Some setbacks and surprises since last week. Luckily, no checks were bounced and no fees were charged. Eric's check came in on Friday vs. Monday and weirdly enough the charges that I was expecting to come through still haven't processed. It will take some time for me to get used to this new bank's procedures. Sadly, I still started the month with less money for the month because of the checking ledger mishap. I have paid all the bills that are due at the beginning of the month and I made sure to account for all the automatic withdrawals. I even made a budget out for the month and as I think of expenses that I have forgotten, I add them into the budget. I should have just a few extra dollars leftover at the end of the month if we really stick to the budget.

Natasha: $680

As of today, I owe Zak about $50 (mostly spent on food) and my cousin $200 for the money she lent to buy the clothes. I also have to pay for an oil change, cable and childcare fees.

This weekend was a calm one. Even with the fridge out of repair, I still managed to keep my expenses down. I did borrow $200 from my younger cousin to catch what I thought was a great 30% off sale at Old Navy on Friday. I got some khakis, polos and sneakers for both boys. I got myself two tanks, 2 cardigans, 2 blouses, and 4 pairs of khakis. Other than that, things were uneventful.

I finally started receiving spending information from Natasha -- just over a week's worth of activity tracking. I was starting to hope that this would be the most productive week so far. But then, the daily emails of her spending stopped toward the end of the week.

The week was very tough on Natasha's wallet because a few issues arose that resulted in a lot of spending. All told, she spent about $650 in cash during that week.

The pressure is building for Lori to both contribute financially while living at her mom's as well as move out on her own. I sent Lori an updated budget today that provided some realistic estimates of what she can expect to save between now and a late summer move, as well as what it may take for her family to be living on their own. It is TIGHT. In fact, without the excess student loan money, it doesn't work.

Setting aside my frustration with Lori's family for jumping on her new wage-earning status before her first paycheck is even received... the budget math scares me. The planner in me is struggling with the notion that Lori's ability to afford her own place is dependent upon student loan proceeds. The income from her job simply will not cover all the additional expenses associated with living on her own. The optimist in me hopes that I have over-stated some expense categories or that a healthy pay raise comes through.

I got my first paycheck! Whoo hoo! I also got to deposit my financial aid funds. Then I got an almost $400 bill from my daycare that I had to take care of the same day or my kids would not be allowed to return that afternoon, let alone the next day. I hated that I needed to use the financial aid funds for that, but was grateful I had the option at least. I can't work if the kids aren't in daycare! So it became a short debate: Do I take the time off work, or do I use the funds and pay myself back? I used the funds.

Next step is to set up a savings account to put the remaining financial aid funds into and get them out of my checking account. That way: 1.) I'll be earning interest and 2.) I won't be nearly as tempted to use those funds for other things.