6 Month Budget Update - February thru July 2016

Hey everyone!  I feel like it has been forever since I have done a budget update, and let's be completely honest - it's been forever since I've blogged in general!

We have been sticking to our goal of paying off debt over the last six months but with life always changing and things being thrown at us constantly, we have had our ups and downs.

Let's start with the beginning of the past 6 months...I was 28ish weeks pregnant and Ryan decided to quit his job.  Talk about a major stresser!  Ryan had been unhappy with his job for quite some time but stuck it out because it was what was best for our family.  Now Ryan was having to go out of town for military training for 4 weeks and his employer at the time was not happy about it and made it very clear and went about things that weren't so nice, or very legal for that matter.  Instead of fighting something that wasn't ideal for our family anymore, Ryan quit his job and knew that he would find something better.  Within 2 days Ryan had another job lined up for when he returned from his training.  Being 28 weeks pregnant with our second child was not the ideal time to become a 1 income household, but luckily I married a man who will always do whatever it takes to provide for his family.

Fast forward the 4 weeks and Ryan's return home from the longest absence since Caleb has been born, and he started his new job.  He hated it.  It wasn't what he was told when he interviewed and after 1 day decided that it wasn't for him and started searching for another job.  He found his current job the next day and quit at the end of the week.  Ryan is now back in a sales position for an amazing employer and has great hours and is so much more relaxed and happy.  It has done wonders for our family and we couldn't be more proud of him.

So now we will fast forward to the birth of our precious little boy!  He is the missing piece to our puzzle and we couldn't be happier that he is here, healthy and happy!  We had planned for baby expenses as much as possible, but it is never enough right?  My work has a healthy living program of sorts and if you get your annual physical and submit the paperwork you get free money loaded onto a debit card!  We got $600 just for going to our annual physicals and we used that for the birth costs this time around.  That was a huge weight off of our shoulders considering that we had a little hefty bill from Caleb's delivery.  Our little guy and I had an amazing 3 weeks of nursing but after complications on my end, we had to cut our journey short and he is now on formula 100% and doing just fine.  But with that comes the cost of formula, which we were hoping to avoid for a little bit longer, but things happen and you have to roll with them.  He is a little pig and right now we are spending about $30/week on formula.  We are so lucky though that we got plenty of diapers from friends and family to where we have only had to buy 1 small pack of diapers, and that was for convenience not necessity.  And I made sure to buy Caleb a box of diapers and a box of wipes before I went into Labor so we haven't had to have that expense over the past 2 months either.

Before I went out on Maternity Leave and we got our tax return money we had put enough money in an account to cover 4 months of my car payment.  I did this on purpose because I knew that things would be tight and it would be one less bill we I had to stress about.  I'm so glad we did this because it has made our summer a little bit easier considering that we already know one whole bill is taken care of no matter what.

Another way we are striving is that we are lucky enough to live in a state that pays for Maternity Leave.  I get paid 4 weeks before birth, 6 weeks after birth for recovery and then an additional 6 weeks after that for bonding.  In total, I get paid two thirds of my pay for 4 months to stay home with my baby.  It has been amazing and it is a total pro for living in CA!  With my money we make sure that our mortgage is paid.  Again, another thing that we don't have to worry about and can count on being taken care of each and every month.

We were lucky enough to take a small vacation I guess you could call it.  If you follow me on SnapChat or IG you will already know this, but we flew to Nashville, TN and drove back home to California.  Now as torturous as that sounds, it wasn't that bad, but I will save that for another post :)

With Ryan's new job and my MatLeave we have been able to have one amazing summer together as a new family of 4.  We are still striving to give our boys the best lives possible all without being miserable.  Here is how we did over the past 6 months:

February: $2,755.00
March: $2,880.00
April: $3,180.00
May: $2,475.00
June: $2,718.00
July: $2,840.00
Total: $16,848.00

Now in no way were the past 6 months not stressful!  Hell!  Just last weekend I was crying about our money situation.  There are always going to be storm clouds on the horizon you just have to keep your head up and keep moving towards the sun.  So poetic eh?  I must thank my husband for always telling me we will find a way and for actually believing it.  He is always positive and that is what I need.  We keep it real in our house and we aren't millionaires, but we are trying our hardest to maintain the life we love to live.

If you have great budgeting tips or ideas, please share them below in a comment or email me.  I love learning how others budget and reach their goals.  And if you have more questions on how we do certain things in our budget, also let me know.  I love talking about it and won't keep anything to myself except for our account numbers and passwords :)