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I'm feeling a huge urge to get our financial house in order.  We're looking for a house right now and after we find one, I'm going to have a mortgage to worry about every month.  We're doing our best to make sure we don't overspend on a house, but ANY mortgage is still a big expense.  And I am notoriously horrible at budgeting.

Another thing making me feel antsy is that Dave starts his new job in a week and I want to make sure we've got our financial routine down pat before that happens.  We've opened some new bank accounts that I hope will make things easier to track.  I've decided to use two checking accounts - one for bills and one for discretionary spending - with the hope that it will help us stick to our discretionary budget.  I've also decided to finally buy some software to help me keep track of it all.

So here's my plan of action.  Dave's paychecks will go into the bills checking account and from there I will send $900 each pay period to our discretionary fund.  I will send another X dollars to a special savings account that I'll be using to "pretend" to pay the mortgage, the property taxes and to fund the home maintenance expenses.  Basically this will be a trial run to make sure we can afford the house we want to buy before we buy it.

All this is to say, I have my work cut out for me.  Just like dieting, I tend to be able to budget really well for about two weeks before I give up and go back to my old habits.  Buying a house means I just CAN'T do that anymore.  Wish me luck!