Budget time...again!

So I'm back on the whole budget kick to get my ass in gear with paying off my debts. After watching an episode of Real Simple. Real Life on TLC (which is a pretty good show but sometimes too "white bread" for me, if you know what I mean) where they really helped this graduate student get her bills on track I got motivated to sit down and evaluate my paycheck. Here's what I've come up with:

• 20% goes to debt
• 10% goes to savings
• $160 cash goes towards gas, food, and fun items.
• Debit card is used only for dog and cat necessities (food, litter, and treats), bills, and prescriptions, and Christmas presents.

I'm also saving cash to pay for a few things. I put my beloved VitaMix blender on layaway after I found it at an awesome price ($479 when it's normally $525) so I'm hoping to have that paid off before the end of the year. I also need new contacts desperately so I have a separate envelope for that. And I also have started a VACATION envelope and I'm socking away $20 of my money and $20 of bf's money every paycheck so that one day I'll say, "hey babe, let's go on vacation" and I'll whip out this huge envelope full of cash and it's all paid for...how sweet would that be?

So far I'm doing great and I've learned that after all of the bill paying and everything else, I will have more money left in my bank account (as in hundreds) than I normally do at the end of the two weeks between paychecks. This is going to allow me to save more money and pay off more bills. I also don't have a winter coat and couldn't afford one last year since I was unemployed, so maybe some of that extra money can go towards LL's Ann Taylor Loft winter jacket fund! I'll keep you posted!