Money is tight this week and even though February is a short month it is still just as long as all the others. I was paid last Friday and traditionally I am paid twice a month, the first and the fifteenth. Given that this past Monday, February 16th was a holiday we received our paychecks on Friday. This is usually great news, who doesn’t like to receive their money earlier than normal? I am paid hourly and the short month means a smaller paycheck than normal that needs to go farther than it did before. There are 17 days until I get paid again, seventeen long days. Naturally we spent the weekend budgeting out where the money will go and it’s not going very far. After paying utilities, money aside for gas, food, and minimums on the credit card payments leaves nothing for the rest of the month. No extra money for the plasectomy, no money for my wife to get her haircut, nothing extra. I have offered to cut her hair and that went over well, really it did, she laughed at the idea and all was ok.

I have detailed in the past about finding a second job and still nothing. I am now confirmed as a backup driver if someone calls in and that is the best offer I have received. I’ll keep my fingers crossed on getting a call from the numerous pizza shops I have applied at.

On the brightside based on TaxAct.com’s e-file status says we should receive our federal refund on February 20th, however Where’s My Refund states we should receive it on February 24th. The idea was to separate the entire refund into a baby emergency fund of $1,000 and the rest would be applied to wiping out a handful of credit cards. Given the amount of time between pay cycles I think we may need to pull just a small amount from the refund to apply to other miscellaneous things that need to be taken care of. I need that second job and I am thankful for my first job.