A question of Dollars

Daddy Bug has been informed that although he is an Electrical Apprentice he is also an employee of the mine and therefore also restricted by the new overtime rules. Which basically boils down to no longer showing up for overtime whenever he feels like it, and there is now a sign up sheet that you can put your name on in the hopes that one of the crews will give you a call and let you come in for extra hours.

This is a very bad thing. We bought the house knowing money would be very tight; how could it not after taking a rather large pay cut to become an apprentice? But it seemed doable as long as Daddy Bug worked some overtime.  We are officially up the creek people.  With christmas, him having a few sick days, missing a day from lack of a ride and switching back to 4 and 4 shifts, the last few cheques have been meager as it was, I've been doing the bill juggle and it's stressing me out and pissing off the utility companies. 

I've never had to do this. I thought I was good with money, smug about it really.  It was so easy living on my own, it was a breeze paying the bills and rent. I could cook whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. Sales? Pah who waited for a sale on meat when I wanted to cook blahblahwhatever today?

Ummm hello C.G you were working in a bar, in a booming town. The main bar. And double hello you were a good fucking server girl so yeah you worked it and made ridiculous tips. Of course you could piss off to the next city all the time and smack down 600 bucks in a day and not bat an eye.

Obviously life is a bit different now, single income + family + chick who's used to having enough money for whatever = major trouble peeps. In the years I've lived on my own I've become a total food snob, used to tripping up to the store to lay down 30 or 40 dollars on spices and ingredients I don't use all the time to try out random recipes off the 'net. I don't know how to cook cheap meals . Literally. No Fucking Clue.  Another problem is I'm used to major flavour in food, and in my experience cheap meals are usually bland. Or horribly horribly unhealthy. Or *cringe* both.  

I need to make a plan. Obviously I need to do some budgeting to find out if we can even get by without overtime. If we can and it leaves very little money for food then I clearly need to either start living on kraft dinner some days, find cheap meals to make that arn't revolting. Possibly try and suck it up even if they are kind of revolting. Or.. and this option is the best in my opinion; find a way to bring some money into the house. 

Damnit. Fucking sucks being a grownup sometimes.