thanks Gigi, I am constantly surprised how we manage.. and there are times when I wonder where I am going to get the money for the bigger bills.. especially things like rego / insurance. But saying that I know we can certainly tighten our belts even more..

The spreadsheet I have is something I have had going for a few years, and its great to be able to tell what my 'big' months will be and I can plan around that. I dont really have it set up like budget as such (I am still working on that one).. But I can see from it what my average spend is at the supermarket over a 12 month period, and therefore what we spend each month and week iykwim. I do try pay things like electricty each fortnight when I get paid, so pay $50 or $100 on to it so it doesnt hurt as much each quarter.

DF and I are working on clearing our debt bit by bit, and we have also made a big list of all of our debts including the balances and interest rate.. so we know which one to pay off first (the ones with the highest interest rate..) and then once that one is paid off, we still pay the same amount but on to the next debt.. does that make sense?