Our raises go into effect tomorrow. Still no official word, but there's a different number in the check calculator tool and rumblings that that number is indeed reflective of our increases. By my new projections, we're only $50 short (not counting any money from my brother and underestimating my paycheck by about $20 since I'm not sure of the exact number). That includes some budgeting for fuel/groceries. I was able to submit past/present claims for Aflac totaling $175 for physician visits. Still waiting on the $1000 claim to see if the paperwork I submitted is enough or if I need more. Considering how much tangential spending crept in (Babies R Us closing sales, personal items for DH before leaving, a concert and dinner with friends that I rarely see, etc.), I'm pretty proud that we were able to weather this. I do have a $30 Costco card to supplement groceries. I also cashed some CC points out for a Papa John's gift card. DH is pretty miserable, and I want to make sure he has some comforts when he gets home. I didn't want to spend eating out money since we'd already gone way over with unanticipated spending, so I figure this is a good compromise since our points just accumulate with no real plan for them.