The daunting budget..

Ever since I began working full-time (at the ripe old age of 16) I've had to keep some sort of budget. Mainly because I hate checking my mail and also because I have always lived paycheck to paycheck, and I have to make sure all the bills are paid. So, here goes:

Mortgage $452 (yes, it's very cheap, but I also live in a house that's less than 800 sq feet)
Car Insurance $70 (yes, that's with full coverage)
Cell Phone $50 (I hate talking on the phone, the average amount of minutes I use per month is around 90, believe it or not!)
Cable internet $60 (no cable TV though, that saves about $50 a month!)
Utilities $150 (Water, electric, gas)
And now the yucky stuff:
Credit Card 1: $175 (my goal is to have this one, at $5400 right now, paid off at end of Aug)
Credit Card 2: $68 (this one will be paid off at end of Jan tho!)
Care Credit (dental loan) $71
Furniture Loan $80
SBA (small business admin) Loan $80 - this was a loan due to my house being flooded, I had insurance for the actual home, but not the contents.

Grand Total: $1256
This number is not at all terrible, but honestly with the economy the way it is, and with me not having a degree yet, my goal is to be able to live on about 1k a month in case of a dire situation. So basically, if I get laid off, it won't be out of my means to take the first job I come across, even if I'd only be making $9 an hr.
Therefore, my two most important goals are paying off CC#1 and CC#2, I know, I should be more worried about savings. But, there's a good reason I can't seem to save a dime, this is due to my money-grubbing family, they have access to my savings account, and anytime there's more than $10 bucks in there, then all of a sudden there's some emergency and they need a loan. So, basically it seems like I'm making more progress by paying off my credit cards, because I actually SEE a difference. I know, it's not logical at all, but once I get my CC's paid off, then I will save money (probably cash at first, and NOT TELL ANYONE) for an emergency fund. My goal is to definitely have at least 6 months of expenses in an emergency fund.

My Current take-home pay: $2250
So, that's about $800 to my credit cards each month, which I've actually been pretty good about paying on (this is because I usually have OT, which is what I use for food/gas). I have managed to be pretty frugal, except for the fact that I eat out every day. But, honestly, when you're only one person, it's a lot more expensive to spend $100 a week on groceries, vs. a meal from taco bell for $2.50. And despite the holiday season, I've been doing excellent.

First of all, I don't celebrate X-mas (this is a long story and I don't want to get into it) and so I've spent exactly $0 for anything regarding the holiday, and, despite the fact that I've made it very clear that I do not celebrate, people still buy/give me stuff. The main thing this year was gift cards, which was a major contributor to the purchases I've made recently. So I've updated my wardrobe and relieved a little stress by shopping, all for $0. I say "relieved a little stress" because it's very hard for me to live on basically $75 bucks a week, like in an emotionally exhausting way. I have to drive half an hour to work (one way), so gas is about $20 a week, so that leaves $55 bucks to eat on. Luckily I have an awesome boyfriend who will buy me dinner and take me to the movies every once in a while. Plus, work occasionally caters lunch, so I'll have a few spare bucks to pick up hot chocolate from Starbucks. So, anyway, I was very thankful to get those gift cards, it allowed me the freedom to get what I wanted/needed. Have I mentioned I love gift cards?! I don't care how impersonal they may seem!! So, I think everything is going well. I plan on paying off those two CC's by August of next year, and maybe even sooner if I get quarterly bonuses. After that, I will be putting that same about (about a grand) towards savings each month, so by February 2010 I will have about 6 months of expenses in savings (Nope, not my current monthly income, just my costs).

Also, just to note, I'm not in too much of a hurry to pay off those dental/furniture loans, only because they will be paid off in 2011, I don't have to worry about paying on those the rest of my life because they're not revolving, so I feel a little better about leaving them alone and just paying the min. payments.