How to deal with a different pay schedule

[Basylica]

So for the first 30 years of my life i was always broke and even if I managed to save a few bucks something always blew up that cost double. Since my divorce however i've been doing better and better financially, including several raises/bonuses/etc.

I've been saving every spare dime and setting up a auto withdrawl to my savings account every time something changed financially so that i'd keep living off the salary I was making 5 years ago. Whats funny is I feel as if I have quite a lot to live on :)

My previous job I was paid on the 5th and 20th (weird huh?) so my autosave reflected that. I traveled about a week out of every month towards the end there, and my company was really bad about doing my expenses in a timely manner so i'd often borrow what I needed out of savings and put the check directly in savings when I received it (usually more than I moved over).

I started a new job in may and it pays me around 300 a paycheck more than the previous job, however I get paid biweekly so in nov/march/may/aug I will get 3 paychecks instead of two. Since majority of the money i spend is mortgage/bills/car/daycare that means i'll have a full paycheck of "excess"

my ex got paid the same way, however we were so broke and he made very little to begin with that the extra paycheck just ment I could put more towards bills or extra groceries. I didn't have to worry about how to save it!

Anyone have any advice for me?

I'm wondering should I just put one of the checks into savings? split the difference between 2 or 3 of them?

I got an "extra" check in aug, but with (still!) waiting on expense checks from my previous employer, and paying my sister (she drove down and watched the kids a few weeks because she was bored), paying for my mom to fly down, paying for my dad to fly down...and the increase in daycare (no school was double the daycare price) I didn't notice it then,

[SunRise]

Start a second savings account. Is your first savings account for anything particular? Make it be the retirement fund or long term cash savings - something specific. And let the second one be for specific items or emergency (car?, vacation? in between savings?). So when you need extra money you are taking it from the 2nd account, rather then your main, long term/retirment cash savings account)

With my "extra" pay check, twice yearly, I still account for my food budget for those two weeks, daycare and then divvy the rest up between home maintenance savings, travel, and long term.

[Basylica]

my savings is my emergency/whatever fund. I actually am waiting to call my broker at my bank however because i've hit the 20 mark again and need to move it over.

I also have 21 in my broker account. made me 1k in the last 5 months! whoo!

I have NO idea what to do with the darn stuff...LOL.

My concern is making sure I don't get used to making more money. my salary 5yrs ago was nearly half of what i'm making today...and it's what I'm trying to continue living on.

[eirual]

I don't have any advice, but I LOVE what you're doing! It's sure to make your future bountiful and much more comfortable (as long as you can get used to the idea of spending it one day! lol).

[Basylica]

I'm stuck in DFW because standard in divorces with kids i'm restricted to the 4 cont counties of DFW unless a judge decides its in the best interest of kids to move (exceedingly unlikely) or my ex agrees (even less likely). I am stuck in house ex likes because after looking at 150 homes (I kid you not...and thats with our second realtor! we looked at probably 20 or more before that!) and ex refusing to look at any of the style I liked....and finding fault with EVERY house we looked at....this one was "eh...ok I guess" so I said we'd take it. I was tired at looking at houses!

it's NOT AT ALL my style. 1980s brass and oak, open concept ranch. would sell/rent better, but I prefer 1950s or earlier style houses. I was required to put it for sale when we divorced, but after a year I got one offer of 80k, we paid 133, and to break even i'd need to sell for 140-145. ummm....no.

my mortgage payment is about half of what i'd be paying for a 2-3bdrm apartment and it's 2K sqft. I feel like a squatter and it really bothers me because I want to nest, but I know i'll be disappointed :(

I have no real plans for cash, but perhaps when the kids are older and I can leave DFW finally I can use it to buy a house I actually want....

but by then I won't really NEED a house anymore :(

I've also thought about renting out the current house and buying a new one, but the style of houses I like are kinda in the outlands and outside of the 4 counties....so I *might* get permission to move to one of those counties being just a few miles further, but it would be giant PITA arguing in court and costing me big bucks just to be allowed to move AND rent since technically ex still owns 50% of the house. I have exclusive rights to it however.

Whats sad is we lived there exactally 36m together and in joint comm states that means we each paid 18m of mortgage (follow me?)

in jan it'll mark the 5th year i've lived in the house, as i've been paying mortgage solo since jan 08.

Meaning i'll have paid 78 months and ex 18. Still own 50/50 however....*le sigh*