So even though we love the idea of a hard-and-fast monthly budget, complete with spreadsheets and pie graphs, the reality is, there are just too many hypothetical details in the mix. But that's about to change.

I can't say much because the deal has yet to be inked, but one of us has decided to move to full time employment. This means that for once, we can actually create a real budget and follow it. This way-interesting discussion about net worth on TheNest.com led me to the budget site, Mint.com, which looks great. I think we'll use it unless anyone offers a better recommendation.

Holly has written before about keeping a little "gray area" in the budget so she doesn't have to torture me with things like the sticker price of every pair of shoes she buys -- and I have to say, I agree. She said she didn't think I'd want to know, and she was right. But I think even “gray area” needs its own line in the budget. So here are my questions:

1. How do you deal with incorporating personal spending money into your budget? Is it a percentage? A dollar amount? What?

2. Are there any budget tools that you love and can recommend?