I have a special category in my budgeting process for "found" money.

I put "found" in quotation marks, because this money isn't exactly just found, just laying around waiting for me to pick it up off the sidewalk. So far this calendar year, this category has included the following:

* Gifts under $100, in cash (or check). I'm 30 years old and my father is still uncomfortable picking out gifts for his little girl, so he gives money.

* Rebates from long-ago purchases that I'd completely forgotten about.

* Emptying the countertop change jar, every other month or so. This is the jar into which we empty our pockets daily, and comes to about $25 every two months.

* Income from focus-group work that I do on the side, answering questions about my shaving habits or shopping habits or whatnot. I got on a mailing list a few years ago and tend to get called once or twice a year, about $75 each time.

All this "found" money goes into a separate account, for purchases that are slightly more frivolous and less budgeted than usual. The steam cleaner from a few posts back, for example. I guess you could say it's my pin money, since as a stay-at-home Mom I don't tend to get much budgeted for extras.

So where do you get your found money? How do you account for it, and are there less restrictions than usual?

We're in the middle of filling out the paperwork for my sweet husband's new job, which starts next week. There's the health insurance forms, 401k contribution, medical savings account, and direct deposit.

How can a not-working-outside-the-home Mom affect change in her husband's take-home pay? By working together with him to make smart money decisions in these transitionary periods!

Health Insurance - We can't do much about the cost of the health insurance, except in the long run. If we continue to be open to using generic drugs and keeping up with our general health by eating well and exercising, we're doing what we can.

401k contribution - This new job doesn't have 401k contribution matching like the old one, but we can still reap the tax and retirement benefits by putting a sizable chunk into his 401k every pay period.

Medical Savings account - This one is a tricky balancing act. We can pay for medical expenses pre-tax, but we have to use what we put in or else we'll lose it! So we sit down and figure how much we pay for medications annually, copays for standard medical visits, then add 25% because we've got a toddler who tends to require extra visits for ear infections, scratched cornea, and general malaise. At the end of the year, we can stock up on vitamins and cold medicine if there is any money left over.

Direct Deposit - I'd found that I would have a hard time scraping together a large sum for the mortgage, due at the end of the month (and pay period!). My newest trick is to direct deposit money from each pay period into a separate account with the bank who holds the mortgage, who then does an automatic withdrawal for the mortgage with no hassle at all. My next trick, with this new paystub that will be just a wee bit larger than the old one, will be to take the extra wee bit and deposit it to the money market account, so I don't even see it. What I don't "see", I don't spend!

So, there are my four tricks to contributing to the household income without actually earning any money myself. What other suggestions have you got?