So after getting the quote from our heating/ac guy, I called the gas company. They gave us a similar quote ($1049 or $1299 depending on which warranty we went with). So I guess it really is that expensive! We ended up calling the plumber. We're going to order the model he recommended, and it will be delivered on Tuesday. He'll come that day to put it in. The model is about $580, then we'll need to pay whatever his labor ends up being. The good news is that if we charge the water heater, it won't show up on the bill until September, so we can pay the plumber now and the heater later. That may make it doable without touching savings.

Today will be just work and a trip to the grocery store. I got most of what I needed last week, so I'm going to try to keep the bill under $20. I brought my breakfast to work , so no money there. If I end up going for lunch, I'll try to make it something cheap...

As for day-to-day spending, so far pretty good. Here's the tally:

August 2 spending:
Jeweler $48.50 (unbudgeted)
CVS (RX) $19.99 (will be reimbursed through Flex spending)
Service call for hot water heater $45.00 (unavoidable)

Total $113.49

Thoughts on this: Wow, August 1st spending was $113.50. I hope this doesn't work out to be my average for the whole month!