My first paycheck

I'm still looking for a better job (or second jobs) but I got my first paycheck from my fast food job a week ago. After tax (including the employment tax for the township and all that mumbo jumbo) I ended up with about $130. I really wasn't able to budget anything for savings, and I'm already penniless again. I'm kind of disappointed in myself, but I also knew this was going to happen, and here's why:

1) I started working halfway through the pay period. As such, I had not even 20 hours on my pay check. When you only make $7.50/hour, that makes it difficult to do much of anything.

2) I had to buy a bunch of stuff for my son. I had to get him a "potty seat" as he's become communicative about going to the bathroom finally (side note, my son is 26 months old and can't really talk, he starts speech therapy in a week), as well as pajamas (here's where I wasn't smart, I should have gone to a thrift store but I was already at Walmart so I bought him clothing there) and dishes. These things accounted for about half of my paycheck immediately after getting it.

3) My parents were out of town for the week, so I had to take my son to his father's house every day so I could go to work. That's easily triple, almost quadruple the amount of driving I have to do when my parents are here to watch him, so about another quarter of my paycheck went to gas, far more than my usual expenditure.

4) Finally, and here's where it's all my own fault, I had the ability to spend more time with my boyfriend over the course of time my parents were gone, and I bought things I normally wouldn't have (i.e. wine, fast food, etc) that left me broke. Not a wise financial investment, but we got to do things we never get to do otherwise, and it was nice.

My next paycheck should be a bit more (closer to $200). $50 is already accounted for as the first payment in my loan rehabilitation program. That is obviously non-negotiable, as I've gone too long without paying my loans, and rehabilitating them is the only way for me to go back to school and get the type of job that will actually allow me the income to truly become financially independent.

I still have another loan company I need to work with to hopefully establish a similar plan, but if I manage to do so, both loans will be out of default and removed from my credit score, virtually being "reset" and I can then negotiate income-based repayment while also qualifying for financial aid to go back to school. A tedious process, but I've come to the conclusion that my current "degree" in cosmetology is virtually useless. It's not something I want to do for the rest of my life, and while I enjoyed going to school, it was basically a waste of my time.

I blew it this check, but I'll do better next time around. I'm starting from rock bottom, so there's really no where to go but up!