Happiness v. Cash

Today I've really been thinking about my job and how I just don't get paid enough. Don't get me wrong, I really love my job and I finally feel like a "real" attorney working on cases and helping my seniors, but the pay really sucks. I know that money isn't everything and I'm getting LRAP so my loans are getting paid, but I'm not sure how long I can live on the salary that I am making. At some point I want to buy a house and have some kids and not have to scrimp and save and worry from paycheck to paycheck. A lot of this was brought on by the fact that I had to buy tires today. In years past that wouldn't have been a big deal, but today I actually had to figure out if I could afford the two tires I needed or if I should just get one and then pray over the other one. I realized today that I am barely making it and but for my cohabitation with The Sensation, I would be struggling to make ends meet.
I don't understand how I could get paid so much clicking on documents, but when I'm trying to make sure that the seniors don't get mistreated I'm counting pennies?? My boss gave me my 6-month review on Thursday and she said that I'm doing well, which makes me feel great...but good feelings aren't going to keep me in tires, food and shelter. I need to come up with a plan for survival...more on this later.