Wedding Planning

It's official. My boyfriend is now my fiance and we're getting married in less than a year, May 1, 2010 to be exact.

I know most women want the elegant, perfect wedding day of their dreams. I've also seen a few of these women break out in hives due to the stress of planning...and that's before the final bill comes in sometime after the honeymoon.

We've decided to do the opposite. I want the most stress free wedding possible. Some of my friends at work have offered to help with planning and they're both fans of being frugal. When I told them cheap and fun was going to be my theme, they actually got excited about the process. We've also set an insane cost goal for the whole thing: $300. Having said that, on that stress free note, I'm not going to freak out if we go over. But having a goal will help us keep things as cheap as possible.

Call me cheap, call it a redneck wedding, whatever. It's one day and I want to enjoy it without crying over my bank account.

So far, the cost has been $15 (engagement ring...yes, it's a Wal-Mart original). Marriage license will be about $75, though according to Kansas law, we can marry ourselves so that should save on some officiating. With $210 left, the possibilities are endless.

Do It For Your Country

The country is getting pretty frugal lately, which is reminding me that I really need to step up my own frugal habits. Since last spring things have been pretty comfortable with a few slight "oops" issues here and there. But with only one of us working right now (the BF is focusing on school), an impending trip to Michigan and a move in June, it's time to crack down again.

I've started a budget worksheet on one of my new favorite sites, SpringPad (www.springpadit.com). It's only the making right now though but it'll get there. I'm happy to say that this week we've made dinner every night and I've taken my lunch to work everyday. I'll need to start tracking groceries again, but I think the time will be worth it if we can save some money.

My big issue...I've got to stop with the instant gratification! No more eBay buys, no more random trips to the thrift store...at least not until we're ready to furnish the new apartment. That'll be fun. We did get a good deal on an apartment...a very low price that includes utilities in a good part of town and for a really nice living space. Once we have our own refrigerator and facilities, I'll be freezing and storing things which will help save even more money.

I also have two other Blogger blogs (I was inspired by a friend of mine), one for my weight loss stuff and one for cooking which I've been doing more of lately...well, okay, Jon has been doing more of lately, but I have my moments as well.

Anyway, if I have any readers out there, feedback is good!

M.

Savings

I officially have $25.00 of touchable money in my savings. This is big for me. The challenge is going to be not to touch it.

It's always been a challenge for me to keep a savings account, but after going through such a rough time with money recently, I'm ready to commit to one. With a dual income, $25.00 a week is feasible. Like most things though, I'm having to make putting money away a challenge and a game.

In this case, my plan is to play the carry over game. Come next payday (for either myself or the BF), half of whatever is left from the previous week gets put into savings, the rest stays to pile on top the new incoming money. This may not be feasible every week, especially when there's major bills to pay. But my hope is that by doing it this way, we'll stay motivated not to spend a whole lot of money, a tendency that we've kept at bay for awhile now but which I know I can easily fall back into.

If anyone has any tips on savings, I'd love to hear them. I'm willing to try anything at this point.