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Archive for June, 2016

2 Steps Forward, 4 Steps Back

June 29th, 2016 at 06:15 pm

I received an offer for Chase for a 0% APR balance transfer. Since my NFL Points card (the one with a large $4k+ balance) just passed the 0% APR period, I transferred that balance to Chase. I'm hoping once we settle into the new townhouse, things will calm down, and I'll be able to knock this down quickly. I have about $700/month extra money to throw at debt.

We signed the lease on the townhouse a week or so ago. It's only $50 more than we currently pay, and we're upgrading from a 1-bedroom apartment to a 2-bed/2-bath townhouse with a tiny fenced backyard and 2 designated parking spaces. It's a very dated home, but it'll do nicely for a year while we save/look for a permanent home. The really nice thing is that the landlord is very laidback, and if there are improvements we want to make, he'll reimburse us the cost of materials and deduct the cost of labor from our rent. Upfront costs totaled just under $2100 for the deposit, pet fee, and half of the first month's rent. Fortunately, we'd had that $3k put aside from wedding gifts. The remainder of the rent is due when we move in which will be the last part of that 3k. We still have another $900 in that account for wedding gifts that we haven't bought yet. The biggest is the Roomba, but since we have a perfectly good pet vacuum, I may hold off on it for now and just keep that money as savings.

I really need to start budgeting again. I'd fallen off the YNAB bandwagon and need to fresh start and do it right.

Otherwise, things are great with DH and I. We got a bunch of free boxes yesterday from a FB group, so over the next few weeks, I plan to start packing/decluttering.

Moving forward and other things (including more wedding pics)

June 22nd, 2016 at 09:33 pm

Lots going on over here. Outside of our new family unit, we've had to deal with my mom's potential foreclosure and family issues on his side. With us, everything is great.

We signed a 1-year lease on a townhouse that will take all 3 animals. We've also initiated the process of getting pre-approved for a home loan.

My potential promotion has been postponed, but I did get a 3.5% raise, so that's something.

We also got our pro wedding pics back.

Moving, Medical Issues, and Couple Goals

June 9th, 2016 at 03:23 pm

Now that the wedding is behind us, we're looking forward to a few things. The most pressing is that our lease ends 8/5, and we have decided not to renew. The issue is that we have 3 animals. We'd love to find a townhouse or SFH to rent for a year until DH has the required 2 years commission income needed to buy a home, but it's very difficult to find someone willing to rent with one animal...let alone 3. We've only looked at 2 places so far. One told us it wasn't likely given the amount of interest he has from non-pet owners. The other place was run down and far too much of a fixer upper for us to commit to for a year. We're going to look at another next week. This one is slightly out of our ideal price range, but we could afford it. It has a huge backyard and a hot tub which would make for an amazing summer both for us and the animals. However, it would hinder our ability to save and pay down debt over the next year. Our backup plan is to upgrade to a 2 bedroom in our current apartment building. We've agreed that if we don't have anything by 7/10, then we'd sign a lease for a 2 bedroom where we are. More space and we'd be able to keep all 3 animals. The huge drawback is that we were really hoping to move to a place with a yard.

Another thing affecting our goals of saving/paying down debt is medical issues. I've been having chest pains for about 3 weeks. After finally going to the doctor, I find out that I have a chest fracture. We think it may have been the corset, but I'm still waiting for the doctor to speak with the radiologist before she determines how to proceed. In the meantime, they gave me some pain medicine which really helps alleviate the pain.

Now that we're getting back into our normal routines, DH and I are trying to get back to our previous fitness levels. DH has committed to no alcohol, no junk food, only water, and regular workouts until he drops 22 lbs. I said I'd join him, but I'm not doing only water (I don't drink soda or anything regularly, but I'm not limiting myself to just water). I can't really work out until I have a better idea of the medical diagnosis, but for now, I can certainly commit to eating better and helping hold DH accountable. We'd gotten a gym membership before the wedding. I'm going to drop mine as we have a perfectly adequate facility in our apartment complex, plus I prefer working out at home. He wants to keep his which I said is fine, but he must attend at least 3x/week. If he doesn't go 3 times every week, then he has to drop it. I'm debating whether we should join a few dietbets to really help motivate us.

Wedding Budget Breakdown

June 9th, 2016 at 03:06 pm

I know some people were curious as to how I managed to spend 32000 on one day. To be honest, I'm not sure how I managed to blow that much considering I thought I was extremely frugal in some areas. The good news is we paid almost this entire sum on our own. The bad news is...that money's all gone now, and I don't have anything physical to show for it. This isn't a completely accurate picture because I found that especially towards the end, I did a terrible job of tracking things. It was easier to throw money at an issue than stress over it, so I padded the budget I did track by a grand to account for all of those miscellaneous costs.


Venue 9264.29
Caterer 6889.04
DJ 1020
Photographer 1632.62
Videographer 1100
Florals Included in venue package
Officiant Included in venue package
Tips 490
Alcohol 1667.27
Dress 826.87
Shoes 76.29
Accessories 16.5
Other Events Clothing 160.45
Reception Dress 120
Groom's Suit 198.73
Rehearsal Dinner 1151.60
Hair/Make-up 240
Nails 404.60
Invitations 60
Rentals 1100
Bridal Party Gifts 890.33
Wedding Rings 120
Wedding Night Room 425.48
Centerpieces 133.9
Placecards 25
Cake Topper 27
Wine Box 82
Guestbook 65
Save The Dates 125.08
Bridal Party Proposals 118.61
Dress Steaming 140
Flight 560
Car Rental 706.12
Day Of Food 311.76
Honeymoon Activities 930.80

Total 31079.34

Miscellaneous 1000**

Estimated Total 32079.34**

**This is a rough guess and includes all the other small things that I didn't categorize. Examples include an orange petticoat, washi tape and other craft supplies, a video cable for the projector, a flower girl book, mini notebooks, markers, DH's flight for our planning trip, etc.