Wedding Dress

Wedding Under $3000

frugal, spending money
Okay, here's the final tally on our wedding which I had hoped to keep under $2000. We invited 160 people, and 96 actually showed up. We had a lot of children at our wedding, too, which really made it a lot of fun! I can't believe people don't want children at their wedding! Ceremony/Reception Location: $0. We had our wedding at my job, which normally charges $800 for the room but let us use it free. Books in lieu of… Read the rest

Wants Vs. Needs

My Two Cents
I want one of these: Pioneer Woman's Calendar. I don't want much and I don't want anything too expensive. But since we're supposed to be getting on a budget and tightening our belts, I realize items like this beautiful calendar are definitely a want vs. a need. After all, I've already purchased a calendar from Saver's for $1.99 for the coupons inside (“worth hundreds of dollars!”) and my husband's dentist had calendars at his office this past week. Last year… Read the rest

Renting Vs. Owning Your Home

My Two Cents
Red hot topic over at Millionaire Mommy Next Door's. (Millionaire Mommy's blog was hacked and the post is no longer available, but here is a comparable one in which she examines renting vs. owning at her new site). My take on this discussion. I have rented and I have owned homes. I have been inherently happier as a homeowner. I can't imagine EVER renting again, and hope I never have to rent again. My earliest memory is in the home… Read the rest

The Plan: Step 1

plan of action
Yesterday and today I spent about ten hours figuring out our finances. I use Quicken and hadn't entered data since mid-September. I input data from every receipt I could find and using online access, downloaded statements and reconciled all our accounts. We recently purchased six months worth of automobile insurance and also six months worth of hay for our dairy goats. To make sure we don't just spend that money each month, I've set up recurring transfers on my online… Read the rest