Money, money, money, money.. MONEY.

I'm going along with the theme today of talking about money. Kristen over at The Newlyweds Next Door had an awesome post about saving this morning. So if you haven't read it make sure to check it out.

When Adam and I moved in together not much changed in the world of finances for me.  I have always been a bit spoiled and I'll admit that. My parents were always able to provide for my sister and I. I never paid rent when I lived at home. I only paid my car payment because I got a ticket and my cell phone bill because I ran my bill up 2 months in a row. Adam went right along with the theme of spoiling me.  He felt that he'd been paying the bills for 3 years on his own and my moving in wasn't going to increase these bills much.  He started charging me $200/mo.  This went to savings for emergencies for ME.  

When we got engaged this all changed.  Adam put me on a budget. I had never had to worry about money, ever. Now all of the sudden I'm on a strict budget where every dime I spend has been allotted to a certain category. I had to put a large amount into savings each month. We decided that for the most part we wanted to fund the wedding on our own. Since the majority of Adam's income goes toward bills that meant that the majority of my income had to go toward savings. How did Adam get my shopaholic like me to change her ways... Well truth be told it's been rough. Here is the basic break down of what he's done to curve my spending habits.

1) Packing lunches! Eating at home This reduces what we spend easily by $50 - $100 a week.

2) I have a shopping allowance! While Adam realized that I needed to spend less on clothes, he also realized that removing shopping completely was not realistic.  If you enjoy shopping give yourself a little break. I'm allowed $200/mo. If I don't spend this then I move the remaining to savings for the next month.

3) Track it, track it, track it!! Every evening we log into our online banking and literally enter every dime spent that day into an excel spreadsheet.  This makes us accountable for what we've spent. 

 

 

4) CASH your checks.  I cash my checks and deposit the CASH into certain accounts.  I always deposit HALF of each check into my checking and the other half into our joint checking - savings(this is our wedding fund). 

 

5) Move money to savings. Once I've deposited half of my pay check into MY checking - I move half of that into my savings.  

 

6) Knowing which pay periods are going to cover what bills... I always know that the first pay check of each month will cover my cell phone bill and the second pay check will cover my car payment.

Have I done all of these things from day 1..? No, absolutely not. It has taken me time to adjust to doing all of the above and our wedding fund has suffered some months.  I have had panic attacks. Literally. There were days when I would actually feel the walls closing in around me.  Having every dime I earned spent for me scared me. Not being able to meet my girls for a random pedicure or a drink without thinking about it fitting into the budget scared me. 

I can say now though, with out a doubt, that budgeting has changed my life for the better!

Feeling Naked..

Adam and I recently found out that my diamond is chipped..

Imagine the disappointment to hear those words come out of a jewelers mouth. I instantly thought back to all the times I bumped it on something and wondered if I could have possibly chipped it then. The thought of replacing my diamond literally makes me sick.

The jeweler gave us a few options. 

1) Fill it. 

2) Re-cut it.

3) Replace it.

The first option is with out a doubt not happening. I am sorry but I have a rose cut diamond from the 1800's. We don't know the history behind the diamond because it didn't come from our families.  Someone sold this diamond to our jeweler.  WHY anyone would ever chose to sell a diamond with so much history behind it is beyond me but I am certainly not going to ruin this diamond by filling it.

The second option to me was just as bad as filling it.  My diamond is 1.3 carats and re-cuting it would take it down to around 1 carat.  Re-cutting a diamond can change the look, size, and color of a diamond. 

Nope, not happening.

Now, obviously, you can see that I'm attached to this diamond.  When she said they'd replace it with a 1 carat brilliant cut diamond, I cried. The thought that someone somewhere probably wishes they had this diamond, chipped or not, killed me. This diamond to someone somewhere in the world probably means a lot more than it means to me. Don't get me wrong, I love my diamond and it has a lot of meaning to me simply for it's symbolism, but someone knows the HISTORY behind it.  Someone's great-great grandmother wore this ring on her wedding day.  Who am I to just throw this diamond out like it's trash because it's chipped. The chip is not visible with out a microscope, so why would I want a different diamond?

After many sleepless nights and many long heartfelt discussions Adam and I decided to hold off on the 'repairs'.  Adam went back into our jeweler and told her we didn't feel comfortable with filling it or re-cutting it.  She then scoffed at the idea of filling it and acted as if she never said that. (This is the 3rd time she's told us something and when we bring it up again not liking the idea she acts as if we've made it up. This makes us even more uneasy about having anything done to it without talking to the owners of the store). 

I have talked with one of my best friends sister-in-law who happens to work for another jeweler in town and is high up in this particular store.  She advised us to get an independent appraisal.  We were told when Adam bought the ring that they would provide an appraisal for us - it's really just an insurance replacement form.  Our sales lady isn't educated in appraisals. Make this our 10th issue with the sales lady.

Anyway, I have scheduled the appraisal for this afternoon.  Adam will take my ring down have it appraised and then Monday we will take it in for the repair.  They are now just going to shave down the facet that is chipped.  We will take it back for another appraisal once the repair has taken place just to make sure the repair isn't going to effect the value of my diamond too much.  

Needless to say, today I feel naked as I am without my ring.

A rave and a question for all of you..

I have something to rave about and something to ask all of my lovely 14 followers..

First the RAVE. 

I found this water bottle at Target and not going to lie I love it!

I have been drinking more water today than I ever do! And let me tell you all, I've had an issue with not drink water like I should.  So if any of you are non water drinkers and want to start to better your body and health I'd HIGHLY recommend this Camelback!

Now on to the question I have for all of you.

In my office we have a woman who, to this day, has never said 'thank you' or 'please' to me at anytime.

When I tell her to have a nice day rather than a simple "thank you" she slams the door.

 

When I ask her if she'd like a receipt she replies with a grouchy "No!" not a "No, thank you."

When I tell her that her therapist should be with her shortly she doesn't even acknowledge that I've spoken.

Today, I almost lost it. I almost said to her "Would it KILL you to say "No, thank you." rather than a bitchy "No!"?

I mean really!?

Does this just happen to me or do all of you experience it as well and think to yourselves: Really? Did your momma teach you ANY manners? 

This woman is probably 45. Old enough to have manners and too young to be considered a grouchy old lady.  

Now, I'm sure many of you are thinking that I shouldn't let this get to me. And you're right, but the issue I have with this is that I'm sure she's one of those women who sits there and talks horribly about my generation and our lack of manners when she has none of her own.

I'm sorry but if my 2 year old nephew is able to say "No, thank you" and "Please" on a regular basis then you as an adult should be able to as well.

Kill her with kindness, Karli!

Kill her with kindness.

Top 2 Tuesday - Summer!

I am playing along again this week with The Undomestic Momma and her Top 2 Tuesday Post.  I think this week is really fun. It's all about Summer so go check it out!

 1) Water Babies Sunscreen. I absolutley LOVE the smell of water babies. It reminds me of being a carefree child running around on summer days playing in the water and I just love it!

2) Softball. I love softball season.  Even though I am not coaching this year I am looking forward to going down the ball feilds and watching the game playout.

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Engagement Pictures!

We had our Engagement Session on Sunday night and our amazing photographer posted a few pictures last night for us to enjoy.  We're so excited about our photographer and we feel so blessed to have found her. You can check her out at Rebecca Dryer Photography!

Now, on to the fun stuff :)

I've given up on the idea of concealing our identities any longer.. Between Rebecca's blog and her facebook if you look at her page we'd be out anyway.

The last photo will go to some creative use that you'll see as time goes on.

I hope you all had an awesome Monday. 
I'll be playing along w/ Taylor's Top 2 Tuesday tomorrow!

I've been MIA..

I know I've been MIA lately. We've had so much going on it's been insane.

A little sneak peak of what we've been up to coming this evening...

 

I promise it won't disappoint! :)

Happy Monday!