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Posted by Erin E.,
under Erin E, Special Events |
08/10/2010
Last night I dreamed I booked a trip to the Bahamas. The nightly rate of $35 at the beautiful resort was all-inclusive, and as I checked in they handed me a plate of shrimp that had been prepared by my personal chef.
Now that would have been quite a way to spend my sixth wedding anniversary with Noah (which was on Saturday), but quite unfortunately I’ve yet to find a five-star resort in the Bahamas with a $35 a night rate. Trust me, that’s what I’ve been doing all morning.
Instead, we celebrated by going to a local minor-league baseball game, and our team won.
Yesterday also happened to be my birthday. We celebrated that by going to a movie. We saw Eclipse, and had a grand time whispering and joking about all the silly bits, which are many. And to cap it off, we bought Twizzlers and caramel corn to snack on.
Lately I’ve found it’s the small indulgences that mean the most. The caramel corn and the joking around. Or yesterday morning, when my two-year-old and I spent an hour in our little blow-up pool. A $50 check in a birthday card or a new outfit feels like a bonanza.
And I only had to quit my job and cut my income in half to start enjoying the little things.
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 No Comments | Tags: birthday planning, Erin E., Family
Posted by Erin E.,
under Erin E, Family, Special Events |
08/3/2010
I know a lot of people like to make A Big Thing of their birthdays, setting aside the entire month as a season of celebration. Unfortunately for me, there’s too much else going on in August to make it all about my birthday.
The 7th is my wedding anniversary, the 8th is my parents’ anniversary, the 9th is my birthday, and the 16th is both my brother and cousin’s birthday. Of course, it’s also back to school month.
I’ve never been one for lavish gifts or large parties, for sure, but as I’ve gotten older (I’m coming up on the big 3-0 in a couple more years), when somebody asks me what I’d like for my birthday, the list tends toward stuff I actually need, or stuff for our house.
At the moment, I’m absolutely dying for a flagstone patio of sorts at the bottom of our deck. Now that I’m home with Ethan, we spend a lot more time in the backyard than ever before. Plus, that particular part of the yard turns into a big mud puddle in the fall and winter through which the dogs romp joyously. I have a feeling a few flagstones would keep that at bay.
In the same vein, I’ve come up with a list of 28 things I want to do before turning 28 next year. One of them is to build something all by myself, and I have an outdoor chaise longue on my radar. I can see it now: sipping a cool drink while reclining on my handmade chaise, watching my kid and dogs play on my new flagstone patio. But how does one ask for lumber?
As for the actual day, all I really want is a small family dinner—maybe at Carrabba’s?—and one of my mother-in-law’s famous German Chocolate Cakes. If at the end of the festivities I happened to receive a truckload of flagstones topped with some wood, well. I’ll be a happy camper.
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Posted by KEJONES,
under Debt, Financial goals, Special Events, Student Loans |
05/10/2010
Congratulations! You made it; you walked; you’re officially an alum…NOW WHAT? It seems like we spend so much time and energy in college trying to graduate, once we fin ourselves “graduated” we are left to think to ourselves, “Oh crap, now what?” It wasn’t that long ago that graduates walked across the stage, got their diplomas, then shed the cap, gown and diploma and traded them for a suit and briefcase on Monday morning. That is no longer the case. With the current economy, new grads are finding themselves alongside job candidates that have more advanced degrees, more experience, more everything. Suddenly, their ambitions come into question and some may begin to think “Maybe that’s not what I really want to do.” The path that you had laid out for yourself, might not be the one you find yourself on.
No matter your course, there are a few things one needs to decide upon.
Job or Graduate School?
For many people grad school is a requirement in their chosen field. For others, grad school delays entering a shallow job market and enhances their resume for when they are the future. This is the time to decide what you want for your future: do you need more school, or is it time to enter the workforce? The decision is purely personal and can only be made by YOU!
Where To Live?
As long as Mom and Dad haven’t turned your bedroom into a home theatre, chances are you would be welcomed back with open arms. And a list of chores. More and more college grads are returning to the nest in order to save money. As with any situation, there are pros and cons to both. At home, you have little-to-no rent, utilities and other associated costs. You are also living with your family…and it’s not easy to bring a date home. If you rent, you have the freedom to do what you want, when you want to do it. You also have rent, utilities and roommates.
Make Your Move
Now is the chance to decide where you want to live, geographically. You might be comfortable where you are and settle in your college town. Maybe you prefer your hometown…or maybe you want to get away to somewhere completely different. Think about it, if you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? Ok, now go!
Welcome to the World of Budgeting
As inviting at it may be to celebrate that new job with a new car…consider the fact that you are generally going to be bringing home less than you think you will and your living expenses will be higher. As much as it will pain you to drive past that dealership everyday, sit on the idea of spending for a while, at least until you’ve had some time to adjust to the new costs associated with “living in the real world.”
Save or Spend?
Point blank: Start saving NOW. Seriously… today. The earlier you start planning and saving for retirement, the sooner you can retire, or the more money you will have to spend during retirement. And it’s not just retirement anymore: marriage, kids, cars and homes all come with a price tag.
Insurance
Health, auto, and life…it seems like the options and offers are endless. Insurance can be overwhelming to some people, but it doesn’t have to be. There are advantages to all the different options, just make sure you are paying for only the coverage you need.
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1 Comment | Tags: college, graduate, graduate school, graduation, insurance, job, post grad, real world
Posted by ET,
under Debt, ET, Financial goals, In The Media, Special Events |
04/16/2010
Most of us have heard the song “I have a feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas (lyrics = http://bit.ly/OfbuT). The band is great, and this particularly upbeat song is about going out and partying because “Woohoo, tonights gonna be a good, good night”! Today is a Friday (April 16), so should I just throw caution to the wind and blow my disposable income on a good time tonight? If I am a Pea, then yes, I will blow it all- “Tonight’s the night, let’s live it up, I got my money, let’s spend it up, Go out and smash it”.
Ok, this might not come as a surprise, but this is a really stupid idea unless you have a financial plan and monthly budget (find out more here: http://bit.ly/aIXghY). Spring fever causes many of us, me included, to lose our minds at times, but please don’t lose track of your financial goals – this will only give your bank account a black eye. Warms walks, baseball games, gardening, bike rides, golf, and dinning out are all especially fun at this time of year. Set a budget before you head out tonight and then stay within it, this will help eliminate any financial (or other) hangover that you could otherwise experience Saturday morning.
If you are looking for additional ideas this weekend, or want to plan an amazing Staycation with your family or closest friend, then check out some of these great ideas http://www.gosimplifi.com/MyVacation.aspx. Have a great weekend!
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No Comments | Tags: Black Eyed Peas, Financial Hangover, Financial Plan, Monthly Budget, Staycation
Posted by Erin E.,
under Erin E, Family, Special Events |
02/9/2010
Next week, my son will turn two. So it’s about time we start indoctrinating him with birthday expectations (tons of presents, a huge themed party, heck we’ll even make the month a family holiday). Buuuuuut…not so much.
Even if we could afford to hire The Imagination Movers for a private appearance, we wouldn’t.
And not even because they’re kind of creepy.
We’d like to start teaching our son that holidays and special celebrations are tons of fun because of what they mean and being together, not because we fly in the entire cast of Mickey Mouse Club House from Florida.
So we’re setting a reasonable budget. I’m thinking the best way to go about it is to treat the whole thing the way you treat a wedding: price per guest. While I’d certainly like to provide tasty treats and goody bags to the pint-sized guests, I don’t want to go overboard. (Note to self: Cancel the Singing Telegram Thank Yous.) I’m thinking $10 per guest should cover operating costs.
And for inspiration I’m looking to the good ol’ days: my childhood! One of my favorite party games was something my dad invented when I was six: A contest to see who could drop the most crayons into an empty water jug. I loved that game, and I had no idea it was because my parents were cheap! Fingers crossed my son won’t notice either.
Any of you have ideas for a memorable kids’ party that won’t break the bank?
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5 Comments | Tags: birthday planning, Erin E.
Posted by ET,
under ET, General, In The Media, Savings, Special Events |
02/1/2010
Is a kiss at the end of night from your spouse or date worth blowing your weekly budget? A recent CNN article discusses the nine biggest rip-offs we face in America, and includes items such as movie popcorn, wine at restaurants, and hotel mini bars, http://bit.ly/aHkyKb. Wine is marked up 2 to 5 times what it would cost at a store, and that movie popcorn you love to share with your special someone is marked up over 8 times its retail value. I realize that convenience and rules play a big role in ones decision to pay so much for one of these items, but at what can we do about it? Not all restaurants offer a corking fee that allows you to bring your own wine, and almost no movie theatres allow you to bring your own snacks. Therefore you might find yourself in a tough spot when trying to make the night magical yet not come across as a cheap date.
If you have a really tight budget, or are just frugal, I suggest moving your dinner and a movie date into your home. You can find a great bottle of wine at the grocery store for under $8, rent a recent release move from Redbox for $1, make a delicious dinner for less that $20 (or have it delivered), and pop some microwave popcorn for $1. In addition to saving on gas (another item from the CNN list), you can pull off the entire evening for less than $30. That same bottle of wine ($24) and popcorn ($6) would cost the same if you went out, and that doesn’t include the dinner, tip, and movie tickets.
This is not meant to say that I don’t support going out and enjoying a night on the town, but you don’t need to do it every weekend. Plus, if things get heated at your in-home date, hitting the fridge for a late night snack is a lot cheaper than paying for the hotel mini bar.
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4 Comments | Tags: Date night, Weekly Budget
Posted by Sophie,
under General, Special Events, Wedding/Honeymoon |
01/14/2010
Which means wedding season is fast approaching. If you’re engaged (or hoping to be soon!), now is a good time to start making wedding plans. There are great sites out there that can help you with all the details–like The Knot and OneWed. They even have tools to help you estimate how much your wedding might cost. Going through the budgeting process is a great way to figure out what kind of wedding you want to have, so take a shot at a budget, even if you’re not really sure what you want.
But here’s the thing: regardless of what you come up with in the wedding budget process, you’re going to have to figure out if you can afford it (I know, not exactly romantic!). And the only way to do that is to define and quantify all of your goals at the same time, so you can consider the trade-off’s between the wedding you want and your other goals. In the process, you can start to get a handle on your financial priorities, which may ultimately mean a smaller wedding. But that’s okay, because you can now make that decision based on what you want to do!
The best way to quantify your goals is build a financial plan. We can help you with that here at SimpliFi, or you can sit down with a face-to-face planner as well. In either case, you should get your fiance to do the same thing and then compare your results. You might be surprised at what you find.
In spirit of the (upcoming) wedding season, I’ll leave you with this–enjoy!
License to Wed trailer
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After graduating, you learn a dollar does not go as far as you thought it did. This blog is right. It is important to budget your money and find places to cut costs where ever possible. Sites, like onlinemovingcenter.com, have discounts. Discounts on everything from cable to furniture can be found online. Remember to shop around for the best deals.