I don't know about you, but I would like to test out that theory that more money results in more problems. Scratch that, just give me the money and skip the problems :)
I love numbers! Math was my favorite class in school and lead to my finance degree. No matter what my living situation was out of college (with a roommate or on my own) I was always the one to do the bills. When Mr. E moved in he was more than happy to allow me to continue to deal with all of that.
In the beginning Mr. E had an account with another bank, and did not have any checks so he would always take out money for his half of the bills and I would deposit it into mine. This routine got pretty old pretty fast, with the all the trips to the bank so I suggested that he get an account at my bank so we could transfer money online. Well as luck would have it, my bank purchased his, so new bank account it was! At this point we had the big talk on how we wanted to set up our finances.
I don't know why, but I wasn't ready to have everything together. And wouldn't you know, neither was Mr. E. We decided to set up a "yours, mine and ours" deal where we each have our own checking and savings accounts and together we share another checking account. At first that shared checking account's sole purpose was for bill transfers. Once we were engaged it became the wedding fund that we would deposit into every month. After the wedding we plan on using this joint account as our main account, depositing most of our paychecks into it and paying all of our bills. We still like the idea of having our own separate "petty cash" accounts so we can surprise each other with gifts, or make those Coach purse & video game purchases without worrying. I love that we were able to come up with a plan that worked for both of us, and in the end we will slowly transition into "our" money.
What are your plans when it comes to combining finances? Are there any other number lovers out there? Seriously, give me a spreadsheet and numbers at work and I'm a happy camper.
Showing posts with label Budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Budget. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The B Word
One of the most dreaded words in wedding planning is probably the budget. Just think of all the amazing things you could have if there was no budget involved?
The number one reason for our 25 month engagement was the budget. Mr. E and I (maybe a little more me then Mr. E) had some ideas of what we wanted in our big day, and with our guest list closer to 150 there was no way that we could afford it in one year.
I'm not gonna lie, after the newness of getting engaged wore off, I was stressed beyond belief with the cost of a wedding. Mr. E was amazing, sat me down with an excel spreadsheet which helped to show me that we could afford the wedding we want if we just take an extra year to save. We both agreed from the get go that there was no reason to be left with wedding debt after the big day.
The budget breakdown is almost 50/50 between my parents and Mr. E & me, with some potential help from his parents for the rehearsal dinner. By the time it's said and done we'll probably end up a little over the average for our area.
I do sometimes think of all the things we could do with that money (pay off student loans, put a nice down payment on a house) but in the end I know that this day is going to be something we will never forget. We're putting in a little bit every month and it doesn't seem like a huge amount, but it definitely adds up, which is great! (Added bonus with tax returns and annual work bonuses.)
I feel that we have done so much more research when it comes to vendors and determining what is and isn't important to us, because it is our hard earned money that we're spending. That includes many a night spent googling vendors on my laptop.
I am so very fortunate to be able to have so much financial support from mom & dad Elephant because I know that it's not that way for everyone. The amazing part about my parents' financial help is that it doesn't come with a "it's my money so I have a say in how you spend it" type thing. We discuss all of the vendors with my parents, (with Mama Elephant going to vendor meetings with me) but in the end they are happy with whoever we choose. Love you mom and dad!!
Did you help pay for your wedding? Did spending your own money make you think long and hard about what you were spending it on?
The number one reason for our 25 month engagement was the budget. Mr. E and I (maybe a little more me then Mr. E) had some ideas of what we wanted in our big day, and with our guest list closer to 150 there was no way that we could afford it in one year.
I'm not gonna lie, after the newness of getting engaged wore off, I was stressed beyond belief with the cost of a wedding. Mr. E was amazing, sat me down with an excel spreadsheet which helped to show me that we could afford the wedding we want if we just take an extra year to save. We both agreed from the get go that there was no reason to be left with wedding debt after the big day.
The budget breakdown is almost 50/50 between my parents and Mr. E & me, with some potential help from his parents for the rehearsal dinner. By the time it's said and done we'll probably end up a little over the average for our area.
I do sometimes think of all the things we could do with that money (pay off student loans, put a nice down payment on a house) but in the end I know that this day is going to be something we will never forget. We're putting in a little bit every month and it doesn't seem like a huge amount, but it definitely adds up, which is great! (Added bonus with tax returns and annual work bonuses.)
I feel that we have done so much more research when it comes to vendors and determining what is and isn't important to us, because it is our hard earned money that we're spending. That includes many a night spent googling vendors on my laptop.
I am so very fortunate to be able to have so much financial support from mom & dad Elephant because I know that it's not that way for everyone. The amazing part about my parents' financial help is that it doesn't come with a "it's my money so I have a say in how you spend it" type thing. We discuss all of the vendors with my parents, (with Mama Elephant going to vendor meetings with me) but in the end they are happy with whoever we choose. Love you mom and dad!!
Dad & Mom Elephant, me & Mr. E on our cruise in 2009
Did you help pay for your wedding? Did spending your own money make you think long and hard about what you were spending it on?
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