Breaking the Bank

So after about 2 years of savings, Paul and I are finally breaking the bank. I set a goal 2 years ago (before any plans of getting engaged) that we would save a specified amount for a down payment for a house by Oct. 15th, 2007, 12 noon. I had a chart that I could physically see everyday, and we would mark periodically with a highlighter each time we hit a milestone. We set a pretty high goal for ourselves just to make things a little more challenging and to just get in the habit of putting all our efforts toward this one goal. Then, Paul drops the unexpected, but very welcome bomb on me, and now we must prepare for a wedding, too. Simultaneously, we allot a specified amount to go into the house fund and then another one to go into the wedding fund. I drew up another goals chart for the wedding with a significantly smaller amount by May 20, 2009 12 noon, but now we had to split our efforts to two different, but equally important goals. Everyone knows that we were able to fulfill the first one, escrow should close on Dec. 5th. In fact, we actually managed to achieve this goal earlier than expected which was good. Thank you for overtime, and Mary Kay! I kind of wish we had an huge ceramic piggy to break spilling coins everywhere just for fun and to be symbolic. But the euphoria we felt after accomplishing this feat was quickly replaced with nervousness...especially since this was a big investment amongst other things such as the house might need new coat of paint, the electrical upgraded, and some furniture... By the time we pay the full escrow amount, Paul and I will be left with our minimal checking and savings account. A tiny bit of emergency money, and what was left of our wedding fund since we decided to use some of that to buy some points down on our interest rate. It's very depressing to know in a few weeks we will practically have nothing. I am sure that with a slight adjustment on the wedding fund goals chart and a few catch up payments, no extensive gift-giving, plus a little bit of hustling should put us back on track.

I think about this all the time...Paul and I could have been doing lots of things with our money new cars instead of the 10+ year old Hondas that we will try to drive into the ground. Paul loves his toys, video games, gadgets, and I've always wanted to buy a piano or even a keyboard, but we put most of that on hold for now thinking that one day, it would look nicer/sound nicer in a house. It feels almost surreal to be at this point especially since we've been saving for so long.

I've learned a few things from this experience. Bear with me, I feel this is important to write down and remember for myself. The first thing is preparation. Nothing happens from nothing. Unless I had some sort of trust fund, there was no other way I could plan for a house. Keeping my goals clear as a daily reminder gave me motivation and discipline to keep going. Getting started was really hard. There were a lot of bad habits that like to pop up every once in a while, but honestly, once I started getting into a pattern of saving, it was quite painless. Probably because money was taken physically out of the account into another account that I couldn't touch very easily, and I only got to play with what was left behind. Secondly, nothing always goes as planned. When we got engaged, I thought, oh shoot. What are we going to do? We had nothing saved for this, and I had always dreamed of having a wedding in Hawaii five years from now not a year from now. So we adjusted and planned again. And because of the additional things we want to do for the house, we'll probably have to adjust some more. Finally, even though at the moment it feels like all we've saved for is gone, we'll probably think differently once we are moved in and settled. We don't have to worry about paying the mortgage for someone else, and maybe later on we'll accrue equity and have a return on our investment. It's just that the first few years will probably suck, and we'll still have to be extremely careful with our expenses.

So the next goal after the wedding would be financing the honeymoon and then maybe kids. I wonder if I have to make a goal chart for that, too. Just kidding. I think I'll start with something smaller first like a piano, or maybe something bigger like my second house in Hawaii...This is a quote I always remind myself ever since I joined Mary Kay:

"Dare to grow into your dreams and claim this as your motto: Let it be me."
Mary Kay Ash

The Registry

So we've signed up for a few wedding registries, but we haven't really filled it up with stuff yet. It's kind of interesting doing shopping in this manner. Normally, when I buy stuff, I kind of like to find a good deal. I hate paying full price for anything, and I think I've already stated this in a previous blog. Hahahaha. So it's kind of interesting that I am basing my decisions mostly on the quality and likability of the product, and then figuring if it is really worth the price is at retail since I don't know if it will be on sale or something when it actually gets purchased. It's a different mentality, and I am still getting used to it. Paul's been pretty helpful giving input here and there. I might have to assign him reviews to go through so that I don't have to read them all myself.

I was encountering the problem that not all the brands and products I wanted/could find were in the same store. I didn't want to do sign up for more than 3 registries because that's really way too much. BUT luckily I did find out that there was a place where I could find a lot of the stuff online and shipping was free on purchases over $25 or more and had some better prices than some of the other places I signed up for. So I can at least do that for the people who have access to the internet. I figure the people who do not have internet will find inspiration somewhere. We aren't going to choose most of the house stuff yet because I want us to get a feel for the new house and what colors and styles we want for each room. This is our chance to finally have some creative input on the look and feel of our new home. In all the apartments I've lived in, I only could put up a few posters and paintings. I've always wanted to paint a room or two and buy coordinated curtains and such. I am really looking forward to it. I know it's going to be a lot of work, but at least it'll be how we want it instead of white walls and living out of boxes thinking that it'll only be temporary. We're planning to live here for quite a while. I can't wait to make it completely ours. Just a few more weeks to go to get the keys, and hopefully everything else will fall into place.

Writing Personal Vows

In between cleaning, packing, and watching "Constantine" extra features, I attempted to put on paper some ideas for my personal vows. Since Paul and I are doing a non-denomination type wedding, we're going to write our own personal vows and declaration of love, honor, and loyalty to each other. I find that it is really easy to go the cheesy route, regurgitating the same cliche phrases. I really want it to be honest and meaningful. I really enjoyed Lyndon and Pear's vows (my cousins who got married this passed September 27th), which were awesome. They made theirs interesting to listen to, both vows came from the heart, and also gave some insight into the relationship that formed from all their years together. I'd like to have that same kind of feeling and content. I am especially nervous for both myself and Paul because it's been a long time since I've had to speak in front of a group of people and if anyone knows Paul, he becomes a little quiet and shy in these situations. He will never volunteer to make speeches in front of people. I am actually surprised that he is going through with this idea. I thought I might have to bribe him with a new TV or video game, but lucky for me, I didn't have to go there. I am poking through other people's samples for inspiration. Maybe someone else's blood, sweat, and tears, could help me bring some life to my pile of jumbled phrases. I wonder what Paul is going through for his part...I'm sure he's not going to agonize over every word. He'll probably start writing like a week before, and ask Jared for some help. And it'll turn out brilliant. That's what I would do if I was Paul. LOL.

8 Months To Go

8 Months to go...once escrow closes in December and we finish moving, here's what we still need to do:

1) Lock in cake
2) Lock in flower designs for florist
3) Confirm with all vendors
4) Order bridesmaids dresses
5) Scan photos for slideshow
6) Find song
7) Invitations
8) Finalize guys clothing
9) All the little stuff

This is what's already been done:
1) Venue
2) Officiant
3) DJ
4) MC - need to confirm that Kelly can take the vacation time
5) Photographer - need to still pick out our 1 print out
6) Found dress - need to pick out accessories


So there's still quite a lot more to do. Hopefully, we'll still have money to do it. =P