2011 May | Well Heeled Blog

Gold Makes a Marriage?

Written by WellHeeled on May 31, 2011 · 9 Comments

Last week, CB’s mom very nicely put together a little relaxing kit for me and included a copy of Martha Stewart Weddings. Inside I saw a full-page ad sponsored by the World Gold Council that says:

Gold Makes a Marriage. Honor your love with the metal that’s meant marriage since marriage began.

Immediately I thought of the fact that we will not be having gold wedding bands for our marriage. In fact, our budget means that our rings, for now, will likely be stainless steel (CB thinks I’m half-joking… but… I’m not).

I am obviously not against precious metals, as I have a platinum engagement ring. I am also not offended or outraged, because it’s just an advertisement, and because many other materials (among them, diamonds, white dresses, flowers, cakes, etc.) have come to be advertised as the symbol of love, marriage, destiny, forevermore amen.

But the first thing I thought when I saw the advertisement was that marriage started as an socio-economic contract (and in many ways one can argue it retains those characteristics), and that gold was a very important aspect of a marriage. It had less to do with honoring one’s “love” and everything to do with securing a dowry or melding two family’s fortunes.

I don’t know if gold makes a marriage, but gold has certainly made marriages.

Image credit: Alexandre Breveglieri via Flickr

A Spender Trapped In a Saver’s Body

Written by WellHeeled on May 26, 2011 · 30 Comments

A Spender vs. Saver

Whenever articles come out that ask: Are you a natural-born Saver or Spender? I always think about which category I’d fall into.

On the surface, I’d probably be classified as a natural saver – I save for retirement, long-term goals, big trips, etc., and I don’t live beyond my means. And yet, I think I am a spender trapped inside a saver’s body – because I really, truly, hate the feeling of not being able to spend.

If you are like me, you wouldn’t be very good at depriving yourself / enforcing no-spend rules. For example, I thought about going to Paris one night, and bam, I am making plans for a $4,000 trip. I see a beautiful $300 dress, and I click “Buy” after just a few hours (the travesty is that I still have not worn that dress. Six months later. But I will in October for a wedding). I go through Starbucks like they are going out of style, and at $4 per latte it would be a very good thing for my wallet if they DO go out of style. I eat out much too much.I tried living without a budget and while that went OK for a while, I soon realized that, nope, I DO need an ~~budget~~ adult allowance. I get bitten by the shopping bug.

Can you become a saver if you are naturally inclined to spend?

I think so. Just like you can still get in shape if you hate exercise or you can still eat healthily even if you love sweets. It’s all about playing little tricks on yourself to help you along. How I’ve done that is to put away money before it gets into my hands. I do this with my 401K contributions – every month over $2,000 disappears before I get my paycheck. That way, my spending is constrained by the money that I actually have. I also try to minimize my BIG expenses (rent, car, etc.) so I don’t have to go through daily acts of deprivation (no Starbucks, no eating out).

Automatic savings, paying myself first, and forgetting about the money I have so I always feel less well-off than my bank ledger – these are the ways I try to keep my inner spender at bay!

Are you spender or a saver? Or are you, like me, a spender trapped in a saver’s body? Any savers trapped in a spender’s body here?

Emma Stine $25 Gift Card Giveaway

Written by WellHeeled on May 24, 2011 · 18 Comments

Raise your hand if you like beautifully designed jewelry at affordable prices.

Raise your hand if you like a $25 gift card to make the jewelry EVEN MORE affordable.

That’s where Emma Stine comes in. Ever since I found this jewelry company through fashion blogger Style Pint’s review, I can’t stop browsing the website. Disclaimer, I have never purchased anything from them before – I asked for a giveaway for you guys instead. That’s why I’m so excited that one reader will get $25 towards the purchase of a shiny new piece of jewelry. Please note, only readers in the U.S. are eligible.

To enter:

Leave a blog comment with the link to your favorite piece of jewelry on Emma Stine’s website.

Additional entries:

1. Twitter: Tweet this post: @WellHeeledBlog is giving away $25 Emma Stine Jewelry Gift Card http://tinyurl.com/emmastine

2. Facebook: One entry for a post on your wall with a link to this giveaway: WellHeeledBlog is giving away $25 Emma Stine Jewelry Gift Card http://tinyurl.com/emmastine

3. Blog: One entry for a post about this giveaway

Please leave the links with the additional entries in the comment so I can count them.

The contest ends Thursday June 2. Winner will be announced on Friday June 3, and will have 48 hours to email me and claim the prize.

Graduates: Save for Retirement

Written by WellHeeled on May 23, 2011 · 5 Comments

Is there any topic as scintillating as that of retirement? Especially to newly minted college graduates?

I think not! Retirement seems far off, but without a plan it comes much faster and harder than one expects. It’s not too difficult to just get started… check out my new post at the LendingTree blog:

5 Tips for Recent College Grads to Plan for Retirement

After I graduated from college, I used all these tips to really get started on saving in my Roth IRA and 401K. The best thing is that if you are consistent with it, the dollars add up more quickly than you realize. I just peeked at my 401K statement – I’m 90% of the way there to my $16,500 goal.

Thanks to Sarah at Paranoid Asteroid, Jeff at Sustainable Personal Finance, and Kim at Kim’s Kitchen Sink for chiming in with their tips!

P.S. LendingTree is running a Home CFO contest on Facebook. There’s a BIG prize every month for the lucky winner named the Home CFO: LendingTree will pay for one month of your mortgage or rent. If you win, there’s $1,000+ extra for retirement savings right there.

Paris & Lisbon 2012 Budget: Is $4.5K Enough?

Written by WellHeeled on May 22, 2011 · 37 Comments

Europe 2012!! I am getting more and more excited about the prospect of leaving gloomy February in California and heading off to… gloomy February in Paris. I’ve been quite liberal with spending lately, so I wanted to use this opportunity to really buckle down and save. We are planning on staying for 6 days and 6 nights, 4 nights in Paris, France and 2 nights in Lisbon, Portugal.

My Paris + Lisbon Budget

Airfare x 2: $1,000 for fees and taxes. For 50,000 miles, I can get a round-trip economy class ticket to Paris. Since my British Airways Visa Signature card allows me to rack up 100,000 miles fairly quickly, I should have enough for tickets for both CB and myself. I am going to budget $1,000 for fuel charges and taxes that we will incur when we exchange the miles for tickets. I am going to try to get an openjaw ticket – flying into Paris and out of Lisbon.

Hotel: $1,000 for Paris x 4 nights and Lisbon x 2 nights. I haven’t done much research into hotel options. The one that I’ve found, Hotel Muguet near the Eiffel Tower and Palace Invalides, charges 115€ per night including tax during our dates. A few readers have suggested renting an apartment, but for my first trip I’d be more comfortable at a hotel. For the two nights in Lisbon, I imagine hotel would be cheaper than that in Paris.

Food: $1,400 at $100 or 70€ per person, per day. Obviously, one of the big reasons why we are going to Paris and Portugal is for the food. I don’t expect to spend time in Michelin starred establishments, but I do want to frequent the cute little bistros and neighborhood cafes, enjoy goodor local wine and drink lots and lots of cafe lattes.

Internal transportation: $200. One way ticket from Paris to Lisbon. Apparently EasyJet has some options for one-ways at around 50€ per person.

Tours and entertainment: $600. To be honest, I picked this figure only because it will make our total trip budget a nice round number. We will probably get the 4-day Museum Passes. Other than that, I am not quite sure how much this will cost.

Books and shopping: $300. I plan to pick up a Rick Steves’ guide books to Paris, and maybe a small book of French phrases. I also want to have a little bit of money to buy some scarves (from everything I’ve read, Parisian women are always stylin’ with scarves!) and perhaps a few pieces of custom jewelry at flea markets.

Total: $4,500 If we are very conscientious, perhaps we can cut this down to $4,000.

Do you think this Paris & Lisbon vacation budget is reasonable? Now I need to figure out how to save for this trip…

Paris in the Winter

Written by WellHeeled on May 20, 2011 · 21 Comments

Guess who’s going to see Paris, France next year?

I am not much for impulsive decisions, but I just impulsively made a decision last night. Now, I shall work diligently to put that impulsive decision into action.

It all started with CB and I talking about our honeymoon. We are looking at a wedding in April, right before the high season but still close enough to the summer to have nice weather. Unfortunately, with the way that CB’s schedule is shaking out, we will have a period of time from January to mid-February where he can take time off. Then, he wouldn’t be able to take any time off until late-June.

So we will have to go on a very short honeymoon immediately after the wedding, and the delay the longer trip for the summer. We had talked about going to Paris for our honeymoon – not because either of us ever had any burning desire to go, but I know we will enjoy the city, and besides, it is the city of romance, no? It’s also somewhere where neither of us has been before. Hi That’s My Bike is in Paris right now, and writes so beautifully about the city that I couldn’t help but be moved by her enthusiasm. @Single Ma, who has ended her blog, went to Paris and wrote a nice recap of her time there. Fortunately I still have those posts in my Google Reader!

Paris in the February

Back to CB’s schedule – if we were to go to Paris in June, July or August, we’d be crushed by the throng of like-minded tourists. The prices will also skyrocket from merely expensive to almost unaffordable. Besides, I had hoped that we can go to South America or perhaps an African safari during July. So I had a thought - what if we went to Paris in February?

Sure, the songs are about Paris in the Springtime, but Paris in the Winter is a cheap time to go! If we go in February, we can spend Valentine’s Day in Paris, and what can be more romantic than that? We can get a cute hotel and enjoy the city and being with each other. We can take advantage of the shorter lines at museums. It may be rainy and cold, but that’s just another excuse to duck into cafes and order warm mugs of hot cocoa and crepes smeared with Nutella.

So, here’s my new goal. Paris in February. I shall call this a pre-wedding-moon. I am not sure what a budget for this trip will look like, but it seems that round-trip airfare, per person, will cost at least $1,100. I have signed up for a British Airways credit card back when it had a 100,000 miles bonus, so I hope that will defray the cost of the airfare somewhat. A hotel room will cost around 115 euros a night, and at the dismal 1.4 dollars to 1 euro exchange rate, six nights will probably cost $1,000. So that is at minimum $3,000+ before food, incidentals, museum passes, etc., are factored in. Budgeting $100 per day (is that too high? too low?), per person, a 7-day trip will be $1,400. In all, I expect to spend $5,000 on this trip. Hopefully we can bring that cost down to $4,000 with the credit card miles.

Now, my focus is to “sell” this trip to CB (a relationship is all about negotiation!). We can use the $5,600 we’ve saved up for the Galapagos trip, or just start pinching pennies for this trip. I need a big goal to get excited about saving money again. Paris in February just might be it.

Photo credit: daphatone from morguefile.com

It’s Expensive Being Social

Written by WellHeeled on May 18, 2011 · 21 Comments

Recently I have been seeing many more friends than I usually do, and while I love and enjoy their company, it’s expensive being social!

Sure, there ways to be social without spending a lot of money. I’ve written about those ways before, as have 99% of personal finance bloggers out there. I love those ideas. Most of these ideas (game nights, potlucks, cooking at home), though, work for once-in-a-while get-togethers. But I argue that it is hard to consistently hang out with friends WITHOUT going out, and thereby spending money.

These past few weeks I have caught up with several friends that I haven’t seen in months. We caught over brunches, lunches, and dinners. We caught up over morning coffees, afternoon teas, and evening sangrias. All of this catching up has resulted in some very unusual spending. I don’t even want to look at my credit card bill right now.

For the most part, I don’t mind. I know as long as I don’t make a habit of spending $500 on food every single month, I will be OK. It is really nice to see friends and enjoy a delicious meal together.

It is really nice to be social. But it’s also expensive.

The Tiny Wedding & Wedding Budget

Written by WellHeeled on May 16, 2011 · 39 Comments

I am going to have a tiny wedding.

Is all this talk of wedding planning driving you a little crazy? I understand, it’s irritating to me too. Somehow the excitement of the engagement has been overshadowed by Must. Get. Things. Done. when it comes to vendors and dates and guest lists and budgets.

When I first put together a $10K wedding budget, I was thinking about 40-50 guests. Still a small wedding by most standards, but it was plenty for me to worry about. The dollar signs started piling up. I thought about the debt we would have after graduate school. Visions of all the glorious trips we can take with the wedding money danced through my head. I started to read wistfully about elopements on Intimate Weddings.

Aside the money issues, I just wasn’t enjoying this whole wedding planning process, even though I liked looking at pretty pictures on wedding blogs and flipping through bridal magazines. I didn’t used to care about centerpieces and different colored linens, but somehow, I was starting to care, or caring that I didn’t care… and that was pretty scary.

I realized that…

I have so much more fun thinking about a Big Ticket Travel honeymoon than about the wedding.
I’d rather save my stress-handling capability for graduate school and work.
At the end of the day, all I really want in my wedding can be summed up in these few phrases: marry CB, wear a lace gown, be surrounded by family.
Oh, and I want nice photos to memorialize the whole occasion. Of course, the money saved is a plus also.

So there you have it. Last evening I had a conversation with CB and told him how I felt. After we talked, CB and I decided to adjust our guest list from 40+ to just around 20. Our immediate families (no dates) plus a handful of good friends. This redirection means that our budget has now fallen to under $6,000 and I stopped worrying about things like centerpieces and reception music. I’m not sure if 20 qualifies as a tiny wedding, but I think of it that way, a lovely, tiny wedding that is the perfect balance between a private elopement and a big shindig.

Wedding Budget For a Tiny Wedding
Item	Amount	of Total
Ceremony venue	$240.00	4%
Music and officiant	$0.00	0%
Marriage license	$90.00	2%
Restaurant reception	$1,200.00	21%
Photography	$1,600.00	28%
Bride’s Attire	$500.00	9%
Bride’s Hair & Makeup	$50.00	1%
Groom’s Attire	$600.00	11%
Flowers	$100.00	2%
Hotel (2 Nights)	$500.00	9%
Rings (surgical steel!)	$200.00	4%
Gifts	$600.00	11%
	$5,680.00

Under $6,000! As we will be paying for this event ourselves, this means that we’d have to pony up $3,000 each. Still not a small sum, but it’s manageable. I think we have a real good shot of coming in under this budget, even. I just feel this giant weight lifted off me once we made the decision to go with a very small wedding.

This is going to be my last wedding post for a while. I promise.

Anyone else decide to scrap their original plans and have a tiny wedding instead?

Setting a Wedding Budget Under $10,000

Written by WellHeeled on May 13, 2011 · 37 Comments

Here’s my budget for an under $10,000 wedding, version 1.0.

I so want to be one of those talented and deal-seeking brides who managed a lovely soirree on $5,000, but that’s just not happening. I’ve taken a stab at putting everything together, and I know some of these expenses might be estimated low – but those that are low are things I really don’t care about. I have gotten pricing for the big items (ceremony venue, catering, photography), so I have an idea of what can be done. This is for a Sunday daytime wedding with a guest list of 40-50.

Ceremony: $500.00 (6%)

Site rental $250.00 Gorgeous venue. No need for flowers, decorations, or rentals.
Marriage license $100.00 Unsure. Need to find out the actual cost.
Officiant $0.00 Former Landlord to the rescue!
Music $150.00 I’d like to get a harpist or a guitarist to play for an hour.

Reception: $3,500.00 (41%)

Site rental $400.00 Tables, linens, flatware.
Food, servers, tips, taxes $2,500.00 I’ve gotten a few pricing quotes and think this is realistic.
Alcohol $200.00 Morning wedding = less alcohol.
Cake $250.00 Not a wedding cake.
Music $150.00 We’d do an iPod reception.. But we need to get an iPod first.

Photography: $1,600.00 (19%)

Wedding $1,600.00 Day of coverage with 2 photographers. No album, just CD & user rights.
Engagement $0.00 I think we’ll be skipping this.

Attire, Hair, and Makeup: $900 (11%)

Bride $400.00 This includes dress, shoes, accessories, etc. 3 words: Used J. Crew dresses.
Bride hair & makeup $0.00 All me. Plus any bridesmaid who wants to help me.
Groom $500.00 A good suit that CB can wear long after the wedding.

Stationery: $0.00 (0%)

Save-the-dates $0.00 Former landlord has offered to do my invitations as his gift to us. He works at a paper company. Yes, in addition to helping me move, feeding me dinner, and inviting me to his backyard barbeques and parties, he will be gifting me all the paper goods I need for the wedding. Greatest Landlord Ever.
Invitations $0.00 see above
Programs $0.00 see above
Seating cards $0.00 No need for a buffet.

Flowers & Decorations: $190.00 (2%)

Bouquets $120.00 Bride (small) + 3 or 4 bridesmaid (nosegays). DIY. I’ll buy roses from the grocery store.
Boutonnaire $20.00 For CB. I think I’ll have to get a professional to do this.
Decorations $50.00 IKEA glass vases with.. Fruit? That people can eat. Not flowers.

Gifts: $375.00 (4%)

Bridesmaids $200.00 I will pay for their bridesmaid dresses. Incentive for me to keep costs low.
Groom’s party $75.00 Ties?
Former Landlord $100.00 Gift card to a nice restaurant?

Wedding Bands: $1,100.00 (13%)

Bride (incl. resizing) $900.00 I know I said I don’t want a band. But I really like this one from Costco… the milligrain would look very nice with the engagement ring. If I get this, I will wear the band on my left ring finger and move the engagement ring to my middle left finger.
Groom $200.00 Maybe higher depending on what CB likes.

Other: $300.00 (4%)

Transportation $0.00 CB’s car. It has a moonroof!
Pre-wedding hotel $300.00 For myself and bridesmaids.

Grand Total $8,465.00

Before I put everything in Excel, I kept thinking my budget is one number. Then I add up everything and it’s completely NOT THAT NUMBER. This is most distressing. The most logical areas to cut would be (1) the reception, and (2) the wedding bands. I am not sure I want to do either.

Weddings Cost Money. Period.

Written by WellHeeled on May 12, 2011 · 23 Comments

Weddings cost money. Anyone knows that, but it was woefully easy to underestimate the cost of how much weddings actually cost before I started looking into the specifics. That’s why, before I got engaged, I thought setting up a wedding budget would be fun.

…. oh how I laugh at myself. This has been a quite frustrating process because I can’t plan without a budget and I can’t have a budget without an idea of what things cost, and most vendors I’ve contacted won’t tell me what they cost except that they will “work with me” to realize my “vision.”

As I am scouring the internet for more information about having wedding on what would be considered a smaller-than-average budget and looking up the costs for different venues and services, I’ve realized that weddings cost money. The fact is that if you want a traditional event or an affair with several traditional elements (catered meal, professional photography, a wedding gown, etc.), even a “budget” wedding is more money that you will spend in one day than for any other occassion.

It’d be much cheaper if we want to elope, but we don’t. We want family and close friends there. I want to strike the balance between saving for ourselves and inconveniencing others (so that means having the wedding on a weekday - when we can get everything for a song – is out). I want to have something good so that we show the guests how much we appreciate their attendance, while respecting our own financial situation.

But I’ve gotten pricing for a few things, and I am pretty close to getting a budget together. CB and I talked about $10,000 is the absolute MAX we are going to spend on the wedding. We don’t expect to get any help from our families. I think we can keep the whole shindig under $7,500 for 50 guests. If I can flex some negotiating muscle and get a few good deals, we might even be able to do it for $7,000 or $6,500.

I’ll put together a pretty spreadsheet for you guys on Monday.

Giving Friend Money For Car Accident

Written by WellHeeled on May 10, 2011 · 16 Comments

This weekend I spent some wonderful time with a very good girl friend whom I haven’t seen since 2009. We had a blast eating, sight-seeing, eating, and eating some more. Through a series of unfortunate events, however, my friend’s car got damaged and she had to spend over $300 for a tow and two brand new tires.

Needlessly to say, I feel horrible about what happened. Although the car accident wasn’t my fault, my friend wouldn’t have been in that situation to damage her car had she not been doing me a favor. I offered to give her some money, but she declined. So, I am trying to think of what I can do to both say (1) thank you for hosting me that weekend and (2) I’m sorry about her car accident. Since my friend loves Sephora (like me!), I may send her a $50 Sephora gift card.

She won’t be expecting anything, she doesn’t blame me for what happened, and she took the whole thing in stride very calmly – much more calmly than I would had I been in her shoes! Still, I feel a little responsible for her car damage. Plus, she’s such a great, great friend that I just feel bad if I don’t do anything.

What do you think? What would you do in my situation? Do you think $50 is enough?

Ring Insurance

Written by WellHeeled on May 9, 2011 · 18 Comments

How’d you guys go about it? Any tips or recommendations? I am getting my ring resized and will be able to wear it soon.. but I won’t be able to stop worrying until it’s safely insured.

Debt Advice: IVA

Written by WellHeeled on May 9, 2011 · Leave a Comment

This post is sponsored.

If you are struggling with debt, you will undoubtedly know how stressful dealing with creditors and trying to work out a payment plan can be. In fact, if you have unsustainable amounts of debt, you may think that bankruptcy is the only solution. But before you look into bankruptcy, you should definitely consider all available alternatives. An IVA is among the most attractive of the options potentially at your disposal. Even though bankruptcy can discharge some debt, after all, it often has a devastating effect on an individual’s credit report. An IVA – which stands for Individual Voluntary Arrangement – can help people resolve their debt within 60 months.

This doesn’t only sound good, it may be an obvious improvement on declaring bankruptcy. So what is an IVA? To put it simply, an IVA is a legally binding contractual agreement between an individual and debt holders. Typically, under this agreement, a individual can have up to 70% of his or her debt written off. He or she will pay the remaining amount over a 5 year period.

This program can be adjusted to an individual’s unique circumstances. 75% of Creditors by debt value must approve the IVA proposal , the arrangement is then binding on all creditors. This may seem improbable, but in fact there is an incentive to accept an IVA because they will likely receive more payment than they would in a bankruptcy. For the consumer, an IVA offers a chance to discharge a majority of debt contained within the IVA, and, unlike bankruptcy, you are extremely unlikely to lose your home. IVAs generally stay on a person’s credit report for 6 years.

To qualify for an IVA, you must be a UK citizen, owe more than £12,000 , and have two or more creditors. Companies such as Debt Advisory Line offer advice and support on how to structure an IVA that will meet your needs and your creditors’ approval. Contact us now and without any obligations, to find out more about the details and how we can help you control your debt. (Note: The IVA only relates to debts contained within it, i.e., you will only be debt free if you have no other debts).

Wedding Planning: My Lack of “Vision”

Written by WellHeeled on May 5, 2011 · 25 Comments

One thing I really don’t like is vendors who ask me “what’s your vision?” At that point, I draw a blank. Well, my first impulse is to say, what’s the cheapest pricing you got and what will that cover? But I have a sneaking suspicion that won’t go over well.

(I promise this blog won’t become completely wedding-focused – it’s just that I’m kind of running on empty for inspiration for the past few weeks. And wedding planning is always fodder for great blogging material!)

I don’t really have a vision. Sometimes I really wish I would be fine with just immediate family at the wedding, because that would make everything so much cheaper and easier. But I also know we want a few of our close friends there.

Still don’t have a vision though. Or a budget.

Mom: My First & Best Personal Finance Teacher

Written by WellHeeled on May 4, 2011 · 11 Comments

Don’t forget, this Sunday is Mother’s Day! My mom is many things to me, including my first and best personal finance teacher.

Mom taught me many things, but here are 5 most important money lessons (via LendingTree Blog), and I know I am a better and more capable person because of it.

One evening, as CB and I trudged tiredly upstairs to our apartment, burdened by bags of groceries and files from work, I piped, “I don’t know HOW my mom did it.” Now that I have been out in the working world for a few years and know how a full workday can leave you exhausted at night, my respect for my parents – especially my mother- has increased TREMENDOUSLY.

Not that I didn’t love or respect her before, but now I cannot imagine how she was able to work full-time, on the night-shift, and still manage a household, cook almost every meal (we almost never went out to eat while I was growing up), pick me up from school in the afternoons, help orchestrate and coordinate family issues when her parents lived several timezones away, and instill in her daughter a love of personal finance. NOW that’s what I call a supermom! But of course, I only want to be a guiltless mom.

But what mother-daughter relationship is “perfect”? Sometimes, I wish my mother and I have the kind of heart-to-hearts that I see on TV or hear about from my friends. Growing up, we never really did anything very “girly.” No spa dates, no shopping for my prom dress together, no her teaching me doing makeup (it’s actually the other way around!) But that’s how our relationship is – we are close and I KNOW she will do everything she can for me, but our closeness is less cotton candy and more… dark chocolate.

If I were really honest, I’d say I wish she was more excited about my engagement. I understand that she likes CB, she just wants me to make sure I take care of myself and keep moving forward in life. Which is probably why she is more concerned with graduate school and career progression than an impending wedding. That’s OK – on most levels I am too.

We won’t be a mom-daughter pair laughing over champagne while I pick out my wedding dress. But I know, when I finish my MBA or buy my first home, she will be there, proud as ever.

Lazy Shopper

Written by WellHeeled on May 4, 2011 · 9 Comments

Lazy is not a word I want to use to describe myself, but I’ve realized: I am a lazy shopper. I look for good deals, but I don’t look that hard. And it’s not that I have money to blow, I just find the entire price-comparison process a little tedious. Given the recent raise of couponing in the public eye, I’ve also realized that I don’t even go through the trouble of clipping coupons from the weekly inserts we receive. In fact, every flyer goes straight into the recycling bin.

TLC’s Extreme Couponing, I do not:

Enter the world of bargain shoppers who have mastered the art of saving! In Extreme Couponing, meet the everyday people who save hundreds of dollars in a single trip to the store.

Aside from TV shows, there are entire blogs out there devoted solely to coupons, showcasing people’s ability to get $200 worth of goods for $10 or feed a family of 5 on just $800 a year. (MoneyMateKate is one of my favorite couponers, as she uses her powers for good – donating toiletries and groceries to shelters and other folks in need.)

I want my money to work for me, but I don’t like the time I have to invest in keeping track of coupons, in figuring out a system, in being tempted to buy things that I might not want to buy without a coupon. You might say I’m smart to resist the temptation, or you might just say I’m lazy!

Fortunately the availability of online coupons has helped tremendously for lazy deal-seeker. It’s not too much trouble to look at retailmenot.com or couponcactus.com before I click the “buy” button. It’s not too much trouble to go through Ebates.com to get 2% or 3% from my purchase from Banana Republic or J.Crew.

Are you a lazy shopper? Or are you a leave-no-stones-unturned deal-seeking star?

Winners of the American Express Gift Card Giveaway

Written by WellHeeled on May 2, 2011 · 2 Comments

Thank you to everyone for entering the Administrative Appreciation Week Gift Card Giveaway! Of course, a very big thank you to American Express for sponsoring the giveaway. Sorry for the late notification – I’ve been on the road for the past week and things have been a little hectic.

Without further ado, here are the 5 winners, and their “most memorable thankyous”:

Kfloveinme:

My most memorable “thank you” was from my boss. I was her sales assistant & after we had a week of meetings that was hours long she got me a $75 gift card to my favorite restaurant & a bouquet of flowers. I’ve been lucky to have some great bosses but she had to be the best.

anash:

My most memorable thank you I ever received was when my husband surprised me with a vacation after 3 months of working very hard at my job on a project!

Tabathia B:

When I got my first “real” job as an administrative assistant my boss gave me a belks or it was a prepaid visa gc for $150 to get some clothing for work.

Jennifer Marie:

I have been having a hard time with work lately, very busy, co workers not getting along etc. Yesterday my director told me “I am glad you work here, you are doing a great job!” At that moment it really seemed that things were going to be okay and that I am indeed doing a good job. It meant a lot to me!

Laura:

My most memorable thank you was when I interned at a settlement house and worked with a group of middle school girls. On my last day, they each made me a thank you card and inside they how I had made a difference in their life in the card. I don’t get teary eyed often, but I couldn’t control the emotions this time…

Winners, please email me within 48 hours to claim your prize!

What’s My Wedding Budget? I Have No Idea

Written by WellHeeled on May 2, 2011 · 43 Comments

The first rule of wedding planning, I’ve read, is to set a wedding budget. Sounds great, right? You pick a number that’s realistic and prudent, and you prioritize your desires such dress, food, and venue accordingly. I am turning into a very bad PF blogger bride-to-be, however – I have no idea what our budget is! CB and I both know we want something (1) small at ~40 guests, (2) lovely, (3) that doesn’t break the bank.

What’s a reasonable wedding budget (for us)?

From most things I’ve read, $10,000 is kind of the watermark for an affordable wedding, while weddings around $5,000-$6,000 dip into the budget skillz territory. I know the Big Day can be expensive, but $10,000 is quite a bit of money for us. Even $5,000 sounds like a lot – it took us to a YEAR save up the precious $5,600 to the Galapagoas Fund. Granted, CB was also saving for the engagement ring that time (sneaky, sneaky), so I assume that we can save more in the coming year. Still.

My rational self says: “the wedding just doesn’t quite rank that high on our savings list to allow us to have a big budget.” My weddingbee.com-reading self says: “The $70/head halibut with crab cakes menu sounds really good! Ooh, and how about that $2,000 alencon lace gown?” -_-

Ring, Wedding, Honeymoon – we know the first and last cost $$$

The other part is that I have already gotten something wonderful – a beautiful ring. A ring more than I ever really even imagined. A ring much more expensive than I had expected. I also want a really nice honeymoon. In fact, we are probably going to turn the Galapagos Fund into the Honeymoon Fund, and save the turtles for maybe 5 years out. So the front-end and back-end of the whole getting-married process will cost us a pretty penny, even without taking into account the wedding itself.

Top Down vs. Bottom Up

So I am kind of at a loss. How do I go about the process of setting a wedding budget? I can pick an arbitrary number out of the air and try to fit all the elements we want (or start cutting!) into that budget – the top down approach – then find the number woefully inadequate. Or I can start pricing individual items and build up to a budget that will accommodate those items – the bottom up approach – and then watch my budget (and my head) explode.

I also don’t want set something based on “how much we can afford” – because “afford” is such a squishy term. If I can “afford” a wedding only if I cut back on my retirement saving or take out money that I have already saved for something else, can I really “afford” it?

Before we got engaged, CB and I talked jokingly about a wedding budget. HIS brilliant idea was to spend $5 – a dollar each for the dress, the reception, the ceremony, the photography, and the food. Har de har har. I am going to spend more on this wedding than the cost of a Big Mac, but how much more? I don’t know.

So, to all the ladies and gents who are planning a wedding, how did you decide on a wedding budget? Are there any worksheets / templates that you found helpful?