Marriage and Finances

The current count down is 52 days until our wedding. Actually, that's until the wedding reception. My fiance, Chris, and I decided to get married in June. I wanted to do it on the first day of summer, June 21. We're still trying to plan that bit out.

I came across an interesting article in the NY Times a while back (mid-May). I finally got around to sharing it. In Marriage, the Unseen Bottom Line - it's interesting to me how many women do not want to be involved with the household finances or don't want to share their spending information with their spouses. Growing up, my mom and stepdad seemed to have that relationship. He makes the money, she spends it. I never heard them take about money or finances in front of us. I can tell you that my mom is still a mess with her personal finances and my family end up giving her money to make ends meet.

How I Got My Financial Life In Order

It wasn't always easy for me to deal with my finances. I used to be happy spending money every weekend on things I didn't need. It wasn't until my student loan payments were due that I realized that I needed to change my ways or I'll end up in a bad financial situation.

Here's how I got my financial life in order:

Financial Wake Up Call

To be honest, I don't recall the exact date that I became this personal-finance-obsessed person. It most likely happened in the fall of 2009, probably in September after I joined Mint.com. The grace period for my student loans was almost up and the thought of shelling out $800 per month scared me. I was a big spender back then and I knew I couldn't keep up with the payments if I didn't change my ways.

I remember looking at the MintLife blog and reading some interesting articles. After reading through most of the posts there I decided to search the rest of the internet. I came across a lot of PF blogs and websites like Wise Bread. There's definitely a lot of information out there. It can almost be overwhelming for a novice like me.

I started slow. Baby steps. Breathe. It's not the end of the world, but it felt like it. At the time I was still sending money home to my mom on a monthly basis. I felt like the Bank of Patti. I also felt like I wouldn't be able to pass the stress test should something big come up in the future. I didn't have a lot of money saved up and I was surely spending too much. That thought ate into me day after day. What to do? Where to start?

I knew I had to do something...

Where Have I Been? Where Am I Now?

It’s been a while since I last wrote on this blog – almost a year and a half. A lot has happened. Here’s a bit of a run down by year.

2010

•  In June I moved into a new apartment and gained 3 new roommates. We were all engineers, two guys and one other girl. Fun times there, good stories that I hope to revisit in the future.
• My college boyfriend and I broke up a few hours after my last post on August 28. I was a bit heartbroken, but knew we weren’t meant to be together for the long run. It was good while it lasted and I was grateful to have him in my life. Moving on…
• I started seeing someone I used to date back in college. There’s probably a reason why we stopped dating the first time but it took me 6 months to remember it all again.

2011

•  It was good for the short time we were together, but I think I choked a bit. It’s funny that in December 2010 I wasn’t ready to get married or at least get married to that boyfriend, but in December 2011, I was singing a different tune. Post-college boyfriend and I didn’t work out for the reasons it didn’t work out the first time we dated and our relationship ended in March.
• I was living the single life-style with my guy friends and it was very expensive. I don’t regret any of it, but boy, all that eating out at restaurants killed my wallet and my slim figure.
•  I started going to a knitting group in May. I love the ladies and everything they talk about. I get to learn from their wisdom on child rearing and get a glimpse of their life and adventures. One of the ladies lives in the UK a few months out of the year since her husband’s family is there and he travels there for work every now and then.
•  I met my current fiancé, C, in July. We hit it off right away and I just knew. He was someone I can see myself settling down with in the future. He had a terrier, I had a terrier. We both come from families with money problems. There were more similarities and I might get into that at a later date.
• We moved in together on Halloween. It was snowing!
• He proposed to me in December and I said yes! Some would say that we’re moving too fast, but I think it’s the right thing for us. Besides, he’s 30 and I’m 25. I can hear the clock ticking.
•  I bought a new car! I gave my 2001 Chevy Malibu back to my mom and bought a 2012 Mazda 3 5-door (aka Hatchback). I love the car, not loving the finance manager at the dealership. That’s another story.

2012

• C and I are preparing for our upcoming wedding.
• I'm still at my first job after college.
• I'm thinking about going to grad school (paid for by my company).
• I'm just trying to be in the moment and live life one day at a time.

I added another section to My Money History - Where Am I Now. It's a bit more in depth about my life so far in 2012. I plan to update it every now and then. I might edit it and make it shorter or move some things around. So much to do on my first day back on this blog. I hope you join me as I try to capture my life in this blog.