Just the Beginning

Welcome World!! I’m joining the blogosphere. I never had any intention of writing a blog. I didn’t have anything really interesting to talk about or share. Until now!

As my husband, Chris and I approach our one year anniversary, we’ve reflected on this past year and the years that we’ve been together. After, one year of dating, we got engaged (I knew he was the one the moment we met). Then a year and half after that we got married (A magical day!). Now, nine months in we stare lovingly into each other’s eyes and say “Our credit card bill is how much!?!?”

In the past two and a half years we’ve gone to England, gotten married and had a glorious honeymoon in Mexico. Well, the honeymoon is over, so-to-speak. We’ve done our splurging and now we’re paying the price…literally. Now, don’t get me wrong, our debt is manageable. We’ve never missed a payment, never had to call the parents for cash and we don’t have bill collector’s calling us. It might seem like a lot to some or like pennies for others. Mom, if you happen to read this, don’t worry Chris and I are fine, we’re not eating cat food and noodles for dinner…yet.

We have our goal of being debt-free and owning a house in two years. And it's attainable. I want to be able to afford a house and everything that comes with it. Technically, we could buy right now but we chose not to. I don’t want to buy a house then only be able to furnish one floor or not have the money to redecorate it. We don’t want a big house, a boat, with a fleet of fancy cars in the driveway (although that would be nice). We want a modest townhouse with a bit of backyard (filled with love, that part’s easy). Not too much to ask for I don’t think.

So, in order to meet our financial goals, I’m calling this year, “The Year of Sacrifices”. No vacations, no fancy meals out, nothing. It’s time to cut back and save for our future. Already this year we've said no to a friend's wedding out of town and a trip to Vegas with the friends. Both were very difficult to say no to. And we hope our friends understand why.

In the past few months as we look at how to cut costs and pay off our debt I’ve discovered some really interesting things. Things that need to be shared. Things that you need to know about. I’m going to give you tips on tackling debt and managing finances, how I’ve started coupon cutting and more!

But I don’t have all the answers. I think you have some interesting factoids too. I want to know what you know. I hope that this blog can be used as a forum for discussions.

Well that’s just the intro. I’ll be getting to the good stuff real soon. Until next time….

“The art is not in making money, but in keeping it” - proverb