And we're now a month and a half into it! Oops.....but at least it's a good problem to have for once, right? You would think I could burn through it on all those things I never allow myself to buy, but all this frugal-ness has me toned down and stuff.

Where's my wild side? Where are those $40 bottles of bling water and $100 nights on the town? Am I getting too old, or has the PF Blogosphere finally corrupted me ;)

This time 1 year ago I would have been alllll over it! It would have lasted a good 24 hours until I went on a birthday binge w/ my family as I usually do every year - it falls on one of the best shopping days of the year (day after Xmas), when you really can't help yourself! And all other times I hadn't. I'd use the money to buy whatever I wished without a care in the world.

Now, the only thing that excites me is the "thought" of it! I have $260 dollars with endless possibilities :) I could buy books, art supplies, beer, bling, video games, whatever! So maybe it's not that I don't really *want* anything, but more that the excitement of having the *ability* to splurge is worth more to me than a single item.

So rather than burn through the money for the sake of it (or forgotten about in my bank), it's stored away at home until something that I REALLY, REALLY like catches my eye - and that I'd normally not spend my own money on. Or maybe not, I dunno - just something that's a helluva bargain so I won't have buyer's remorse and all. I gotta make make the money giver proud, right?

Here are two things I've been thinking about so far:

1. An electric fireplace! After having one at a Bed & Breakfast a year or so ago, I am totally hooked. They *look* like a real fireplace, and *warm up* like a real fire place, but they're totally not! Ya just flip on a switch and you've got flames! haha...brilliant. Been searching Craigslist and Home Depot for some killer deals, but nothing great so far.
2. Yard Sale season! The thought of having an unlimited supply of $1 bills at time like that is crazy sexy to me. Do you know how many goodies you can pick up with that kind of money?! The only problem here is that we're still a good 3-4 months away :(

So will I eventually spend it all? I freakin' hope so! If I can't do that anytime soon, I'm afraid all hope is lost. I mean, what good is money (esp *free* money) if you don't ever USE it? Will I just keep saving and saving and eventually turn into one of those hoarders who can never give anything away? I think i need to go get my head checked out...

Labels: free money, gifting

Yup, def. won't be splurging around if i can't leave the house. Not that it really makes a difference though considering i couldn't even muster up enough courage to blow a little $ on my bday! I wonder if i'm cured of this so called "splurge" virus now? i hope not...i like giving in every now and then.

Of course, it always helps when you actually FIND something you like though :) That was my problem on Friday (my bday) and then Sat. when out shopping w/ the family - i didn't come across anything i really wanted. You usually get most of the things on Xmas anyways (or at least i do since i only put small things on there), so unless you're really dying for a new flat screen - cough, cough Clever Dude - you're pretty much set before you even venture out.

AND, randomly inserted here, you'll be happy to know that i came pretty close to my Holiday Budget this year!!! I spent an extra $41.66 to be exact, but much better than previous years. It was the baby nephew who put me over really - too many cute things out there for kids! You think i can NOT buy a Redskins jersey for that little rug rat? pshhhhh, no way no how. But it all worked out nicely, he was able to open up something nice AND get the grandpa savings bond at the same time w/out hating me! haha....good times, good times.

I must have behaved too this year as i didn't get any coal in my stockings ;) Here were a few of my favorite presents i'm thankful for this year:

1. Framed copies of our family crest! I'm HUGE into family history and antique like stuff from the start, so these were welcomed with big arms for sure :) hot damn.
2. Artsy Shoe box! Yup, my brother pulled out the big guns on this one and spent time decorating a big shoe box for each one of us in the family - so creative! He drew pictures, sayings, doodles, and anything else from our past alllllll over it. And then he even put a cple presents inside! haha.. BEST present he's ever given by far, I salute you sir!
3. Pile of art supplies - Canvases, paint brushes, paints, you name it! All so i can produce another one of these bad boys - although this time without the $48 extra dollars ;)
4. Vampire Weekend CD - My new favorite album! These guys are soooo freakin' talented.
5. $350 in cash - this is mostly bday money since i couldn't pick anything out while shopping...but now i can slowly pick things up over time when i come across them! It's like having a free debit card attached to someone else's bank! haha....3 rules of cash gifts here i come ;)
   

So besides getting sick in the midst of it all, i'd say Xmas/Bday time this year was most excellent! Especially spending all that quality time w/ the fam - always good for the soul.

How did you all make out? Get anything SUPER crazy/odd/just plain weird this holiday?

Labels: gifting, holidays

This is the cutest/sadest thing i've read all month! My girl over at J.D. Maybe? linked to it and i couldn't help pass it along in hopes anyone has a few mins to spare and write a quick note. J.D. summed it up perfectly:

"One little girls wish is to receive mail. She has Cerebral Palsy. This is the cheapest easiest good deed one could do....This little girl just wants mail for christmas. If you can find it in your rotten lil hearts to write this angel a letter, I am sure Santa will be very happy....

Alexis Krosky
PO Box 195
Columbiana, Ohio 44408"

MAIL - that's it! Incredible...if you've got a few minutes, send over a letter, a joke, a drawing, anything! Even if you read this after Xmas...I just pray she gets more than her little ol' eyes can see :)

UPDATE: She's getting hundreds of letters from all over the world!! Amazing.

Labels: gifting, life

Cuz i gotta tell you, it sure feels like it ;) I don't know about you all, but that's alllll i got growing up from the g-parents! Birthdays, holidays, confirmations, you name it. A big, fat, weird paper looking thing that we weren't able to cash.

Of course, back then if it couldn't be played with or eaten, i didn't care what it was! haha..but NOW i'm like "Hot damn i got some bling bling in my safe!" That's an extra $500 smackers i have access too.

That being said, do i really want to go down as the next Grandpa in our family? Sure I find them sexy as hell, but would a 1 year old? (okay yeah, that sentence didn't come out right at all). I'm not sure to be honest, so i say it's time to play the ol' Pros vs Cons game! This usually helps sort it all out.

PROS of Gifting Savings Bonds:

1. Double the present, for half the money! If you pick up an EE Savings Bond, you only pay half of what it'll one day be worth. So if i go the $50 route per my holiday budget, i can actually give a $100 bond! And even if the kid can't wait the 20 or whatever years, it'll ALWAYS be worth at least the original $50 you plopped down.
2. You can buy them online. That's right, so as i sit here typing away 3 days before Christmas, all i have to do is hop over to TreasuryDirect.gov and fill out a little info! Of course, you could also just slip into your neighborhood bank as well. (Update: #1 - there's a 2 week waiting period once you sign up online :( #2 - some banks stopped issuing them...Our local M&T bank stopped, BUT our local credit union still does them! Filled out the form and good to go now)
   
3. You can buy one for ANY amount. Have a budget of $25? no problemo. $200? works for me! If you're picking up an electronic EE bond, you can actually buy them to the penny with a min. of $25. If you go the paper route, the denominations are $50, $75, $100, $200, $500, $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000. Remember though, you only pay HALF of that with the EE bonds.
4. No wrapping required! It's like giving yourself a gift :) Or if you prefer, you could always print out the online "gift certificate" Treasury Direct concocted and wrap that little guy up too....i don't know why, but it cracks me up. Click on the picture up top to see what i mean ;)
5. Your Grandparents will smile down on ya :) Yup, that's a fact Jack.

CONS of Gifting Savings Bonds

1. You'll be perceived as an old fart. I think we pretty much covered this one...
2. It can't be used anytime soon. Not so great for instant gratification.
3. It's sorta like giving cash. While it's def. an investment, you're still handing over money.
4. It may get lost over time. If in paper form. (You can always purchase electronic bonds through Treasury Direct though, and/or convert your old paper ones.)
5. You'll get thanked 20 years from now... Unless the kid is the next Warren Buffet, he/she won't actually appreciate your thoughtfulness until they grow up ;)

Yeah, i think the Pros won me over. It may not be the funnest gift out there, but perhaps i can convince the little booger of value early on (he's 1 y/o). Plus, i'm really running out of time here! I swear one of these years i'm gonna have all my Xmas shopping done in November...

Any of you ever give the gift of investment? And did it go over smoothly?

Labels: bonds, gifting

I recently got a most-exciting xmas gift from the mother-in-law: a $100 shopping spree!

Saaawweeeeeeeeeeeet, gotta love that :) Nice and early too! She's since given up on trying to read our minds, and now likes to give us cash so we can get something we really want ourselves.

I have no idea what i'm gonna use my $100 for, but it did remind me of a few rules i set up for myself a few years back. It's not like i'm a rule-natzi by any means, but if i don't get my mind right i'll over-think the hell out of it and forget it's supposed be an enjoyable experience...i guess this is a down fall of being both A.D.H.D. and frugal ;)

It usually goes a little something like this:

1. Always make sure to spend it on yourself! This may sound selfish, but i'm a firm believer of not re-gifting cash gifts. I feel like it's important because the giver obviously wanted you to pick out something nice for yourself. Unless i was debt-ridden or extremely strapped for cash, I wouldn't feel comfortable spending it on others for gifts or anything of that nature.
2. Buy something you've always wanted, but are too frugal to get yourself. This is my *favorite* rule because it's the only time i allow myself to just get whatever i want w/out having to worry about the consequences! Being frugal is great, but you need a break from it every now and then. Sometimes it's still hard, but i usually try to think of it as if the person actually handed me over the item i wanna buy, instead of the cash behind it....this way i can get totally excited and be like, "wow, you are an AMAZING gift giver!" instead of "Wow...i just spent $xxx.xx on THAT?". All a matter of your mentality really...
3. Keep the money separated from all others. This helps your brain deal w/ the above. If you're anything like me, it's a lost cause once the money gets intermingled with my bank account or with my everyday budget. Keeping this present money in a separate part of your wallet or purse, or even in a jar somewhere @ home helps to get your mind right.
4. *Bonus* Tell the gifter what you got! This one's brought to you by my girl Dawn over at Fighting Foreclosure: "make sure to tell the person what they bought you and why you love it. Cash gifts in particular (in my opinion) deserve a thank you note, email or phone call, to tell the giver what an awesome, amazing gift they just gave."

I think i have some other rules too, but those are the main ones i try to follow. Now it's just a matter of finding something i want really bad! Ever since starting this blog my shopping has been cut in half, so i'll have to get back out there and look around ;) I just have to remember to get all my xmas shopping down FIRST before i start thinkin' about myself...and luckily i've finally started! I ordered those wedding pics. books i mentioned in my holiday budget post last week.

Do you all have rules on this stuff? Would you use the money to buy gifts for other people? Or am i just a big ol' nut bag today? haha...don't answer that last one ;)

Labels: gifting

Maybe now that i have a budget set up i'll actually start BUYING the presents :) Seriously, i haven't bought a single thing yet...i don't know if it's because i'm lazy (the most likely), uninterested, or just plain tired right now, but i'm hoping to shake it off soon...

The good news is that i was able to muster up enough energy last night to put together a decent list of ideas! So i'm thinkin' this weekend will be the start, and possible end, of my Xmas shopping this year. Well, at least for everyone but the Mrs...i always have to put a bit more thought into hers due to the whole husband stuff and all ;)

I've also decided to keep being generous this year, despite the world crumbling around us. I still can't afford a crazy amount of gifts - i'm actually hoping to get a bonus this year to help pay for it all! - but to me, it's a huge chunk of change. Here's what we got:

As you can see, $50 is the sweet spot around here...it used to be $20 but i find that it takes wayyyy more work to get some goodies under that range, and usually i can only find 1 good thing at that price. With $50, i can get a few things and usually have enough to make stuff as well which i like :)

And the "random" section comes in nicely so i don't have to go through one of those, "Oh $hit, i have to spend MORE money now cuz i forgot that thing/person!" I find budgeting it in keeps me calm, and then even happier if i don't use it!

So where do i fit in with the average person this holiday season? Well, luckily my girl Erin over at TrueCredit.com sent me some interesting stats they conducted with Zogby International about holiday spending this year. Check it out (with commentary):

• The majority of U.S. respondents (54%) plan to spend less this year than they did last year. hum...def. not me, these #'s are almost exactly the same as last year.
• An overwhelming majority (73.3%) will use cash and savings to finance their holiday purchases. not me again! still on the ol' credit card gameplan...although technically i'll be paying it off in cash next month.
• Most people (44%) are controlling their overall spending by shelling out less money per person this season. yeah, that makes sense...def. one way of doing it
• Nearly one-third of respondents (32%) will buy items on sale. That's it??? that surprises me. every single thing i'll buy will be on sale, believe you me!
• 2 in 10 people will “set and adhere to an overall spending limit”. That's it??? maybe they're just talking about those who will "adhere" to it ;)

Alrighty, well that about covers it. Now let's just hope i kick it into high gear and go make something of myself, eh? Good luck out there everybody, you can do it too!!!

Labels: budgets, gifting, shopping

I mean, gifts shouldn't really "matter" in theory, but i know life dictates otherwise ;)

I mention this (again) only because it's been coming up a few times with all our weddings we still have - from both "real" friends, and fellow bloggers and other internet folk.

We used to be hardcore fans of the whole registry phenomenon, but ever since we had our own wedding we're sooooooooooooo into giving money now!

Maybe it's cuz i'm a guy, or we got like 100+ gifts even BEFORE the wedding came, but there's something satisfying about getting piles of cold hard cash! (Esp. right after you spent a small fortune throwing the most expensive party of your entire life.)

So we've already decided that cash, or check, is the way to go now, but it's the AMOUNT to give that's up for discussion. Allow me to throw out a few variables here:

1. How many people is this gift covering?
If you go by yourself, do you cut the gift in half? Or does it not even matter as the gift is coming from your family or niche? I think etiquette says it depends on who exactly was invited, but i really don't know...in fact, i kinda just made that up right now ;) I feel that you should give the same no matter if you were invited by yourself, or if you AND your other half were invited. And if you're going on behalf of your entire family, let's say, maybe add a few dollars...i dunno, that's just what we've been doing.

2. How well do you know these soon to be newlyweds?
Is it like a distant cousin or someone you've only known for a month? Or are we talking about your brother from another mother kinda person? And, SHOULD that even matter? haha...you like how i say it matters, and then i turn around and question even that? i'm kinda wonky like that, you must excuse me.

I think there is definitely something to be said here though - If i'm going to a wedding because "i have to" (family related) I'd feel comfortable giving $80 for the Mrs. and I....maybe even $60 in all honesty. BUT, if we're talking about our bff, then i'd probably up the ante and dish out $100-$150 depending on my mood as i write the check ;)

3. Can you even afford to give a hefty amount?
This is probably the most important issue here. If you can't afford giving out $100 for each wedding, then surely don't do it. The happy couple loves just having you there, and while they will sit down and open up your present/money voucher at some point, they should be happy with whatever you give. And if they're not? F 'em. You came, and you cheered them on didn't you? it doesn't really matter though, it's not like you'd ever find out they thought your gift was too little ;)

If you can't afford to give a lot of money, or if you prefer not doing so anyways, then the next best thing (in my opinion) is hitting up Bed, Bath, and Beyond with a 20% off coupon! Everyone knows it's the perfect place to give a gift, and save a little while doing so. And hopefully they're registered there so you can get them something they actually want/need. But even not, give only what you can afford.

I think that about covers it...did i miss anything? When it comes down to it, there's no right or wrong answers here - everyone is different and has their own thoughts on this stuff. You gotta do whatever you and your wallet are comfortable with :) Now, it's time to get ready for our second half of Wedding Season! I sure hope I'll run into Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson!!!

Labels: gifting, wedding

We have received a hefty check to help pay our grad school and mortgage costs!

And the timing couldn't be better. The Mrs. starts school on Monday! As in, 3 days from now. As in, WOOHOO for her, and BOOHOO for our money ;)

Unfortunately I have to remain pretty vague here, but we're talking about more than just a few hundred dollars. AND, better yet, we don't have to pay it back! ..... at least yet.

The person who gave it to us had been helped by a similar action years ago herself, and she's always wanted to "pay it forward" when financially able to do so. And now, lucky for us, that time has come :) Not only was it totally unexpected, but it really does go to show that my brother's crazy saying really DOES work. I better start paying even closer attention!

What this means to us is that we can push off taking out loans to make up for our loss of $50k in salary for now. I'm just thankful Mrs. Budgetsaresexy accepted the college who gave her a full ride!!! Or else we'd be out a good $100k PER YEAR at least. *shiver*

So this "paid forward" contribution will be saved into our money market account with USAA, where our Emergency Fund is (no point in opening up another, right?), and will be drawn upon monthly for $1225 - the amount the Mrs. usually sends over each month to help pay for all house related items. Per my calculations, this will keep us going nicely for a bit before loaning it up. (I almost slipped and said for how many months, but then you'd be able to figure out exactly how much we got! haha...sneaky sneaky).

This paying it forward idea is really damn cool, not to mention healthy for society. One person's sincere and loving gesture years ago, now affects our future together and will be continued for more years to come! It actually works out perfectly because we weren't going to accept any money from ANYONE without paying each penny back in full anyways. So this is even better.

NOW we get to pay it back on our own time frame, AND help out another great cause down the road. If that's not sexy, i don't know what is. Well, i do, but that's for another time and place ;) I gotta go out and watch that movie "Pay it Forward" all over again and start getting some pointers!

Labels: awesomely awesome, gifting, life, loaning money, money management, money markets

Now that's an attention grabbing title! haha...I've been coming across a lot of hooplah lately surrounding the idea of gift cards lately, so I figured i'd drop my own 12 cents. (I don't know why people say "2" cents, i don't think there's any logic to it is there? I'm changing it to "12" cents)

Did you know that billions of dollars go UNUSED by not cashing in these cards? The numbers vary depending on where you're reading, but about 10% of them never make it out alive. It's not the worst thing in the world, but it IS basically throwing cash in the trash. Those poor Washingtons never stood a chance :(

"There is no way a $100 bill would sit in my drawer for a year," said Bob
Butler, founder of Cardavenue, a Web site for buying, selling and swapping gift
cards. "But people will let a $100 card do that. . . ." - blog.cleveland.com

SO TRUE! I don't think i've been that bad in the past, but I've definitely slipped and let a couple expire over the years. I just forget, but at least i'm not the only one ;) When it comes down to it though, "they" say it's better to spend it sooner than later. Especially now a days when a handful of companies are going under (The Sharper Image, Bombay Company, etc) where the plastic is worth as much as a pile of turds.

But what if you can't stand the store? Or it's too far a drive, or you really don't need anything?

Don't like your card? Trade it in!
According to good ol' Butler quoted above, "If you don't want this money, go get other money. ... I think our biggest issue is, people don't realize there are alternatives." I couldn't have said it better there Bob.

I, personally, had not idea there were places online where you can trade them in! And sometimes even for cash! Freakin' genius if you ask me. Here are a few places offering such services, courtesy of the same business blog over at cleveland.com:

Cardavenue.com: Fee: 50 cents plus 3.95% from sellers and traders and shipping.
Leveragecard.com: No fees. Users pay shipping and subject to marketing efforts.
Plasticjungle.com: Fee: 10% for buyers and sellers; 35% to 45% if selling for cash.
Swapagift.com: Fee: $1.99; 30% to 40% of value.

I haven't tried any of them myself, but i'd love to hear if anyone else has!

Don't want to trade it in? Re-gift it (*gasp!*)
I really hate to admit this, and i came close to leaving this part out, but it IS an idea :) If you're not one to buy things just for the sake of it, why not re-gift it? Or even more, what if your budget is tight and you're about to attend 5 weddings?

Well, for the first time ever, I used a gift card last night to buy gifts for someone else. We had $200+ in Bed Bath and Beyond credit, and we really don't need anything else since we got so much from our wedding. The Mrs. has been dying to use it for the handful of weddings we have coming up, so I finally just gave in...and I feel great about it! Our budget is still in tact, and we didn't let the money just dry up.

Yes it would be better to use it on yourself since the giver of it probably wanted you to do so, but if it makes you happier using it for others I say go for it. If the giver ever asks what you picked up on their behalf, just tell them "financial peace of mind". haha...

The point is, you should really just DO SOMETHING with them and not let them rot away (as I so elegantly put it). Someone wanted you to enjoy life a little, and it's about time to make their wishes come true...or at least someone else's ;)

Labels: gift cards, gifting, randomness 3000, shopping

That's right, miraculously we're STILL getting wedding checks sent our way :) I guess that "1 year to give a gift" rule is pretty common these days. Not that i really care one way or the other, i just find it pretty funny. This rule doesn't apply to birthdays, graduation,or Christmas so why weddings?

I asked a couple friends but no luck, they all came back pretty much with "i dunno, it's just the way it is". Okay, so let's just say that's the deal. Why do it though? I mean, it takes a lot of time to make arrangements to go to the wedding, get a hotel (if needed), and schedule your family's life around it cuz of the time it consumes, so the present part should be the easy part, right?

The only thing i can think of is that perhaps it just gets forgotten w/ all this other stuff going on. Or it's just laziness :) I've never sent a late gift myself, but if i did it would totally come down to the lazy factor. But enough of this talk, my word vomit is going wayyyy off track now.

The reason for this post is to give an update on our newest check contenders in our Bank Battle! So here they are:

• USAA moves up a notch to 2nd place with a $200'er (holler)
• Commerce Bank brings in another $50.00
• And PNC makes it a 3-way tie for first, w/ another respectable $100.00!

Ooh, and i almost forgot about the BEST gift ever! A $500 Savings Bond :) Similar to the others in my safe, it's a "Patriot Bond" (EE) worth $250 at the present time, which will work it's way up over the years. I love it! (For more info on bonds, check out the snazzy Treasurydirect.gov site.)

There's just something about those little guys that bring absolute joy to my life. I think it's the whole "you can watch me grow, but you can't spend me!" thing. Fine by me, my other bonds will now have an extra friend to play with. No shame in that game!

So there you have it, our old cash gift total worked it's way up from $6,000 to $6,350, and USAA is battling Navy Federal for the 2nd place title...will it end here? Only time, and laziness, will tell ;)

Labels: banking, bonds, gifting, PNC, USAA, wedding

POOP! What about my USAA? According to all of the wedding checks we got from our friends and family, it only ranks in 5th place :( Turns out most of them prefer Wachovia, Bank of America, and PNC. Oh well, at least we got some extra $$$ to help start our married lives, right?!

This is decidedly a GOOD thing, as our wedding budget had finally burst at the seams, and it's now time to clean it all up ;)

So, being the big dork that i am, i took some time to sort through all of our cash gifts and analyzed the bajesus out of 'em. It's just sooo fun, i love it! Plus, what else do i have to do on Friday the 13th? haha... Chew on these fancy facts:

After counting it all up, we were given a total of about $6,000 $6,350!
- $700 of them were pure cashy cash
- $5,300 $5,650 of them were old fashioned checks.

Here are how the amounts broke down:
- $1,000 was the biggest gift (holler)
- $40 was the smallest gift
- $138 was the average gift

And these are the banks the checks came from (most popular to least):
- 5 @ Wachovia Bank
- 5 @ Bank of America
- 4 5@ PNC Bank
- 3 @ Navy Federal Credit Union
- 2 3 @ USAA Federal Savings Bank (the best e-v-e-r!)
- 2 @ Citibank
- 1 2 @ Commerce Bank
- 1 @ Chase
- 1 @ BB&T
- 1 @ SunTrust
- 1 @ Hudson United Bank
- 1 @ Harleysville National Bank
- 1 @ Bank Fund Staff Federal Credit Union

Wasn't that fun? No? Well you are just too cool aren't ya ;) I certainly enjoyed breaking it all down - especially when it came to banking. There are so many options out there, i wonder what made them choose their specific one. I actually thought we'd have more "military" related banks than the 5 we did (USAA & Navy Federal), so that was interesting.

All i know is, as soon as these bad boys clear (i like to use that term "bad boys" don't i?) we're paying off each and every credit card, and throwing the rest in our House Savings! Bow chicka wa wa!

*Updated: 6-20-08

Labels: Bank of America, banking, gifting, PNC, USAA, Wachovia, wedding

The presents are starting to flow in now, and we're getting some pretty generous checks - we're talking about ones for $100 and $150 a PIECE!!! I'm not sure what the average amount people usually give, but anything over $50 seems like a lot to me. I can understand if close family members or best friends want to give a little extra, but we're getting a lot from guests that aren't even COMING to the wedding! WTF? I guess we have some good fans ;)

Being the curious little badger that I am, I took it upon myself to do some research and I came across an interesting little blurb from WeddingBasics.com:

"Guests are not required to bring a wedding gift to the wedding which is one of the reasons you should never make mention of gifts with your wedding invitation. However, social etiquette indicates that if you are invited to a wedding you should send a gift to the couple whether or not you plan to attend."

First off, i thought it was a mandatory thing! haha...not that i personally care, it just seems to be the case. I guess that's where "social" etiquette comes in. To be honest, the whole gift registry thing was the only part where Mrs Budgetsaresexy and I got into some arguments :(

I didn't want to put a billion things on our registries cuz I feel that we (or I should say "I") already have most of this stuff, but she thought we needed to so that people know what to give us, and so that we could also have more "joint" stuff. At any rate, we're totally passed all that now, but it never fails to get a bit crazy when money starts playing a part.

Secondly (sorry, got a little sidetracked there) i guess it IS a rule of thumb to send a gift whether you're coming or not. That's quite a shock to me, esp. looking back at all those I didn't attend - YIKES! I'll just blame it on all those brain cells i lost back in College ;) I don't think many people expect any big gifts from college kids anyways, so whatever.

Okay that's enough wedding talk for now. I can seriously go on and on about all this stuff, but I'm sure not everyone wants to read about it - I know i don't want to any more! I can tell you one thing though, it'll be GREAT not having to worry about this stuff ever again. Crazy kids and their crazy weddings.

-------------------
If you're itching for more though, check out these oldies:
- Mrs. Budgetsaresexy on frugal wedding-ness
- Two rants and two helpful hints
- Wedding budget for $10k? Fingers crossed!
- I just spent $170 in under 5 minutes

Labels: gifting, wedding