Mature Decisions
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
I just finished doing something very grown womanish. Something I should have done about 5 years ago. Yes, Josh and I just budgeted our money! We sat down, listed all of our bills (gym membership, credit cards, phone, Netflix subscription, etc.) along with our monthly income and our monthly savings deposit goal. We have plans to pay certain bills off along the way and that money (previously spent on a bill) will be directed to the next bill that needs most attention. I even have little virtual post-it notes on the desktop of my laptop with all of our bills and their due dates with astericks next to the ones that are "mine." This is going to be a constant reminder of where our attention needs to be. I feel really good about the this! You all probably know how spontaneous me and Josh's spending (and eating out, and random splurges!) are, so this is going to be huge!!
What caused us to do something so . . . mature? Well, we decided that it would be very silly to spend so much money on apartment rent while saving for a down payment on a home so we are just going to cram (and budget) our money as much as we can before the wedding and see what we have in our savings and hope that we have enough for a decent down payment on a starter home. :) All of a sudden, I'm that much more excited about getting married!
Today I also made another step into the "paraben, preservative, harsh chemical free world!" I want to share more on that so I will save for another post ASAP. ;)
Posted byAshley C. at 8:00 PM 0 Love Notes
Labels: finances, Josh, makeup, wedding
Mac or PC?
Friday, July 23, 2010
Because of our loss, eventually, we will have to replace what was stolen. The one thing that I am most wanting to replace as soon as possible is my laptop. I am really, really, really hoping that me and my family's belongings will be recovered, but I won't bank on that. I know that all my pictures cannot be replaced, but I will have to start again somewhere, right? After I first spoke to Josh when all of this occured, he told me that he was thinking about purchasing me a Mac anyway . . . I do not think I can let that happen seeing as how the cheapest Mac they have is $999 and is only a 13" screen. The (PC) laptop that I had stolen was only $875 and had everything I wanted on it (at the time). So, I figured that it might be more wise for me to purchase another Dell with everything I want on it and still be able to keep the price comparatively low. BUT, the only thing that I keep thinking about it how the Mac is pretty much invincible and won't crash, won't get viruses, and are a lot faster than PCs (for editing photos). If I really want to stick with the whole photography thing, maybe it would be best to invest in a Mac. But, if I get another PC, I can invest in the things that weren't on my previous laptop (that I now want), and still keep the price lower than a Mac. The only downside to this whole problem is that we will be replacing two laptops, not only one. :-/
So, what would you suggest? Mac or PC?
Posted byAshley C. at 2:08 PM 0 Love Notes
Labels: finances
While you're away, the thieves will play
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
. . . I came home and she was right, some of my belongings were dumped on my bed and floor while others remained untouched. Me and Josh's laptops, the wii, the PS3, and some controllers were all gone. I couldn't help but kneel on the side of my bed and cry out loud. How could someone do this? Mom was downstairs talking to the insurance company on the phone and Lowell was looking around for more things to add to that awfully long list . . .
I had plans yesterday to babysit a couple towns over and mom and Lowell had off of work because mom had to get dental surgery. I was reminding mom to watch out for the UPS guy to drop off my cell phone (different story, different day!) and waited around as long as I could for him. I was eager to babysit because I could practice my so-called photography skills on the kids; I grabbed my camera bag and headed out the door before I was late. I got to the house where I was babysitting at about 12:45. Mom called that house at about 2:45, on the other end mom was speaking frantically,
"Ashley? Oh, my gosh, when are you going to be home?! Someone broke into our house while we were gone!"
Wait, are you serious?! How the heck did they get in past the dogs?
"They sliced through the kitchen window. There's things dumped all over your room. I need to know what's missing."
Can you go in my room and tell me if some things are there? Is my laptop, wii, or Josh's bags missing?
"None, of that is here. How many bags did Josh have? Please tell me you have your camera with you!"
Oh, my freaking goodness! My laptop is gone? Josh had 3 bags there, how many did they take?!
"There's only one here."
Okay, let me call and see when they'll be home.
I could not contain myself; I just started bawling. My laptop is gone? Every picture of me and Josh from day one is on there. Every picture I have ever taken of Andrew is on there. All the pictures from the family reunion and last weekend are on there. All of my music, schoolwork, resume, is on there. What about Josh's computer? Any picture that I've ever taken is copied on his computer. All of his important documents and computer-programming work are on there. Fortunately, the kids' parents would be home in 30 minutes. Let me tell you, that was probably one of the longest 30 minutes of my life. I could not wait to get home, survey my belongings and be able to talk to Josh.
I came home and she was right, some of my belongings were dumped on my bed and floor while others remained untouched. Me and Josh's laptops, the wii, the PS3, and some controllers were all gone. I couldn't help but kneel on the side of my bed and cry out loud. How could someone do this? Mom was downstairs talking to the insurance company on the phone and Lowell was looking around for more things to add to that awfully long list. Mom was saddened by her jewelry being gone since it was left for her when her mom passed away. Her credit cards and money, laptop, camera, wedding ring, and some other valuable things were gone. Things that could not be recovered. I just could not believe that all of my pictures had been stolen from me. After I gathered myself, it was my turn to make several phone calls. I had to call and suspend my cell phone line, call Dell and gather information and report 3 stolen laptops, call my cell phone insurance company and report a stolen replacement cell phone, and call UPS to see if my package was delivered. I was able to take care of all of that; my phone got suspended, the stolen phone fee was waived, I got the tag numbers for all laptops, and my package would be delivered tomorrow.
As I was cleaning up my room, my mom yelled to me and my step dad, "Guys! Come look what's in my garbage!" We both ran downstairs and in the garbage was one of Josh's laptop bags stuffed with the cheapest of all of the jewelry. We called the cops and they came to the house, took the bag and did fingerprints again. After that, I was finally able to get a hold of Josh and felt so comfortable just letting all of my fear, doubts, and anger out. The moment he said, "Baby, what's done is done. We still have each other and our families. Any picture that was worth showing off is on Facebook anyway. Plus, I planned on getting you a new Mac anyway." Just hearing him speak so calmly with no ounce of worry in his voice dried my tears up quicker than anything else could have. He was right. What's done is done, crying is not going to get me anywhere. I still had my Lover, my Jive, my best friend and any amount of my missing belongings could not come close to what he meant to me; that's all that mattered in that moment.
Today is a new day, but the fears of yesterday still reside in our home. Although Josh stayed with me last night, I could not fall asleep because I just kept replaying the incident in my mind. I wonder what he looked like. I wonder if the dogs went crazy. I wonder how long he was in our house. I wonder what else he took that I/we didn't notice. I wonder who's room he went in first. I wonder if we've seen him in passing before. I wonder what else he saw that he wanted. But most of all, I wonder when he'll decide to come back. Our central air is getting fixed today (after 3 weeks of heck!), so once all of the windows are shut and locked, hopefully he will not try getting in. It's very, very sad when you've got to walk around your own home with caution, wondering if someone is walking around it with you; when you have to think twice about leaving something out or hiding it before leaving; when you have to decide what lock to install on your bedroom door, not in fear of someone in the house getting in, but in fear of someone who doesn't even belong in the house getting in. I feel so violated knowing that someone came into our home, went through our belongings, things we've all worked so hard to buy, and decided what they wanted to claim as their own. It's a sick thing knowing that someone was in my room, going through my belongings, and taking things that have no intrinsic value to them. Their hands touched my door knob, my bed, and their fingers filed through my dresser drawers and they decided what they wanted of mine. Now, my job is to research home security options, call around to the local pawn shops, and I guess it wouldn't hurt to research a new Mac. ;-]
I guess it's lessons like these that make us remember what matters most to us. :-] I'll keep you posted on any further information or findings we come across.
Posted byAshley C. at 9:44 AM Post a comment (1) Love Notes
Labels: family, finances, lesson learned, me, struggles, summer
I'm good. :-]
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
I had the guts (and coupon knowledge) to stand up to the lady at the register today at Target. :-] I bought 2 Air Wick air fresheners, 1 razor for my boo, and a tube of toothpaste. I found the toothpaste on clearance (why? I don't know!) for $2.07, because of my coupons, the razor was free and the Air Wicks were $1.99/each. I had 2 Air Wick coupons: buy one, get one free and a $2.50 off of one. I gave her both of the coupons and she said that I can only use one coupon for the Air Wick. I told her Well, I bought 2 fresheners, so I should be able to use 2 coupons. And she told me "no, you can't." Yes, I'm pretty sure I can. 2 coupons and 2 fresheners. "Wait, how much did they cost?" So, she realized that she just had to adjust the price since the coupon was for $2.50 off and they only costed $1.99. So, the cool thing was that that extra .50 rolled over to my other items. I ended up getting all of that for $1.93 and saving $14.99. :-] I'm good.
Yesterday, I mentioned to Josh that we needed to grab some groceries. He was joking with me and told me, "We don't have money." I laughed and told him I can get all we need for under $60. So we stopped at the ATM and he gave me money for groceries (and even threw in an extra $20 just because). The funny thing here is that he always pokes fun at me for being able to buy stuff and spend all that I have without going over by even a penny. Yes, it's a talent of mine. :-] So . . . I bought all that we needed from Walmart and the total was $61 something and after coupons it ended up being $56 something. Haha, I had to laugh when that happened. :-]
Posted byAshley C. at 1:04 PM 0 Love Notes
Labels: couponing, finances, shopping
My financial breakthrough (soon!)
Thursday, January 7, 2010
I think I've had a breakthrough. I love spending money, a little too much. But, I have been doing a lot of thinking. I mentioned before that I have begun clipping lots of coupons. Now, I am thinking differently; I want to take a "financial freedom" class (Dave Ramsey) but I think that will be a better idea for me and Josh to do after we get married. I just want to make sure that I am not going to be a money-spending wife that doesn't care about her husband's hard work (or even mine for that matter). I am no longer going to spend money like crazy and buy all of those "must-haves" when I see them. So, that's my idea. :-] I'm sure that it will help my future marriage.
On another note . . .
For some odd reason, the heat in our house isn't working. It wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't a snow storm going on right now. I looked at the thermostat and it says 57 degrees. That's 13 degrees lower than what we usually have it set it. BUT . . . I must admit, it isn't bothering me so much because I have a nice high-tech space heater in my room that is currently at 73 degrees. Mmm Aaahh so warm. :-] My sister (not at home right now) says that the only thing I need to do is use a lighter and light up the heater in the basement, but I've seen my stepdad burn hair off his head doing that and I'm sorry, but I'm not that serious about warming up the other parts of the house hahahaha! So, until I have to go workout in 30 minutes oh, shoot! I will stay here, in my cozy room.
Posted byAshley C. at 9:25 AM Post a comment (1) Love Notes
Labels: coupons, finances, random, winter
