Saying “Yes” to the Dress Part II

Well friends, I have to eat crow this month because I ended up saying “Yes” to the dress and overspending than what I wanted to spend.  In my mind, I knew where I wanted to be price point wise and despite my best efforts I totally caved because as soon as I put this dress on I just knew it had to be mine. It is what I envisioned myself wearing and without giving to much information because I know that my fiancé is reading this blog, I looked great. I’m lucky enough to have a mother and grandmother who are willing to buy me my dress separate from my budget and I’m ever so grateful to have such an amazing mother who did this for me. To keep myself organized both financially and in general- I bought myself The Knot: Ultimate Wedding Planning and Organizer over the weekend and it’s been a life-saver. Granted it did take me 72 hours to complete it, I feel relieved to see what I have done so far and slightly anxious about what I have not done to date. Financially, I was able to see where I was within my budget and how much I had left.

Needless to say, I was talking with my fiancé recently and my main monthly bills came out which depleted my slowly growing account. I told him that I’m always happy the last two weeks of the month and then the first two weeks of the month is another story. Ultimately, my goal is to feel like the last two weeks all the time. I reviewed my current accounts, my retirement savings and my current credit score. Since the beginning of the month, it had jumped a whopping seven points to equate to an 807, which I am so thrilled about. My goal is to continue to raise my credit score and following my next two vacations (although I plan to save and spend cautiously), I will dedicate my earnings to debt and savings. I used to think that life should not be “this hard” -that all my earnings went to bills and debt but then I remember that at least half of the debt was self-made so I need to take responsibility for my choices.  As David Ramsey says, “The only good debt is debt that is paid off.” So that’s the plan Dave.
Recently, our sinks had backed up with raw sewage that required an emergency on-call service with plumbing until almost four AM. After assessing the damage, it was determined that we would need a new pipe line which could cost minimally $9,000. I roped in my homeowner’s insurance and found out that it would be covered sans a $500 deductible; however we later discovered that this was a lie and we would need to cover $1900. Then yesterday  while having a routine AC inspection, it was determined that our furnace would shortly go. Great, another large expense. Sooooo, we will be taking one step at a time and focusing on our sewage issue first because let’s be serious, so what’s poop in their sinks every time they flush or run water?  I plan to use every challenge or obstacle to be a learning/teachable moment  and an opportunity to re-align my priorities. My August goals include being smart while on vacation and not having YOLO moments, to continue to minimize unnecessary spending especially during peak times (weekends) and to return to work next month.