Our $12,000 Wedding Budget

May 24, 2011

Inspired by Well Heeled’s post on her wedding budget under $10,000, here’s our plan for a wedding budget under $12,000: Ceremony Officiant            $300.00 Location            $950.00 Wedding license            $55.00 Rings            $200.00 Parking            $40.00 (Don’t know if we’ll need this, but something to consider.) Reception Site fees & Food            $3,000.00 Music            $100.00 Cake            $400.00 (Considering cupcakes with [...]

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The Financial Rules for Our Debt-Free Wedding

May 16, 2011

Once upon a time, when I was young, dumb and deep in debt, I actually thought about borrowing money to pay for a wedding — $40,000 no less. I shudder to think about how naïve I was. I seriously thought about eloping, my guy asked me about it last month. I thought I wanted to [...]

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Debt Hater Is Getting Married. Will There Be a Wedding?

May 11, 2011

I’m getting married. There, now you know why (well, at least ONE reason why), I have been M.I.A. on the blog, on Twitter, everywhere. J I apologize peeps, but there has been a lot of stuff going on in my world. My guy and I are tying the knot. The question is, are we having [...]

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Tracking Spending and Saving More Money

April 20, 2011

In my March monthly report, I told yall that I wasn’t being a very good steward of my money. And then I told yall I was going to fix that. As you recall, I had a $655 left over from last month — which was an indication that I haven’t been saving enough (because God [...]

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It Pays to Pay Attention and Plan Ahead for Vacations

April 12, 2011

Just got back from a fantastic trip with some great girlfriends — 3-day cruise to the Bahamas (along with partying all night in Nassau). I enjoyed every minute of it and returned to the mainland with renewed spirit and de-stressed mind. Well, somewhat de-stressed. This trip cost me about $500 more than I had originally [...]

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Why I Spend A Lot on Food And Don’t Feel Guilty

April 1, 2011

When I was in debt and for a long time after I was debt free, I lamented my enormous expenditures on food: both on groceries to cook meals at home and on dining out. I’m over it. Last month, I spent $576 on food — more than half of it on dining out (and most [...]

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March Monthly Report: Could my money take care of itself?

April 1, 2011

I know what you’re thinking. Where the heck have you been Debt Hater? Well, I moved to NJ for a new job, leaving friends and my beloved guy in DC, but I live just across the water from my hometown of New York City where my closet friend, my brother, mother and grandmother all live. [...]

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November Monthly Report: Down to Four Months of Living Expenses

December 1, 2010

I wanted to take a month off between jobs and was glad I did, but I was without income that entire time. I also spent $3,ooo on moving and the miscellaneous fees and such that go with getting a new residence. I used the six months of living expenses I had in my “e-fund” to [...]

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My Move Diary: Not Entirely Pleased By the Full-Service Movers I Hired

November 29, 2010

I’m going to make this long story very short. The movers I spent $3,000 on packed everything wonderfully, arrived at my new apartment on time and unpacked the truck expeditiously. The problem? They didn’t finish the job and one of them had too much lip. The background: I needed to hire a moving company for [...]

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My Move Diary: Paying A Mint for Reputable, Full-Service Movers

November 8, 2010

Back in 2007, when I moved from Nashville to D.C., I wrote a post saying the next time I move, I’d let movers do the whole thing. And I am. I’m also going to pay a lot for that convenience. Once again, being debt free with a decent cash cushion makes it a little less [...]

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