So this weekend my wife and I had a very nice dinner out at a somewhat fancy restaurant. Normally we do something reasonable / affordable for our meals. That was not this moment, and so we splurged a little bit on a good meal so we could celebrate our first year of marriage. I was told by friends that our bill was 'not that bad,' however my impression of it was that it was very high - but that is not an issue for a one off type event. If we ate out like this frequently, we would have virtually no money to put towards retirement, investments, and paying off debt.
Sure, our first year had its ups and downs; we got a dog, and had to replace cars (one was not voluntary; the other had been explained to me as being mandatory - yes there is a difference). Those were the big financial events that might impact our march towards FI, but we compromised as best as we could. The dog might cost us some, but he is a great addition to our household (one day he'll get a picture on here). The cars are really nice, however I wish we could have held off on at least one for awhile. Still these are just temporary obstacles, but we've had a lot of ups as well.
We have collaborated to save more money by eating more at home and making smart decisions with how we spend our time outside of work. In particular I have focused a lot of saving money in terms of how I spend my time when at home and when it comes to meals. I used to eat out very often for lunch, now I do it about once a week tops. The only reason I do it is to get out of my office for my sanity, and I keep my selections reasonable. I also actively shop around for deals on everything; a dollar saved is so much more than one dollar, it is that plus interest and growth over time.
My wife has a much improved job situation and our finances are turning a corner. Her job takes long hours and is stressful, but it provides a lot more income than before that is being funneled into savings, debt, and investments. It will also allow an avenue of change we want in the future and should become much better in time. Those changes have given me extra motivation to improve my job situation and our incoming cash flow. I want to really take huge strides the next few years in growing passive income from my investments.
I sincerely believe that one can have the things they want if they work for it, of course a little luck does not hurt. We could be aggressively chasing down our debt or adding to our investments, but I advocate for going after both. It is spreading the wealth around a little bit, but it does not mean that my efforts cannot have extra focus in specific areas when the issue merits it.
So without further ado, here is what has really been on my mind. Goals for our 2nd year of marriage:
1 - Paying off my wife's student loans.
2 - Taking a trip to a foreign country (traveling mainly on credit card points).
3 - Moving closer to our jobs.
4 - Not take our time for granted.
I hope all of you are having a wonderful November!
- Gremlin
Congrats on your wedding anniversary and blog too. I have been married for almost 7 years and, yes, the time just seems to fly by without you even noticing it. I guess all that means for you is to take item 4 seriously and not take your time for granted. Of course, I also like item 2 as travel is something that's best done when young(er) and the experience and memories created will far outlive any material possession you may acquire. Enjoy your time together with your wife.
ReplyDeleteDivHut,
DeleteThanks man! Time does seem to fly by, better make the most of it.
- Gremlin