Planning Our Finances

For the first five years of our relationship, Chris and I were always very intentional when it came to money.  We were in undergrad and then grad school.  And beyond broke.  I always joke that our idea of going out to eat was splitting Texas toast and a side order of mashed potatoes at Applebees.  Going to Olive Garden was the.hugest.event.ever.  We listened to a lot of Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman.  We hoped school would pay off (but we didn't know it would), and a year or so after completing our MAs, we found stability.

Even though we're doing fine and our mortgage is reasonable, I still try to be smart with money.  We order more than toast and mashed potatoes and sometimes we even each get our own drink, but we generally only go to a restaurant once a week or less often.  I try not to be a materialistic person.  I don't care too much for things.  Back then, sharing a drink from Starbucks was a big, big deal and only happened every once in a great while.  Now, I can get a drink whenever, but I don't; I still squirm inside when spending money on coffee, so I still only get one once every few months and Chris only gets black coffee.  Being "poor" taught me that.  This year, we did use a little of our summer school overload money to splurge on a few things we wanted and needed (a new blender as ours was on the fritz--we make at least three smoothies a day--and a video camera since ours died well over six months ago).  My favorite things in life are quite close to free--enjoying a walk through the woods, new photographs, playing with bubbles with my son, or a bonfire out back.

I'm not "thrifty" in everything I do.  I could be better.  My greatest weakness is Eliot.  His clothes and toys are generally new (but almost always on sale).  I tried consignment shops for his clothes, but the deals weren't that great.  And have you tried going to a yard sale with a toddler?  If there is some long-lasting, big item we want (like Chris's surfboard), I think about how Eliot could use it some day.  Then I'm all for it.  I always want to give everything to him.  His eyes light up so much when he gets a new toy car--and they're so cheap.  So, I try to hold back more when it comes to buying things for Eliot because they're just "things," and I need to give him the opportunity to learn that just like I did.

In an effort to remain "intentional" with our finances, Chris and I have been working on some plans.  We pay our doctorate tuition in cash.  We have been setting aside money for a downpayment for a larger home.  And, today, we paid off the first of our school loans.  Why didn't we do this sooner?  There always seemed to be some other distraction:  our current tuition, hospital bills, fixing our 74-year-old slate roof.  Now that we got started, though, I feel more focused.  These student loans won't be due for another year, but it feels good to get ahead.  We don't have "too" much (less than the average student with a BA), especially considering that we are close to both having our doctorates, but I'm excited by the idea of maybe getting them paid down a bit before we even have to begin paying them.

Now if only we could set up a good college savings account for Eliot.  I don't even know where to start.