Category: Background Material

Has Having a Niece Changed My DINK Status?

A few weeks ago, we celebrated my niece’s first birthday! I can’t believe how fast this past year went. It has been such a joy to watch her grow into the smiley, social 1-year-old that she is.

I haven’t written much about the NK (no kids) portion of my DINK status recently. But as I head into my late 30s, it’s on my mind often. So, in honor of my niece’s first trip around the sun, I thought it would be nice to reflect on how I’ve been feeling about the “no kids” component of our DINK lifestyle.

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Finally Spending On Me For My Birthday

Hello, friends! Last week marked my 37th birthday. For the last several years now, since 2017 in fact, my birthday tradition has been to go camping. And camping is what I did again this year, but with a twist that I’m excited to share with my financially attuned readership! I hope you enjoy this short tale that feels like a huge step for me on my personal finance journey.

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Why I Still Struggle With Choosing Me (And What We Spent To Attend A Recent Wedding)

Hello, friends! Happy Friday! Mr. Dink and I are just getting back from attending the wedding of 2 of our very close friends. We had an absolutely fantastic time!

As we were getting ready for this wedding, and as I prepared to keep track of all my expenses so I could, of course, let my wonderful readers know all the juicy details of what we spent (this is a personal finance blog at its core, after all), I realized that I had never actually had to fly to a wedding on my own dime, as an adult. I’d always been able to drive. Or, if I flew, it was to attend a family member’s wedding and as such, the costs were much lower (ability to stay with friends and family, for example). 

I promise I will get into all the nitty gritty of what we spent to attend this wedding in the second half of the post (you can skip ahead if you’d like). But first, I want to write a few quick words on how leading up to this wedding made me realize why I still struggle with choosing me.

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Letting Go Of Perfection

Can you believe it’s already February?! Where did January even go? I hope everyone’s February is off to a good start!

Since the start of the New Year, I’ve been writing a lot on the blog about my goal process and how I reflect on goals from the previous year before I set new ones. Because of this, I’ve found myself reflecting on my journey with perfection: how it has affected me, how it’s changed, and how it’s made me who I am.

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Meal Planning, Grocery Shopping, and Hannaford Rewards, Oh My!

When friends and family find out that Mr. Dink and I cook 95% of our meals at home, we get a lot of wide-eyed stares. We LOVE to treat ourselves occasionally to a fancy dinner out, but eating out for us is rare and typically for a special occasion or celebrating small wins (and we like it that way).

Even though the numbers are down from pre-pandemic levels, a new survey shows that 7% of people eat out an average of 4 days per week, 16% 3 days per week, and 44% one day per week. No judgement at all, and by all means, if you have the money to afford this and eating out truly brings you joy, you do you. But if you’re looking to decrease your eating-out habits (whether for monetary, health, or other reasons), I’m hoping that sharing our process of how we plan and shop for meals with you today might give you a little inspiration!

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How We Manage Our Money As A DINK Household

Last week on the blog, I wrote about our COVID wedding(s), and how spending on our values saved us from busting our budget. Writing that post made me realize that I haven’t actually shared with my readers how Mr. Dink and I manage our money as a couple! How could I have let such an obvious and crucial post of a personal finance blog slip through the cracks? Well, rest assured folks. The wait is over.

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The Tale of Two COVID Weddings: How Our Values Saved Our Budget

Mr. Dink and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary last weekend! If you’re quick with math, you may have already realized that, yes, we had a COVID wedding. On Christmas of 2019, we sent out save the dates for September 19, 2020. The pandemic may have changed our original wedding plans, the months leading up to September 19th may have been an incredibly stressful time, and we may have had to make some really hard decisions, but we didn’t let COVID-19 ruin what was important to us about our wedding. The fact that we had taken the time to really think about what mattered to us, what our values were around our wedding, ended up being our savior. Looking back on how our wedding(s) turned out, we don’t regret a thing.

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Faith and Money: Letting Go of the Shame

Did you grow up going to church? Do you belong to a church community now? In the past, I would have avoided those questions. I would have made any excuse not to talk about church or religion. The truth is, I did grow up going to church, I do belong to a church community now, and I’m no longer ashamed to say it.

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Lessons Of A House Fire

A house fire is something I don’t wish on anyone. It’s something I can honestly say that I thought would never happen to me. But in the summer of 2017, a house fire turned our lives upside down. Now, 5 years later, I’m sharing our major lessons learned, and who knows, maybe even some silver linings.

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The First Time I Chose Me

Do you remember the first time you went against what society, your friends, your family thought you should do or were telling you to do? Do you remember the first time you chose to do something that you wanted to do, even if it made you feel really uncomfortable? Did it make you feel just a little bit freer?

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