Category: Our Spending

What We Spent On Our First Real Vacation

Don’t get me wrong, Mr. Dink and I have definitely taken “vacations” together. But this was the first one we did JUST for us. With no obligations to anyone else. A vacation where we made all the decisions ourselves about where to stay, what to eat, what to do, etc. As we’ve been together for almost 8 years, this felt like a big deal and a long time coming!

Read on to hear more about what we did, where we went, what this vacation meant to us, and how we handled our finances from the start of planning to when we arrived home.

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The Best (Financial) Decisions I’ve Ever Made

As the end of another year draws near, I find myself doing what I always do around this time: reflecting. Reflecting on all that I’ve learned this year. Reflecting on the goals I’ve achieved, the places I’ve fallen short, all the activities I did or didn’t do.

In this spirit of reflection, I’ve been thinking about how grateful I am for where I find myself right now, happily living a slow FI lifestyle, and all the financial decisions I’ve made that have led me to this very place. So today, I’m here to share some of those decisions I’m most proud of and hopefully inspire you to reflect on some of the best financial decisions you’ve made on your path.

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Why I Changed My Money Check-In Strategy

Here we are, already half-way through November. We are getting close to the end of 2023, my friends! Pretty soon, it will be time to do some year-end reflection and goal-setting for 2024.

Before that though, we still have to close out 2023.

At the beginning of this year, I decided to switch up the way I do my money check-ins with myself. Throughout 2023, I’ve experimented with going from checking in on my money and my financial independence (FI) numbers on a monthly basis to a quarterly one. Today on the blog, I’m sharing why I made the change, how it’s been going this year, and what I want to do differently next year. Hopefully it will inspire you to start thinking about your own money check-in process and see if there’s anything you want to switch up in 2024!

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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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Money Goals With A Spouse

Well, in case you missed it folks, 2023 has arrived! Although I’m not a fan of New Years’ Resolutions, I am a big proponent of goal setting, and I happen to set my goals around the start of the New Year. Thanks to a busy holiday season, I’m just now starting the process of reflecting on 2022 and beginning to think about my goals for 2023. While there will be more to come on those details, today I’m starting with another goal-related post. I’m reflecting on how my goals have changed now that there’s another human being in my life: my spouse. I sometimes forget that it was just me and me alone for so long. I did some good work on myself before Mr. Dink came along, and it’s sometimes surreal to think about how different my goals would be if I was still single. Does anyone else feel this way?

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My Yoga Hack (And Other Last Minute Frugal Holiday Gift Ideas)

If you can believe it, we’ve got just over 2 weeks until Christmas is here! The holiday really feels like it snuck up on me this year (but, let’s be real, I say that every year). I’ve been wanting to write about my yoga hack for awhile now, because I love it so gosh-darn much, and when I was thinking about how I would write this post one morning in the shower (where I do some of my best thinking), I realized with it being close to the holidays that it could also make for a great holiday gift. That led me to thinking about all the other ways I hack around the holidays (that has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?), and thus this post was born. I hope you enjoy it, especially you frugal, last-minute shoppers!

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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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Vacation Spending: Lake Willoughby, Vermont

Last weekend, Mr. Dink and I took a much needed mini vacation! We’re nearing the end of summer here in Vermont, and until last weekend, no vacations had been had so far this summer in our household. We’re all about spending intentionally over here, and so today I’m sharing all of our spending details from our weekend trip to Lake Willoughby, Vermont. And if you ever find yourself in that area, you’ll even find some recommendations sprinkled throughout this post!

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Spending On Bucket List Items

Large purchases have always been tough for me, especially on things I want but don’t really need. I have made leaps and bounds when it comes to spending in all different categories, but I’m here today to tackle the topic of spending on bucket list items.

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Intentional Spending – What It Means To Me

I read a great post recently on intentional spending on The Fioneers blog (if you haven’t already, check them out, they are fabulous). In the post, Jess described intentional spending as making intentional decisions to spend money on things they value. In 2021, they spent more than double what they spent in 2020, and they were 100% happy about it because it was 100% intentional.

I think what I love most about intentional spending is that, by nature, it is a very personal thing. Intentional spending is tied directly to a person’s or a family’s values, and values are inherently personal.

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