January 1, 2012: Day One

2011 was a really crazy year for us. Really crazy. We got married, I started a new job which meant no longer having a flexible schedule, Nick was at his new job for a year finally, and we finished some really big house projects (finally were able to afford- in cash!- our driveway). We had done a really great job of paying off our credit cards in 201o that we had accumulate while finishing our last years in college, and had been great at not putting any new charges on them for almost a year.

Wedding are expensive, as are honeymoons. So we made the decision, which we don't regret at all, to give ourselves a dream wedding and honeymoon. It was money well spent and we literally had the greatest experience and memories from our wedding year. It was a dream wedding but now that we are married it is time to be realistic with our finances and life so that we can move to our next goal of starting a family!

Our goals for 2012 are extensive, so I am hoping to keep track of what we do, how we do it and what works and doesn't work! They are goals, not resolutions. Some might never come to fruition, and that is okay!

• Simplify. Getting married means having a lot of new "stuff." It is great to upgrade but now we have a lot of old and new stuff and need to downsize so that it doesn't all take over the house. Physical clutter leads to mental clutter, so NO MORE CLUTTER.
• Finances. We are going to pay off ALL of our credit cards and hopefully my car. We are going to be intentional about our money. We created a spreadsheet of all of the money we currently have coming in and the bills we have prior to the new year. Each month we are going to track it and try to stay on a more strict budget, debt repayment and savings plan. We want to pay all of our bills the first week of the month so that the rest of the month we can focus on our budget and savings and not play games with our money.
• Savings. We want a stronger savings plan for emergencies, but also for vacations and for household projects. We want to really think about how we can save money any way we can (coupons, selling things on Amazon for extra cash, buying things second hand, buying in bulk, etc...).
• Organize. We have been living in our home for 2.5 years and are ready to really organize it. I mean, really organize it!
• Paperwork. We want to cut down on that mail pile and the massive amounts of paper that always seem to pile up! It is never ending!
• Self care. I really let my health fall apart over the past few years. It is time to not just care for my health, but also reflect more.
• Food. We love eating out but we also love cooking. We want to eat out less and cook more. Plus it is something we can do together!

Wish us luck! We will try to keep updating and would love ideas and suggestions! If we can make good progress on these areas we are treating ourselves to a mid-year trip to Boston, and a new savings fund at the end for a trip abroad to Sweden and the Baltics!

DAY ONE

• We started the 2012 Declutter Calendar. We are going to try to do it weekly vs. daily because it is more doable with our schedule.
• We set up a donation station.
• We took apart my closet and set up an organization system to it (this will be done by the end of the week!). All my clothes are in ONE room and I am going to weed through them and hang up what I wear and donate the rest
• Turned all my hangers backwards so that in 6 months, whatever I haven't turned around will end up being donated.
• We paid almost all of our January bills on the first day of the month (save for one of my student loans and one of Nick's). Now the rest of the month can be devoted to budgeting!
• We cancelled our cable. I have never been without cable, but for $50 extra in our pockets a month, we can do it. Plus, we have netflix, which is only $7.99/mo.