Happy Monday, everyone! I went to a bridal show yesterday and had a great time.
Over the weekend W told me his parents said we can have our wedding on his grandmother’s property. I’m thrilled. It’s more meaningful than the other outdoor venues we’d seen, and it feels like the perfect spot for an outdoor ceremony.
Now that we have a location, I need to update our wedding budget. I checked tent options at the show and decided not to spend $4,000 on the clear tent I liked. Instead, I’ll rent a plain white tent for about $1,000. Big win for the budget!
Even though we won’t pay for a venue, we plan to make a donation to his grandmother or the family trust that holds the property — probably $1,000 to $2,000 — as a thank-you.
I also found a BBQ caterer I love, secured rentals for tables and chairs, booked a couple of dress-shop appointments (many offered 10% off for booking on the spot), and discovered a fisheye photo booth I adore. It’s exciting to see everything coming together. Planning has been a lot of fun and I’ll miss it when it’s over — at least I have the next year to enjoy it.
Don’t forget to check my sister’s blog, FITnancials. I help run it while she writes. The blog is doing well — she’s new to writing and blogging, but she’s learning quickly and improving.
Thank you to everyone who commented and emailed about my post on reconnecting with family. I really appreciate the thoughtful responses.
Spending:
We spent quite a bit last week. Early in the week we bought a treadmill — a ProForm 600c — for $810. We ordered it directly from the manufacturer, which saved us money: no sales tax, free shipping, and a four-year warranty. In local sporting stores the same model, including warranty and tax, was roughly $1,200.
The warranty is convenient: they’ll service it at our home, so we don’t have to disassemble and ship it back for repairs. That’s a relief.
We also spent on clothes. I’d planned to stick to a $100 monthly clothing budget, but I needed work attire and ended up shopping at Banana Republic, which pushed me over the limit.
Extra Income (does not include salary from our jobs):
I reported $3,340 for extra income over the past two weeks because I skipped last week’s update. That was a solid couple of weeks. A few payments are still pending, but I’m confident January will top December, which was a great month.
I have goals to grow the blog’s income further. Earning $5,000 per month in extra income is a great milestone, but I want to push higher and see how far this can go.
One priority is to increase affiliate income. I already earn some affiliate commissions each month, but I want to diversify and build more passive revenue. I’ll post about my affiliate goals soon. If you have experience with affiliate marketing, I’d love tips, best practices, or any advice you can share.
Food:
We still don’t have a meal plan for the week. We’ve been slacking, but we talked last night about tightening up and saving more. That means cooking at home more often. I plan to search for recipes and actually use my Pinterest boards to plan meals.
Being healthy:
We finally bought the treadmill and I can’t wait for it to arrive. Some people say we won’t use it, but I’m determined to make it part of our routine. With the treadmill plus the weights and other gear we bought earlier this month, our home gym is nearly complete. The combined cost was just under $2,000 — not cheap, but the four-year warranty makes it feel like a worthwhile investment.
I want to lose weight and get more toned. Stepping on the scale recently was a wake-up call and a good motivator. Time to cut back on fried foods and get moving.