Budeting Babe on Hiatus

I've always hated housekeeping. But as I look around this blog, it's obvious that housekeeping is sorely needed. The world of the web has changed rapidly since I set up the blog in 2004 and so has my life. Therefore, I'm going on an indefinite hiatus to redesign the site and rethink what Budgeting Babe means to me.

Among my tasks: clean up the links, organize posts, update graphics and widgets, figure out my e-mail situation for the site and potentially even switch to another site host, provided I can learn HTML. And of course, there's the issue of posting. During the last year, my writing has become uninspired. I need to find my voice again as a writer, rather than just posting thoughtless one-offs becasue I haven't written anything recently. That's a disservice to you guys, and a waste of all our time.

So, allow me this winter to grow and change and learn some new things. I'll leave the old site up so it's still searchable (I've heard about a few people finding the site through search engines), but I won't be posting anything new for a while. Good luck to you all on your financial journeys, and see you soon. Read more!

My Magical Summer of Wonder

It’s a chilly late summer evening, and during my run tonight I feel Fall in the air. It’s a bittersweet feeling, knowing one of the best seasons I’ve had in years – my magical summer of wonder (MSOW) –is coming to a close. I wish I could take the MSOW, ball the whole thing up and keep it in my pocket for the winters ahead. The memories I’ve made and experiences I’ve had this summer are sure to be nourishment for the long, tough journeys I’ll one day face. But for now, I’m free to revel in the delight of fleeting golden evenings, enjoy the last days of flip-flopped toes and spend cool nights with windows wide open.

MSOW was expensive, true, but it was also a celebration of who I’ve become and what I’ve accomplished during the past 10. As you know, I ran a triathlon, quit my job and found a new one and celebrated my 30th birthday with 50 of my closest friends in my parents’ backyard. I also traveled to Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada and Colorado, kayaked a whitewater river, biked down a mountain, dressed like a banana, saw my favorite band live, bought a computer and a new microwave, invested in a new wardrobe and spent tons of time with my family… and I did it all without collecting any debt.

Times are tough, yes, but what I thought would be a summer filled with uncertainty due to the economy turned into one of joy. (Two weeks off and a dream job will do that for you.) It was unexpected. It was delightful. And here I am now, watching that fabulous MSOW pack up and drive away as I stand on the curb waving wistfully.
So what will I take from this MSOW? What lessons have I learned?


1. Be open to new experiences. If there is one theme to this summer, it’s to be unafraid. Even if your body is shaking and your limbs are paralyzed at the starting line of a race. Even if you feel glued to your office chair, the same one you’ve sat in for 10 years. Even if you think there’s no way you can do it. Just try. Step out of your comfort zone. You’ll never know what will happen unless you take the first step. Open yourself to the possibilities.

2. Celebrate the small things. Turning 30? Throw a party. Turning 31? Get your friends together. Life is too short to wait for something huge to happen, so take advantage of the time you have together and celebrate each other. I know that this year of 30th birthday parties for me and all my girlfriends was a gift, and that one day we may be gathering for not-so-happy times. So while things are happy, get together, turn on the music, drink some wine and dress like fruit (or whatever makes you happy). The memories will last a lifetime.

3. Make the tough choices. I still don’t have a house. But that was the right decision for me. If I would have spent money on a downpayment when my lease was up, I would have no savings at all (we’re talking zero) if I would have lost my job. And at an agency, even at the one I was with for eight years, business is always cyclical. Translation: Losing everything was a possibility. So I held off on buying. It wasn’t an easy decision, but by the time my lease is up in April, I’ll be in a much more secure position: I’ll have a stable job and more savings.

4. Spend thoughtfully when you have to. We needed lots of new appliances this summer - computer, router, microwave, house fan. Our old ones were on their last legs, all working about ten percent of the time and the rest just causing headaches. So we had to spend some. But we bought on sale, and we bought with a card that gave us points and we paid off in the same month we bought. That’s how to spend smart.

Did you have an MSOW? What lessons did you learn this summer? Anything you’d like to share?

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New Chapter, New Job!

Blank pages. I often associate them with the negative (as in writers' block). But I recently made a decision to leave my agency job, where I had worked for eight years, in favor of a new position with a new company. I put in my notice, worked my last two weeks, took a two-week vacation to Colorado and have filled out all the paperwork for the the new job, which starts Monday. So this weekend I'm staring down the blank page, excited to see what this new chapter may bring. (Yes, Natasha Bedingfield says it better.)

You, my savvy, sophisticated readers, will understand that certain sensitivities arise when transitioning to a new job, so I haven't been able to write much and I can't share many of the details about salary, benefits, etc.

However, I will say this: For the past eight years at my former company, I learned and grew every day. The people I worked with were some of the best in the business and I plan on keeping in touch with most of them. MS&L Chicago will always hold a special place in my heart. I had a hard time leaving; in fact, I was a sobbing mess the day I walked out the door. The company, and my peers, were nothing but supportive during the entire transition.

But despite my fondness for my job and my co-workers, I simply couldn't pass up the opportunity that presented itself to me in the new job, working in communications for an Illinois-based university. (Need to find out if I'm OK to blog about it.) For many reasons, including my personal passions and interests, benefits and more, it seems to be the perfect job for me. I'm overwhelmed with excitement and thankful for opportunity.

So for those of you looking for jobs in this rough economy, maybe this provides a little hope. Feel free to post your questions about interviewing, networking, etc. here and I'll do my best to answer them this week.
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I Finished my First Triathlon! ... But Accomplished so Much More

“Today, you’re starting this race a different woman than you will be when you finish it.” Cheesy, I thought to myself when I heard the race announcer say it. I wanted to get going.

I was standing alone at the sandy start line, amidst 2,000 women in goggles, wetsuits and rainbow-colored swim caps, shivering from a mix of cold weather and deafening anxiety, struggling to push down the lump of panic that was slowly forming in my throat as the announcer spoke. This was the morning of my first triathlon, and though I was amazed by the energy, enthusiasm and emotion of the crowd, what I wanted most in the world at that very moment was a friend, someone to share it with, someone to calm me down. I was tired of explaining to all the nervous and smiling girls in my wave that I was, in fact, alone here; that I was racing by myself. I did not consider myself brave or courageous. At that moment I felt stupid for thinking I could handle such a thing. I wanted the race to start. I wanted the sun to come out from the clouds again. I wanted to see my family and my boyfriend and my friends.

But I had told everyone to arrive in time for my swim start at 8:24 a.m., not for the start of the race at 7:00 a.m., and so I was alone (and had been since 5:00 a.m.), surrounded by a swirl of competitors and energy and rubber and precautionary sunscreen. The only thing that kept me sane was Twitter; if I didn’t know anybody in the mob around me, I could at least broadcast my experience to calm my nerves. And so, I continued tweeting right up until B appeared at 8:00 and took my phone for me. It was the only thing I could do while waiting impatiently for the race to start.

I had no idea I would be so nervous. Ten weeks ago when I signed up, it was almost on a whim. I was planning to do a half-marathon in 2008 and was secretly hoping to follow up with a marathon in 2009, just in time to count the accomplishment before I turn 30. But instead I injured my back and ended up at the chiropractor, the doctor and the X-ray machine, with a prescription for physical therapy and no prognosis. I was frustrated and unhappy and gaining weight. And I hurt. Yet there was nothing wrong with me. “You have the Mladic back!” my dad pronounced. My dad has had two back surgeries. This was not welcome news.

My co-worker suggested a triathlon. For whatever reason, I signed on without giving it much thought. She sold it pretty well, “Anyone can do a triathlon. If you get tired, you can just sidestroke in the pool, pedal slowly on the bike or walk the run. It’s short. You can do it.” And I bought it. I signed up. I figured I could get at least three others to sign up with me. I overestimated my persuasive powers. Apparently not many people like doing three sports in one day.

I, on the other hand, thought it sounded fun and less harsh on my back than running every day. And so my training began, six days per week for ten weeks, running, swimming, biking and strength training.

At first people were supportive. My Facebook page was filled with messages of support. But that support quickly eroded. It was spring in Chicago and my friends didn’t understand why I wasn’t going out. My best friend, whom I love dearly, needing my support through some things in her own life, wished I would “get over this working out thing” I was doing. (Joking, of course, but half-way serious.) It hurt to not give all of myself for my best friend. But I couldn’t be up until two in the morning every weekend; for my health, for myself, I needed to focus on training. I invited her to start working out with me to start a healthy habit, but she declined. I tried to be there as best I could, but post-workout, work-night phone calls are usually pretty empty.


She wasn’t the only one I left hanging. “You know, sometimes you get on a streak where we see you often,” another close friend explained. “And other times you sometimes drop back. This is just one of those times. Nobody expects you to be out year round.” Still, it felt to me like everyone was out and about, whooping it up without me. And I was letting everyone down by not being “fun Nicole.” Despite my disappointing social performance, I kept my training schedule.

I made compromises for the sake of my workout schedule every day. To wash the dishes or go to the gym? To stay out with clients or go to the gym? Time and again, I committed to the triathlon. After a while, the commitment got easier. I was happy at the gym. I found a rhythm in the pool. I slept better after a hard workout. The stronger I felt, the better my back felt. Soon, my back was a non-issue and I was feeling great (with a very dirty house). In May I ran a personal best at a 5K charity run. My uncle told me it was the best he’d ever seen me run.

But as I listened to my body more and my distances became longer, I noticed another hurdle: My exercise induced asthma was getting worse. At the finish line of that personal best 5K, my chest tightened up. As my dad raced for my inhaler, I began to worry yet again that I wasn’t fit for a triathlon. But unlike my back issues, this time I didn’t put off a trip to the doctor or try to work through the pain. A trip to the allergist and a list of confirmed asthmatic allergens later, I started on a new regimen of lung treatments designed to get me through the triathlon. Within two weeks, my lungs were performing up to speed with the rest of my body. Physically I was ready.

Mentally, however, I was building myself into frenzy mode.

Two weeks before the race, with local temperatures hovering in the 50’s at night, I began obsessively checking the weather. The week of the race, I was in full panic mode. I was texting my coach -- the same friend who encouraged me to do the race – to share my concerns. Should I get a wetsuit? Water temperature turned into my favorite discussion topic. And it stayed that way until the day before the race.

The day before the race, the highest temperature didn’t even reach 60. It was pouring outside. The fitness expo was filled with amazon women, all who had wetsuits. I did not. I probably asked ten people what to do. Each had a different opinion. A 50-year old told me it would be no worse than a cold shower. A muscled, superfit athlete told me I absolutely needed one. I weighed the $300 cost in my head ($300 for 15 minutes?!?) and talked a vendor down to $150 for a suit. Ultimately it didn’t matter. Standing in the rain, trying on a suit too big for me, I learned not one vendor had a wetsuit for rental or purchase in my size. The nail was on the coffin. I was going to swim cold. I went home and chugged a bottle of Cherry Pepto.

That night, B and I checked into the host hotel, a Holiday Inn in Naperville, about an hour outside of the city. Another woman, also in total freak out mode, told me how mad she was about the hotel choice. Now, I know this sounds ridiculous, but the moment I stepped into the hotel I knew the universe was trying to tell me something. A six-foot-six, two-hundred-seventy-something pound man in a kilt was standing at the desk with a puppet on his arm, letting the puppet do the checking in. Behind me, a man with hair to his butt in head-to-toe tie dye was discussing photography with a couple in what I can only describe as renaissance gear. A few tipsy elf girls strolled off the elevator, looking for the nearest party.
“Sci-Fi convention,” the woman at the front desk explained. For some reason, a wave of relief rolled over me. I’m pretty sure that was somebody up there – my grandma, my grandpa – telling me to lighten up. Enjoy the moment. As I walked outside to gather my things, the sun broke through the sky.

Later that night, I ran through my pre-race checklist, packed my bags and set out my supplies for the next day: helmet, race belt, sports bra, tri-suit, shoes, Gatorade, banana and more. I slept well that night. As well as I could, I guess, considering I would awake at 4:30 a.m.

My alarm jolted me out of bed in what felt like the dead of the night. I dressed in the dark, rustled B out of bed and off we went, he sleepily and I electrified, into the sunrise. We passed some sci-fi-ers smoking a hookah. I don’t think it contained tobacco.

B dropped me and my bike off at 5:00 a.m.; I insisted he go back and sleep until 7:00 a.m. He was working on a paper for his summer law clinic and he couldn’t be in the set-up transition area anyway. I was on my own. I got my body markings (one for your swim wave on the leg, and two for your bib number on the arms). I thought they looked cool. I hope I looked confident. I was honestly fine at this point. One girl told me I was brave for being without a friend. Another lended me sunscreen. We debated the benefits of the wetsuit yet again. The sun started to heat up the parking lot, the energy level rose and I was excited.

Which brings me back to the beach. After two hours of mental preparation and meeting fellow triathletes, I was suddenly feeling very alone, wishing I hadn’t blown off my friends for ten weeks, pushing down the panic of the unknown and cursing myself for the mental drama.

And then, my internal crisis was rudely interrupted by the blaring of a horn, indicating the race had started. I was 90 minutes away from my wave start – it felt like a week – and it was a roller coaster. I was awed by the power of the elites, I was humbled by the cancer survivors, I was swept up by the spectators and fascinated by the ages of the oldest competitors. One woman walked out of the water and immediately needed her cane. But she did it. She walked up the beach with her cane.

B showed up right on time. He carried my warm-up fleece, snapped pictures and hugged me good luck wishes. But he was a spectator and so when my orange cap went on, he stood in the spectator area, cheering me on. I signed up for this by myself, and I would do this myself. I had to get in the water and get going. The waiting was killing me.

My wave got into the water at 8:20 a.m. The sun made a re-emergence and was proudly beaming down on our group as we playfully cheered ourselves on. There were 50 of us or so. I was positioned in the back, goofily grinning and looking out of place. By the time I got in, the water had warmed to 70 degrees and I instantly knew my worrying had been for naught. This was it.

The air horn sounded and we were off, a mess of flailing limbs and splashing, bobbing bodies. The swim was harder than expected. I could not swim straight. I could not get into a flow. I kept bumping up against slow breaststrokers in front of me, and getting lapped by fast swimmers behind me. I could not break free from the pack. I swallowed a lot of water. I worried the women in front of me had peed in the pool. It felt like an eternity in the water; like a floating roller derby. I was winded when I got out of the water. I had to keep going.

The next leg was the bike and that wasn’t difficult for me, but I went a lot slower than anticipated. I didn’t pass ANYBODY on the bike. (I was counting.) Lots of women passed me. Still, it was sunny and my energy was good. I caught sight of my aunt and uncle, cheering me on loudly from the sidewalk and it bolstered my spirits. I started to hear people cheering on the streets. I smiled the entire second lap of the bike. By the time my hour-long ride was over, I was having a ball. But the run was still left.

I had heard a lot of girls freaking out about the run in the same way that I freaked out about the swim. The run, however, was my best leg of the race. I ran the whole way. I passed people. I said, “Keep going!” and “Nice job!” to those near me. I ended up running my regular 5K pace, even though my legs were on fire. I couldn’t believe I had the energy. I couldn’t believe I was running. I couldn’t believe I was laughing.

As I came down the home stretch, through the trees on a beautiful summer morning, strangers along the course were reading my name on the race bib and calling out my name. “FINISH STRONG NICOLE!” and “YOU GOT THIS! GREAT JOB NICOLE.” I was soaring. I crossed the finish line and the announcer called my name. I threw my hands in the air. A woman gave me a medal and snapped my picture. I held back tears. My aunt, my uncle and B were waiting at the finish line with congratulatory hugs. I took it all in.

I suppose I realized it then. But I was too tired to think much about it. I came home and posted my race results (1:55:50), shared the news with my friends who couldn’t make it and looked through pictures. I was basking in the post-race buzz. But only today did I truly realize what the race meant to me. I didn’t do this with anybody else, for anybody else. I did it for me. I conquered my own fears, overcame my physical issues and mental anxieties and persuaded myself to accomplish a goal I never imagined I could do. Five years ago, a 5K seemed like an impossible task. Yesterday I finished a triathlon. The post-race big breakfast was nice, but the knowledge of my own strength and the depth of my determination will stay with me for life.

Ten weeks ago I made a commitment. I didn’t know what it would take, or how it would affect me or how far I’d have to reach inside myself to do it. I didn’t realize how much making a commitment to myself would teach me about the life I live, and the life I want to live. Ten weeks ago, I signed up for a triathlon. And today, one day after crossing the finish line, I won’t call myself a changed woman. Rather, today I will call myself a woman for the time in my life.

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Budgeting Babe Alert: New Credit Card Rules

If you've been spending all your time reading US Weekly and Perez, you may have missed that the government is enacting some new credit card rules.

Read all about it here to get educated on the subject:

NY Times Online
Consumers Dealt a New Hand in Credit Cards

There are some interesting new rules, such as:
"Card companies will have to give 45 days’ notice before raising their interest rates. There’s also a notice requirement for any significant change to a card’s terms, which may keep companies from surprising customers who have been saving their loyalty points for years with huge alterations in rewards programs."

However, some are saying the new legislation won't be that great for those of us who pay off the balance every month and use the cards to stack rewards.

What do you guys think about the new laws? They look pretty good to me.

And here is the rest of it. Read more!

Tips for Loving Your Weekend, Even Without a Road Trip

Some weekends are a neverending swirl of glitzy parties, fabulous dinners and social scene meet-ups. They're incredibly fun, but inevitably exhausting.

This weekend, after several weeks of decidedly unglamorous work travel, I cancelled all my committments and chose to chill in my hometown. B and I were supposed to take a road trip to celebrate the end of finals, B's birthday and our 10-year anniversary but given the craziness of the past few week we just couldn't get it together in time. Instead, we stayed close to home and enjoyed some local treasures together. And it couldn't have been better.

Are you debating a road trip out of town? If time and money are working against you, take some notes on how to enjoy a weekend in your 'hood like an out-of-towner. Here's what we did:

Enjoy Your Local Favorites Like a Tourist
We started the weekend with dinner at our local watering hole, Poor Phil's. Instead of inviting all our neighborhood friends, we made it a date night for two. Instead of staying for too many drinks parked at the same familiar bar, we left immediately after dinner. Moving around the neighborhood, always searching for something new, keeps the vacation feel.

We landed at Hemingway's an oddball of a hotel bar filled with overpriced drinks (just like a vacation), and chatted up some visitors while enjoying fruity "Flirtini Martinis" by friendly bartender Justine. It's off our usual beaten path and the martinis, made with fruit puree, are totally fantastic (and stiff). Being there, among vacation-minded visitors, made us forget we were in our home town (the martinis didn't hurt, either).

Try Something New
On Saturday, we took our bikes to Geneva, IL, home of the Illinois Prairie Path bike trail. Though we had biked on the path before, we decided to plan an expedition to Two Brothers Brewery in Warrenville, IL, roughly 10 miles away. It was a windy, crazy ride but we made it and were rewarded with friendly service and tasty food (two YUMS up for the delicious fish tacos). Had we planned a full weekend, we likely would have overlooked it. So glad we didn't.

Slow it Down
This morning, we walked to a coffee shop we usually drive to, Nola's Cup. On the way there, we noticed two open houses. We stopped at those open houses on the way back, curious to see what today's market offers. And we learned a lot... Apparently keeping our noses buried and books and computers has prevented us from staying updated on the local housing market. In talking with realtors, we found out about new homebuyer incentives that began this week and made two great networking connections. I'm going to pay a lot more attention to our local realtor network starting today. Maybe weekend walks should become part of my usual weekend routine.

Live in the Moment
I was tempted to check my blackberry for email, twitter and facebook updates but for the most part managed to stay offline until now. This weekend, my phone stayed off - tough to do, but it forced me to stop and smell the flowers, so to speak.

* * *
So now, it's time to get offline and get back to my lovely weekend. I'm not sure what tonight holds, which makes it all the more appealing. This is the way to celebrate Spring. How was your weekend?



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Net Worth Update... Good News Edition

Spring is here, the market has been looking up lately and I'm in need of some good news to prevent me from starting another ridiculous project. Time for a net worth check in to help me refocus on my goals.

The first time I checked my net worth in February 2006, it was a whopping $2,600. Most recently in July 2008, the total had grown to $64,000, and I felt like a rock star. But... it's been a crazy year and July 2008 happened before I lost 40 percent of my 401K and we became a one-income household, so let's see where I stand now.

(I pause here to calculate my net worth. It takes a while. Maybe you should go get some chips or something...)

(OK, I'm back with an update...)

Holy. Crap.

I am super pleased to say that despite the sputtering economy, my net worth has grown to a very healthy and respectable... $82,000! I'm in shock!

I thought for sure my number wouldn't have grown, but I have been putting cash away in my downpayment savings fund, my student loan will be paid off within the next year and I haven't taken on any more debt.

So what am I counting? Here are my categories:

ASSETS
- Checking
- Bank Savings/Emergency Fund
- Downpayment Savings Account
- 401K
- Cash Balance Plan (Retirement)

LIABILITIES
- Student Loan

I think staying away from significant debt while I paid off my student loans really helped me to find a happy balance that allowed me to save. When I'm done paying my loan, I've been quietly thinking to myself that I might buy a car (it would be my first) since ours is paid off and more than 10 years old.

But now I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, this little piece of good news will attach itself to my heart like makeshift angel wings. I'm stable and I'm going to get through this economy. And for that, I can celebrate.

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Don't Forget Your Finances, but Don't Let Them Slow You Down!

When life gets busy, people can choose to cope one of two ways: they can slow down, take time to relax and get their life in order; or, like me, they can take on more. It seems totally counter intuitive, but I thrive on the chaos. On any given weekend, if I have 10 things to do, you can bet I'll add another three to the mix. It's a mindset that's worked for me, and amazingly, everything usually gets done.

Usually.

Lately, my impromptu projects seems to get bigger -- there was the $500 DIY wardrobe from IKEA that I bought on a whim, an "on the fly" trip to visit my cousin at her university and a reorganizing of my apartment that had to be done NOW. But the biggest project I've taken on recently has been training for a triathlon. I've committed to be in the gym five to six days per week for a total of 10 weeks leading up to the main event, and it's left my blog unattended to, my apartment a mess, my friends upset because I'm never out and my work schedule in shambles. It's a mess.

But truth be told, I feel amazing. I have five weeks of training left, and I'm already in better shape than I've been in for the past two years, I'm sleeping well and I'm less stressed. (Yay me!)

I do feel guilty about neglecting my life outside the gym, but not enough to apologize for prioritizing my fitness above the cleanliness of my apartment or trying to leave the office with enough time to workout. We all make choices, and sometimes the best choice for me means that some other areas of my life won't be picture perfect; I've got to be OK with that.

One area that shouldn't be neglected during busy periods is finance. It's easy to forget about when you're preoccupied... I haven't looked at my accounts in weeks. But the problem with neglecting finances is that, unlike your harmless laundry pile, neglected finances could actually hurt you. If you miss even one credit card or mortgage payment, your credit rating could drop -- leaving you with a lot more problems and less time to tackle your next big challenge.

I logged onto all my accounts today for my May check-in (which I'll share tomorrow), and was surprised to see how tight I cut my payments to due dates this month -- within days. I also forgot to make a student loan payment in April .. Yikes! (Luckily, I'm ahead of the student loan repayment schedule so I'm not in default.)

Moral of the story? Take care of yourself, but don't let your finances fall by the wayside. If you have to adjust your priorities, it's better to stop watching America's Next Top Model than stop paying your bills. Better yet, get an online service like Quicken or Mint to e-mail you (at a working e-mail address) when your bills are due, or set up all your accounts for automatic bill pay. Then, you won't have to worry about stopping to smell the flowers, er, pay your bills.



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A DIY Disaster, Then Saved by my Brothers

Last weekend I had the brilliant idea to swap two rooms in my apartment to try and squeeze a little more storage out of the place, rather than get a bigger apartment and pay more rent. Brilliant because while it's not a bad idea, this was the week that I started my triathlon training -- which means six out of seven days I'm in the gym -- and it's also end-of-semester law school deadlines for B, which means he's at the library studying all day. He warned me in advance that he wouldn't be able to help move stuff until after finals are over. I considered the training and the law school stuff for a good two seconds, then decided to go ahead with the room swap anyway, on my own. Bad move.

Good idea + poorly planned = really rough going, as in sitting in my apartment alone under a mountain of my belongings in total despair wishing I hadn't started this project. Nothing like taking on more than you can chew.

Luckily, with a lot of phone calls to friends for mental support, and a little carpentry wizardry from two of my brothers, everything got done. Still, lesson learned - while stubbornness and willpower can get a lot accomplished, sometimes it can really get me stuck. This weekend tested my physical and emotional limits, and I learned that I need to be more patient with myself and respectful of the people around me. I can't always expect my brothers to come bail me out at a moment's notice, and I can't always barrel through a spontaneous project on my own.

All that said, I now have a linen closet! The crux of the room swap involved the idea that a new floor to ceiling wardrobe could function like a storage closet in the bigger room if we rearranged how we used the space. I selected a PAX/KOMPLEMENT wardrobe from Ikea (or as my mother calls it "Ikea's") that ran me about $450. The wood is particle board, of course, but I liked that I could create any number of combinations using shelves, drawers, clothes racks, baskets, bins and frames. I left off doors in favor of a cotton curtain that I have yet to install. (The cheapest doors were like $300 more.) It's a great add to our place, and though the rooms aren't completely done yet (pictures left to hang, etc.), I'm feeling better and more organized already.

Speaking of the new storage space, one of the funnier moments this horrible weekend came when I told my cousin, a trendy 21-year old college student, that I bought a $450 wardrobe. "Yay!" she said, clapping.

I interrupted her, "No, it's a wardrobe, like a closet, a wooden storage space."

"Oh," she replied, with a look of disappointment on her face. "I thought you meant clothes."

I know. But at this point, I can't ever picture myself spending $450 on clothes in one shopping trip, not even in one, two or three months. So while I might have a lot to learn about my personal limits, it's good to know I'm at least in complete control over my spending limits.
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29 and Holding...

My 30th birthday is fast approaching, and while I haven’t been vocal about it like some of my friends (love ‘em for it!), I can’t help but notice that the something inside me is changing. It’s not that my life has evolved significantly in any way, or that I’ve become unhappy with where I am, rather, the thoughts that used to occupy my mind have been replaced with much heavier constructs.

In my early 20’s, I used to spend time fretting about living paycheck to paycheck, how my relationship might be affected by career decisions and where to invest my money. What to wear and where to go were always important decisions, as was how I spent my money in general. But as I grew and learned more about my finances and myself, I felt more and more in control of my future and more relaxed and confident about where I was headed.

Lately, though, I find my thoughts drifting off in other directions, into places where I have less control. I’m anxious about my parents’ finances during their imminent retirement and, though they are still young and relatively healthy, their health care once they retire. I’ve learned how to save my money, but I can’t figure out how to balance my needs for a stable future with the need to invest and take a risk. I worry that I’m putting my career (and B’s journey to find one) ahead of my desire to have a family. Things are going well, but now that I’ve spent so much time working to get “here,” a whole new set of worries has replaced what I thought would be the time when I enjoy the fruits of my labor.

I imagine that many of you have dealt with the same set of worries. Any advice you can share about how you deal with the nagging questions and find balance among your priorities would be much appreciated!
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