finances

What would you do if your income doubled?

| cheriarmour

I read this a few days back on Roo’s blog, Semiproper, and I found it really really interesting.

What would you do if your income suddenly doubled?

This really stuck out to me because money has been a hot topic in our house – having just gotten marred we spent a pretty decent chunk of it, and now, having purchased a house, we’re always talking about money.

Spending it wisely, spending less on coffee, saving more, eliminating our debt – all things that have become the stuff of our weekly conversations.

So when Roo blogged about this the other day, I thought about it.  What would we do if our income simply and magically doubled?

If our income doubled:

  • I’d pay more down on student loans, and get them paid down faster.  As of right now, I’m on the track to have them down in a few years, but shortening that time would be amazing, and help me to sleep better at night.
  • We’d save more.  Thankfully, my husband is awesome at saving, but having a nest – for a bad day, for our parents as they get older, for kids and a college fund?  I want more savings for that.  The thought of getting caught with my pants down like so many folks did a few years ago really scares me.
  • We would travel more.  I would just love love love to go places, anywhere, with my husband.  I’d love to go to Alaska, go to Hawaii, go to Greece, go to Bora Bora – just beautiful places where we can go hiking and swimming together without checking our email.  The thought just makes me so happy!
  • I would race more.  Right now, I race as much as the budget will allow – but I would definitely race more if I could afford a few more registration fees and to travel to where all these races were.

And that’s really all I’d like.  Not too much to ask is it?

What would you do if your income suddenly doubled?

The finances #weddingwednesday

| cheriarmour

I started this last Wednesday when I previewed the March of the Brides with Diamonds Direct Crabtree, and I’m keeping it going!!!  I’m essatly 149 days away from the big day (eep) and it’s time to get serious.  I think I officially got serious last week when I kind of looked at the official wedding countdown and realized that no, we weren’t throwing a Superbowl Party, but that we were throwing a wedding.

DSC_0070

Anyhoo, let’s move along to talk about something that’s not so fun.  And something that I probably need your help with.

The finances. 

So regardless of how you guys choose to do the money after you get married, whether you smoosh it all together, or keep it completely separate, there’s going to be some merging because you probably want to be on the same cell phone plan.  You might want to have both names on the deed when you buy a house.  You might want to buy an SUV together.  You get what I’m saying.  And then the issues of who makes how much will arise, and if you’re like me, you’ve talked about it already.

I am a social worker by day, and Austin is an engineer.  Social workers generally do not make a lot of money, and engineers make a little more.  And though Austin has never in the least made me feel this way, I fear, in the tiniest spot, hidden in the darkest corner of my brain, that because I make so little and he makes a good bit more, that I’m considered the “dead weight” in the relationship.

I know with my brain that it’s a silly thing to think, but sometimes, usually when I’m feeling self-conscious about other things, my self-consciousness about money will creep back in, and I feel the feverish need to find some crazy job, completely unrelated to my field that will make me lots of money so that financially, Austin and I will stand on equal footing.

I know that’s crazy.

But does any one else ever feel this way?  How do I push these nasty feelings away and focus on my skills, rather than my self-perceived shortcomings?

Wedding Wednesday

LINK UP!!!!