Surprise

Fill your life with experiences, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show.

 

Nate and I have always valued experiences over materials. We think it’s an important outlook on life to have. The truly important things in life are few, and being with each other and creating memories together is one of them. Last Thursday, Nate gave me an early anniversary card. He included this excerpt from an article (http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/can-money-buy-happiness?page=2): 

Many people assume that filling a large house with possessions will make them happiest. So why might a cooking class or vacation getaway trump a new kitchen floor or TV?

In one recent study, Cornell University researchers found that purchasing an experience tended to improve well-being more than buying a possession, in part because people are more prone to comparisons and buyer’s remorse with material goods.

Also, objects tend to deteriorate with time, but experiences can create lasting memories. If you share lessons or dinners and vacations with others, the social connections can make you happier, too, experts say.

“Experiences are just easier to appreciate,” says Lyubomirsky, who didn't work on the Cornell study. “We are made happier by experiences. You’re more likely to recall it. It’s more likely to become part of your identity. You’re the sum of your experiences, not the sum of your possessions.”

Even though we have been budgeting a lot and throwing as much money as we can at our loans, Nate also pointed out that we should reward ourselves and create more memories together. The surprise is that Nate planned us a trip to Sanibel Island, Florida in December! I'm so excited to explore the island together. It will be like a second honeymoon, since the “honeymoon” we went on last year was with all of my family. We will be paying for this by not making any extra payments toward our loans in November. 

I’m a lucky girl to have a husband who is super good at being financially conscious and responsible, but also one who realizes that sometimes you just have to take a vacation, relax, enjoy new experiences, and just be together. 

Brief Marriage Reflections

Nate and I have our first wedding anniversary in a few weeks. When people tell you that it goes by fast, they aren’t lying. For the past couple days I’ve been reminiscing about our last year together and just how grateful and blessed I am to truly have a husband who supports and loves me to no end. Looking back on our first year of marriage, I’m proud of us as a couple. Some people say that the first year is tough, but for us, it wasn’t. I think this first year we have built a great foundation, especially because we have really mastered communicating with each other. Focusing on paying off debt has driven us to communicate openly and clearly with each other, and that has transferred over to all areas of our life. This past year we have also done a lot of “dreaming” for what we want our of life together, and that has us both excited for the future, short- and long-term.

I’ve also been thinking of what kind of wife I am and want to be. With Nate and I both working, Nate studying to be a CPA, me coaching a dance team, and us both taking care of the dog, it can be difficult to focus on what the other needs and wants. But I think I’ve done a pretty good job at supporting Nate with all of his endeavors. And I know that, essentially, him getting his CPA will hopefully enable me to become a stay-at-home mom. So for that I’m sincerely grateful. I cook and clean a lot, because I value it and actually enjoy doing it in our marriage. I love when I’m able to have dinner cooking and hand Nate a drink when he gets home from work. Call me traditional.

We started this blog as a way to work through the "burden" of paying off debt, but it has become a blessing because in doing so, it has taught us more about who we are in our marriage, and has taught us how to work together. 

 This is the very first picture we took together, only a few days after we started dating. Now we will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary in a few short weeks. Exciting times are ahead!

Catching Up

It’s been almost four months since we have blogged last. Super sorry; blogging just got away from us. Aside from being busy with summer activities, the summer was actually demotivating for us. I originally thought that it would be easier to save and put more money toward our debt in the summer. I figured that we would be able to do fun, free activities outside. Buuuuuuut it turned out that the things we wanted to do took money because we wanted to be out and about more—going to the lake, happy hours on patios, etc. We didn’t totally get derailed, but we did loose motivation a little bit.

On the upside, though, we did manage to make extra payments toward our loans. With the payments we made and with a very generous gift of a family member, we were able to pay down roughly 20% of our original outstanding amount. We are planning an anniversary trip to Duluth, MN, in October, and we plan on rededicating the intensity after that.

Here are some other updates in our super exciting lives: 

-I (Shaina) got a new job! I still work in publishing, but it was just time to move onward and upward. Plus, I’m making more moolah.

-Nate passed his second CPA exam! He will start studying for his third exam very soon. If he passes his third and fourth on schedule, he will be done in February.

-My sister-in-law had a baby in August! Her name is Avrie and she is just so adorable.  I’m happy to love on another baby before Nate and I have our own.

More posts to come soon!

Lastly, here are some pictures of the pup. Just because.