budgeting 101

when we got married lance and i decided to be smart and BUDGET. yes yes, it is an entirely new concept to me (i think it is for lance too, he just wont admit it, haha). needless to say, the first month was a bit difficult for me! put yourself in my shoes: you are newly married, you've just moved into a new apartment together and you want to make it look like a cute, cozy home. according to oprah's interior design guy, nate, the top 5 cheapest ways to make a house look good are: 1) paint, 2) rugs, 3) accent pillows, 4) lamps/lamp shades, 5) throws. so obviously i put lance to work straightaway, and he did a FABULOUS job painting the place. we used some of our pottery barn gift cards to buy some accent pillows and a nice throw, all of which started to transform our apartment into a home, and we didn't even spend a dime! BUT...it still needed a few more things, and this is when the whole budgeting thing got hard. see, the budget we agreed upon (more like the budget lance set for me!) didn't allow for me to buy everything i wanted all at once..obviously. so i had to decide what i wanted the most and go with that. my mother (who has a very keen sense when it comes to decorating) suggested an area rug...so that's what i bought. i had a little money left for the month of january, with which i bought curtains.. they are not the best quality but they still make the place look more like home. then i hung some pictures and a wreath on the wall and voila...a cozy, comfy apartment, all for a reasonable price. i may have gone a little over budget, just don't tell lance!!!
with his money, lance bought the aerosmith version of guitar hero and another guitar...now we can play together! the best part is he waited until january 31st to use his "allowance" for the month of january and i had already spent half of my february allowance! hopefully i will get better at this budgeting thing!