Wants & Needs

WANTS & NEEDS

Before I get to the baby savings, the Ginger and I need to get our everyday spending in order. We currently live the lifestyle we thought we would have as adults…going to hip restaurants in town, constantly getting new clothes, buying the latest gadget to impress ourselves. But the thing is, we’re not really ready to live that lifestyle yet. We went from being poor college kids straight to plastic-swiping “adults”. We need to find a happy medium (leaning more towards the poor college lifestyle) to still have fun but to live within our means. I know this all sounds very obvious to some, but we are just now realizing that we can’t just buy what we want while we pay only the minimums on our loans. Better late than never, right?

Our first step in the process is to decide what we actually need to live. Now I know our need list might be outrageous to some (iPhones and Netflix? What?), but we’ve decided that the only way to stick to this is to be realistic. We cut out the most expensive things in our lives and have decided that we have to keep some of our daily joys to keep sane. As time goes by, we can probably cut out more.  For now this will be our guide.

Wants (after May 1 we’re cutting these things from our budget):

Cable

Going out to eat

Tickets to shows and concerts

Loft, Target and Etsy shopping (basically clothes, shoes, housewares)

Birchbox/make-up purchases

Soccer jerseys

Amazon instant movie purchases

Movies in theaters

Daily coffee from shop

Haircuts at my favorite salon

More than one beer at soccer games or watch parties (for the Ginger, obv)

Needs:

Rent

Utilities (keeping lights and air conditioning/heat low or off)

Groceries (after going through all the food in the house)

Car payment and insurance

Some gas

Doctor co-pays and medicine

Bus pass for the Ginger

Netflix

iPhones (we use our phones to check email for work a lot)

As a final hurrah before the spend fast starts tomorrow, the Ginger and I have concert tickets tonight for the Black Keys and will treat ourselves to a “Last Supper”, if you will, at a restaurant downtown. I’m excited for tonight, but I am so looking forward to May 1 to begin this spend freeze. It almost feels like a game since it’s a challenge. I can’t wait to see how much we can save in month one and then try to beat it each month!

Winning!

Over the weekend, the Ginger and I attended a fun event in our community, A Taste of Brookline. We sampled food from the local shops and bars (no drinks for me, obv) in our neighborhood. It was a great time, but at a price. I bought the $65 tickets pre-spend freeze which doesn’t officially begin until May 1. I know I won’t be spending that much money on events like this for a while, but we still had a blast. And best of all, I won two, count ‘em, two raffle baskets! In that I feel like I made my ticket money back! 

The first basket I won was for a $75 photo session with a local photographer and $75 worth of prints! How perfect is that?? The session expires next April, so it will be no problem to use it for our maternity photos! We’ll probably wait until October to have those taken. 

The second basket I won was called the Art of Beauty. It was valued at $170! It included samples of professional shampoos and conditioners, full size bottles of Redken shampoo, conditioner, hair spray and heat spray! Best of all, it came with a gift certificate for a free haircut! I had planned on simply trimming my hair myself during the spend freeze, so I’ll have at least one more professional cut! Yay! The basket also included an original painting in a gorgeous frame and five notecard prints from the same artist! 

I know that this spend freeze will be hard and I won’t always get free stuff, but it was such a treat to start out with some luck! 

We're Having a Baby!

Last Sunday I experienced the longest three minutes of my life…twice (two tests). As the Ginger and I waited for a ‘yes’ or 'no’ to appear on the pregnancy test, a million thoughts ran through my mind. A big portion of those three minutes was wasted thinking about money rather than this amazing miracle that was happening!

We planned this pregnancy, just as we planned to start a spending freeze two months ago. But the freeze has not gone as planned, with more than one shopping trip to the Loft and several dinners out.

As the Ginger and I sat in anticipation, I thought of all the purchases I will need to make in the next nine months. I started adding up numbers in my head. Then I realized that even in this moment I was thinking about shopping. And that’s when I knew I have to stop talking about changing my spending habits and actually change them. The first step in this process is getting rid of debt: student loans, credit cards, and a car payment. When I am debt-free, money won’t be ever-present in my thoughts. So when the 'yes’ finally appeared, I fully recommitted myself to a spending freeze.

May 1, 2013 begins my total spend freeze, spending money on only essentials, rather than wants. I want to raise a child in a home where we don’t live paycheck to paycheck, and I don’t want to raise a child to be obsessed with material things.

Drowning

For years I have been proud of my work ethic. I had my first job at 14 and haven’t stopped working since, even through college where I worked at least two jobs at any given time (dog kennel, university TV studio, local TV station). 

Despite all this work, I never seem to have money. My jobs in college never paid for school or loans, they funded my need for stuff. Clothes, make-up, shoes, haircuts, just stuff that I didn’t really need but I thought would make me feel better or give me confidence.

From college to the real world, I haven’t stopped adding to my stuff collection. Fancy pillows, kitchen gadgets, Etsy prints, my collection is growing. And it’s not only stuff ripping through my pay check, but activities are getting more expensive and frequent, too. Charity and alumni events, theater and comedy shows, dinners…these activities make me feel like a successful twenty-something. 

However, the amount of debt I have does not make me feel very successful. With student loans, a car payment, and credit cards I have finally realized it’s time to make a change.

The Ginger and I have started a spending fast, inspired by the blog And Then We Saved. It’s eye-opening to add up all that we spend in a month and then add up our debt. We’ve decided on a five year plan to be debt free. Debt free means we have the opportunity to spend on things we actually want to spend on, vacations, a house, etc. rather than on student loans. 

We’re making big cuts. We have a list of our actual needs versus our wants. We’ll be sticking to only the needs. I’ll be updating on our progress. 

(And is it coincidence that this post comes after a three week trip to Italy? Eesh.)

“TRAVEL NOW…

                                                                 …while you’re still young.“

If I hear that from one more person I’m going to scream! Countless people have given me this "advice” after my recent trip to Italy.

I spent three weeks with the Ginger, my parents, my sister and my Italian cousins in Rome. We saw all the traditional Roman sights (Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Colosseum), traveled to to a few different cities in Italy, and best of all ate and talked with my Italian family. All of these experiences just make me want to come back again and again, but I’m constantly told that when I have a baby I will basically be chained to the U.S. and stuck in a minivan driving to Ocean City, Maryland. 

I politely smile at these “wise” adults that are trying to help me prepare for my future, but on the inside I’m reminding myself that I can never let that happen. I want to see everything and go everywhere. I hope I can allow my future children to do the same. I will never stop traveling and exploring…even if that means I need to bring a stroller and change dirty diapers in front of the Roman Forum or inside the Louvre. I will do whatever it takes, because honestly is an 8-hour plane ride any different from an 8-hour car ride to the beach? 

High Five for Friday: Thankful Edition

1. I am so thankful to have spent an amazing Thanksgiving Day surrounded by family and friends. Not everyone one I love could be there, but I love everyone that did attend.

2. OK I just love this necklace from Ann Taylor Loft. It definitely completed my outfit for the holiday! 

3. My mom and I took a cake pop class at my favourite Pittsburgh bakery, Dozen. We had a fantastic time and made the cutest treats!

4. I am actually thankful that I worked on Black Friday. I didn’t even get the chance to go shopping, which is a great thing because I’ve been a bit buying crazy lately! And of course, I’m thankful for my job!

5. I am thankful that my parents are happily married, 32 years strong. I know many happy and complete families that have divorce in them, but I have such good role models for a successful marriage, and it truly makes holidays much easier when 

everyone gets along!

QUINOA-STUFFED ACORN SQUASH RINGS

My dinner table has been pretty awesome this fall. A number of things have helped make that happen…1. Pinterest, 2. my CSA box, 3. motivation!

My CSA is full of seasonal, local produce. Just as I was intimidated with a butternut squash, I was scared of an acorn squash! Luckily, I was born into a time when Pinterest exists and found this easy and DELICIOUS recipe!

Original Recipe

Quinoa-Stuffed Acorn Squash Rings

Ingredients

• olive oil mister
• ½ c. quinoa
• 1 c. vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 apple, cored and diced
• ½ c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• ¼ c. dried cranberries
• 2 tbsp. dried chopped sage
• 2 tbsp. chopped almonds
• salt + pepper to taste
• 1 egg, whisked
• 3 small acorn squash, cut into ½-inch slices (remove seeds & guts)
• 1 tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray two rimmed baking sheets with cooking spray or oil and place squash rings on sheets.
2. Cook quinoa in broth according to package directions. Cool slightly.
3. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion. Cook about 10 minutes, or until onion is just beginning to brown. Add apple and cook about 5 minutes more, until apple is softened. Allow to cool slightly.
4. Combine quinoa, apple and onion mixture, cheese, cranberries, sage, and walnuts in a large bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in egg.
5. In a small bowl, combine butter and maple syrup. Brush tops and insides of squash rings with butter mixture; season with salt and pepper.
6. Stuff quinoa filling into the center of each squash ring, pressing down to fit as much stuffing as possible without overflowing. Spray centers of squash rings with oil or cooking spray. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and squash is tender.

High Five for Friday

MY HIGH FIVE FOR FRIDAY

To celebrate the fact that it’s Friday (even though technically with my work schedule it’s Monday) here are a few of my favorite things from this week!

• Celebrating Light Up Night in Pittsburgh with my family!
• My adorable puppy in her new sweater for the cold weather!
• I’m producing a video for Comcast and got to be part of a great day honoring Veterans. WV Senator Jay Rockefeller (like Rockefeller center, Rockefeller!) supported the effort, as well. 
• I really love this month’s Birchbox!
• Ohh how I love fall drinks…caramel apple-tini!

Butternut Squash Lasagna

More and more I’ve been trying to cook seasonally. Having a CSA, or Community Supported Agriculture, has been a huge help in achieving that! This week I got a butternut squash in the box…and to tell you the truth, I was a little intimidated. I come from a family of great cooks and there’s a lot to live up to. I’m still in the beginning stages of learning how to cook. Given my novice status in the kitchen, I thought that using this squash would be complicated. Luckily, I was wrong! I came across this great recipe for Butternut Squash Lasagna on Pinterest (my favorite site ever) from Better Homes and Gardens. It took a bit of time, but was relatively easy and tasted AMAZING (so amazing that the Ginger had four pieces!).

Here’s the recipe I used:

Makes: 8 to 10 servings

Prep: 45 mins Bake: 375°F 50 mins

Roast: 425°F 25 mins to 30 mins

Stand: 10 mins (this step is super important…it’s too runny to serve immediately)

What you need:

- 3 pounds of butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into ¼ to ½ inch thick slices

-3 Tbsp olive oil

-½ tsp salt

teaspoon salt

-¼ cup butter

-6 cloves garlic, minced

-¼ cup flour

-½ tsp salt

-4 cups milk

-1 Tbsp fresh rosemary

-9 lasagna noodles (no boil or do like me and boil them) 

-1 1/3 cup shredded Parmesean cheese

-1 cup whipping cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Place squash in the prepared baking pan. Add oil and ½ teaspoon salt; toss gently to coat. Spread in an even layer. Roast, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes or until squash is tender, stirring once. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees F.

2. For sauce:: Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, heat butter over medium heat. Add garlic; cook and stir for 1 minute. Stir in flour and ½ teaspoon salt. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in squash and rosemary.

3. Lightly grease a 13x9x2-inch baking dish or 3-quart rectangular casserole. To assemble, spread about 1 cup of the sauce in the the prepared baking dish. Layer three of the noodles in dish. Spread with one-third of the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the Pamesan cheese. Repeat layering noodles, sauce, and Parmesan cheese two more times. Pour whipping cream evenly over layers in dish. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese.

4. Cover dish with foil. Bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake about 10 minutes more or until edges are bubbly and top is lightly browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Trick Or Treat

After five years as a couple, the Ginger and I took a big step…we did couple costumes for Halloween! We had a great holiday with two parties to attend. If either of them had a prize for best dressed, we would have totally won! You decide:

Can you guess who we went as? I’ll give you a hint…

We even dressed up our puppy, Lucy for the season. She was pretty wiped out after the Halloween fun!

I can’t wait to have kids one day to trick or treat with, but for now I love being a 25-year-old, hanging out with friends, drinking tequila, playing beer pong and being ridiculous!

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