Family Christmas 2013
Hey everyone! I hope all of you are having a great week. If you haven’t read it yet, please read my post that was published on Monday – Do You Make Excuses For Why You’re Not Following Your Dream?
I really like Question and Answer type posts lately where I can just talk and talk and talk.
It’s also nice because hopefully readers can learn more about me and I can also learn more about all of you as well.
The other day I asked everyone on Twitter to send me any question that they want, and I said I would answer them.
Comment with your answers below! And if you would like me to answer a question of your own, you can always ask in the comments as well.
What is your best time management tip?
This is something that I am asked all the time. Recently I created a post on having a successful work-life balance.
My top tip would probably be to rank your tasks in order of importance, and then knock them out in that order. However, if you have a task that will take a short amount of time (such as 5 minutes), then just knock it out so that you don’t have to think about it.
Being able to cross things off my to do list always feels nice.
How much will your wedding end up costing you?
We are now deep into the wedding planning process, and boy there is a lot more work than I thought that there would be. I have been buying some little things every now and then, and now I really just have all of the big things (and the most expensive parts of the wedding) to look forward to.
I believe that we have around another $10,000 to spend, and that is with around $2,000 of cushion in the budget because I am sure that I will forget something. We have already negotiated and paid for around $4,000 to $5,000 as well.
In total, our wedding will probably be right under $15,000. It’s a little more than I wanted to spend since we do have to pay for everything ourselves, but that’s not a bad amount for the amount of people that we are having.
And, yes, I do realize that this is a personal finance blog but we have budgeted and saved for our wedding!
What I want you guys to answer is: a) How much you actually spent on your wedding; and b) How much you planned/plan to spend.
What is your ideal sized home?
Our home right now is around 2,500 square feet if you include our finished basement. I would say that something around 2,000 to 2,500 square feet not including a basement would be my ideal home size for our next home when we have kids running wildly all over the place.
What’s your favorite movie?
The other day I went to the bank, and a bank teller had a little frame on her desk that stated her name and a little tidbit about herself. She said her favorite movie was The Town. If any of you have ever seen that movie then you will understand why that is just a tad funny…
Anyway, my favorite movie… I don’t even know. I like a lot of mafia, zombie, and some other weird movies. Oh yeah and I could watch any movie with Leonardo DiCaprio about 1,000,000 times and I have pretty much loved every movie that he has been in. I love a lot of the normal classics that everyone seems to like, but I also really like the movies Casino and Goodfellas.
Childhood movies that I love include ET (of course!) and Flight of the Navigator. If you know what Flight of the Navigator is then we will probably become best friends.
What is a weird dream of yours?
A definite farfetched dream of mine (Wes has the same dream), would be to sell all our stuff and buy a sailboat. I read a good amount of sailing blogs and sometimes I even stalk sailing forums like it’s my job.
I do think it sounds wonderful, but I have also read many sailing blogs where they talk about how much work it is so I do know that it’s not all just a fairytale.
Your turn!
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DC @ Young Adult Money says
Oh I would love to have 2,500 square feet not counting a basement for our next home! We have almost 2,000 but we really only use the 1,000 on the first floor. Definitely will be looking for more space in our next home. I’ve never thought about living out of a sailboat but it sounds interesting.
Michelle S. says
I never really thought about sailboat living until I started reading sailing blogs and I read about all of the awesome places they all visit.
Michelle S. says
I’m fine with either. I do like older homes more, so usually they have bad layouts which means that more square footage is needed.
Dave @ The New York Budget says
I always loved Flight of the Navigator and not just because the main character’s name is David (although that did play a part).
In terms of time management, I LOVE the service: followupthen.com
I suppose it is a bit more email/productivity management, but it ends up saving me time and stress as well. Don’t let emails sit in your inbox – just forward them and other reminders to, for instance, 1week@followupthen.com and it will email you back in a week (change the first part of the email address for different timeframes).
Michelle S. says
WOHOO! I’m glad I found another person who knows what Flight of the Navigator is. That makes 2 people now that I have met 🙂
John S @ Frugal Rules says
I think that’s a good size for a house and one we want to move up to. We’re at about 1500-1600 square feet and is starting to get a bit small for us, especially now that I lost my office. 🙂 My favorite movie…that’s a tough one. I love Braveheart, Tombstone and any Star Wars flick, but I’m a sucker for mafia movies – which drives my wife nuts!
Michelle S. says
Haha I probably like mafia movies more than most people!
Holly@ClubThrifty says
I like your Halloween pic, Michelle! My best time management tip is to turn my email and phone off while I’m working!
Michelle S. says
Yes, that is something that I need to start doing! Even if I just push my phone a little further away, that still helps.
Allison says
She had The Town as her favorite movie! That’s a little crazy for a banker!
I don’t have a home size preference. I think if its laid out well, that is the difference maker.
Michelle S. says
Haha I know, right?!
Mrs PoP @ Planting Our Pennies says
Our first big savings focus was to buy a sailboat and leave for a couple of years =). That’s taken a back burner to some other goals, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we still do it someday. V
Michelle S. says
That’s awesome that another pf blogger has a similar dream! 🙂
FI Pilgrim says
I’m not a huge fan of Leo as a person, but as an actor he’s great. Catch Me If You Can and Inception are two of my favorites of his.
Michelle S. says
Yes, love those movies!
Raquel@Practical Cents says
We spent around $5000 for our wedding. We had around 60 guests. Close family and friends only. We were able to splurge on food, drinks and a live band. I also enjoy Leo’s movies. I was just reading a review on “The Wolf of Wallstreet”, can’t wait to check that movie out.
Michelle S. says
That’s awesome Raquel. We are only having close friends and family as well, but W has a HUGE family (I think his mom has 10 siblings and his dad has 8)!
Amanda @ Passionately Simple Life says
I think for home size, it would definitely be around 1200 to 1500 sq ft. I’ve always loved small homes, and luckily I found someone who doesn’t like having a lot of stuff, however, he prefers just having space. And my favorite movie is O Brother Where Art Thou!
Michelle S. says
Great size! 🙂
Alexa says
My biggest time management tip is do the hardest thing on your to do list first – each and every day. You’ll have so much less stress if you do!
I love Casino as well! Although right now I’m kinda of in love with Sons of Anarchy – Jax in particular 😉 I know it’s not a movie but I bought all the seasons and went on like a three week SOA binge 😉 Can’t wait for season six to come out on DVD!!
Michelle S. says
I love SOA as well! Jax is awesome 🙂
MonicaOnMoney says
I also agree with a home around 2,000 sq ft, mine is closer to 1,500 sq ft and I sometimes wish I had more space!
Michelle S. says
Yeah, sometimes we feel like we have just enough, and then other times we wish we had a little more.
Ryan @ Impersonal Finance says
I’ve never sailed, but I bought a book at Goodwill on learning how to sail like an expert… so you and I definitely have that dream in common. Although it’s very expensive, I think it would be worth it!
Michelle S. says
Haha I bought a book just like that as well!
Michelle S. says
I agree! It’s all about the layout for me.
Michelle S. says
Yes, prioritizing is always important! Thanks for your answers 🙂
sara says
Currently in a 1200 sq foot home and I feel like its too small for our family of 4. I would love a home at 2500 sq feet but more importantly a home with big closets.
As for my wedding I budgeted 30k and I think we ended up spending at least 5k more. I should preface that my wedding costs were pretty average for NY.
Michelle S. says
Yeah, I want nice big closets as well. I have a decent sized one right now, but the location of it is just the weirdest thing – it’s smack dab in the middle of our house.
EL @ Moneywatch101 says
Time management tip- Get done what’s on your mind immediately and do not wait.
Home size- 2,000 sounds good
Fav Movie- Dragon -Bruce Lee story
Dream- To be free financially and travel on a whim
Dream 2- To make my own wood furniture (Not IKEA)
Michelle S. says
I have thought about making my own wood furniture as well!
Tanya says
my house is 1700 so a 2500 sounds really nice!!
Michelle S. says
Haha well if you don’t include the basement we are right around 1,200.
Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life says
I’m gonna have to try out that time management strategy. I always waste my day getting caught up in the small things.
Michelle S. says
Yes, same here!
Leslie Beslie says
Aww I didn’t realize Flight of the Navigator wasn’t a well-known movie! We watched it several times in elementary school!
Michelle S. says
Haha I only have ONE friend who knows of the movie.
eemusings says
LOL! I’ve heard of it before (I think through T who knows every movie ever made and likes the weirdest films, such as Benny and June). I don’t recall having watched it though.
Michelle S. says
Haha it was definitely a good movie when I was a kid.
Lindsey @ Cents & Sensibility says
Hi Michelle, I’m glad to hear your new self-employed status is working out well and let’s you come out of the anonymous closet! It sounds like your wedding planning is coming along, building in a buffer is a good idea – I can’t tell you how many things I forgot when planning mine!
Michelle S. says
Yes, I think of something that I’m forgetting nearly everyday!
Laurie @thefrugalfarmer says
LOL, we actually owned Flight of the Navigator at one time!!! Score one for the Frugal Farmer family. 🙂 I think you guys are doing great on wedding expenses. $15,000 is not unreasonable in this day and age, and you’ve saved the cash, so, great job! I think we paid roughly 10k for our wedding 18 years ago, which was not over our budget b/c we had no sense of a budget at that time – just spent whatever we wanted. Ugh!
Michelle S. says
Haha you are awesome then for knowing what movie I’m talking about! 🙂
Michelle S. says
Yes, he picks awesome roles!
SavvyFinancialLatina says
We just bought our house. It’s 1500 sq ft. and it feels huge. But I get that when you have kids you might want extra room. For me it would just be too much to keep up with right now.