Growing up, my favorite part of Easter was Pysanka eggs. From my birth until a few years ago, my grandmother painstakingly made all of her grandchildren a new design each year, and I loved (and still love) to look at the eggs each year when we take them out of their crates. They’re so delicate that it’s impossible to ship them and challenging to travel with them, so my whole collection is at home in Connecticut right now and unable to be shared with you all. Some day! Until then, I’m inspired by these five marvelous and modern techniques…

From top to bottom: watercolor Easter eggs by Spoon Fork Bacon; gilded Easter eggs via HGTV; neon dip-dyed Easter eggs by Merriment Events via Oh Joy (photo by Katie Stoops); golden marbled Easter eggs by SheKnows; speckled Easter eggs by Sandy Toes and Popsicles

Which one is your favorite?

We’ve had a nice little break from Marvelous Money posts (maybe to let the first three sink in?), but they’re back in action! I thought before we talked about ways to track a budget, it would be good to address saving money’s other half: spending money.

Yep, we’re talking about spending money today! [Keep in mind that we’re talking about spending money you’ve already budgeted for — I’m assuming you’ve already taken care of everything else in your budget (retirement, savings, etc.), and this is money you’re going to spend no matter what.] I firmly believe that how you spend your money is far more important than how much of it you have. Money can either be a powerful tool, or a source of endless frustration. I think the key to making money the former, and not the latter, is four-fold.

1. Figure out what you value. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? We should spend money on things we value? We know this, but I think a lot of us don’t do it. The Starbucks example gets picked on a lot (you know, stop wasting money on your daily latte and brew coffee at home), but if the ritual of a morning cup of joe prepared especially for you truly makes you happy, then go for it! When you know what you value (whether it be security, family, convenience, heritage, adventure, and/or love), you will know exactly how you should spend your money in order to bring more joy into your life.

2. Buy more experiences and fewer material goods. John is a HUGE proponent of this strategy. And I think he’s right — people generally don’t reminisce about that great toaster they bought in the 90’s… they reminisce about the time they went to the Grand Canyon, or Aruba, or the mountains of North Carolina for a weekend away. Experiences take you out of your normal existence, they introduce you to new things, they make your life richer by having happened. In a phrase, they’re high impact spending. I also like that experiences bring joy even before they happen, as studies have shown that the largest boost in happiness around vacations comes from the simple act of planning a vacation. In the study, the effect of vacation anticipation boosted happiness for eight weeks!

3. Use your money to benefit others rather than yourself. This is a lesson that comes with growing older, I think, as we learn that it really is better to give than to receive. There are few things that please me more than choosing and handing over the perfect gift for someone, something that I know will improve their life and make them happy. Likewise, even if you’re spending 100% in line with your values (see no. 1), if you’re spending only on yourself, it will eventually start to feel empty if you never consider others. This short video (watch it!!) really drives that point home. There are very few ways to spend money that would be more rewarding, don’t you think? As I Like Giving’s tagline says, living generously is a surefire way to spend your money without regret.

4. Appreciate what you have. No. 2 might be John’s favorite, but this one is mine. If you want to spend your money well, learn to cultivate gratitude for what you have, and for the things that you buy. Buying only what you truly love makes this very easy. You might think I’m joking, but not a week goes by when I don’t say to John, “Man, I love this couch!” Our couch was one of the first “big” items we purchased on our own, and we saved for MONTHS to afford it. I loved it then, and I love it now. If you only buy things that you love, it will be easier to feel grateful for what you have instead of resentful and guilty about the clutter that surrounds you.

What do you think, my friends? Which one of these spending strategies resonates most with you?

P.S. Marget passed me this article a while ago, and though I only read the abstract, its findings definitely rang true for me!

P.P.S. Please don’t think by my second graphic I mean you should find your happiness in the accumulation of wealth; far from it. I simply mean that your money should be a blessing to you, not a burden; if it feels like a burden, you’re probably not spending it right.

Happy Monday, friends! I’m here with the final post in our wedding series — at least for now :) I wanted to share our budget breakdown, in the hopes that it might be helpful for those of you currently planning.

A little background:
Date of wedding: September 15, 2012
Location: Southeastern Connecticut
Number of guests: 115
Contributors: My parents (43%), John’s parents (33%), John and me (13%), and my grandmother (11%)

I know that pie chart is tricky to see, so here’s the breakdown, from most to least:

33.7% ON CATERING | Includes food, staffing, bar, and tip.

17.4% ON RENTALS | Includes our 32×70′ Sperry tent with string and onion lighting, a catering tent, 15 high top tables, 11 8′ tables, 4 6′ tables, 9 36″ round tables, 2 bar back tables, 45 black chairs, a 16×16 black and white dance floor, four couches, 16 linens of various sizes from La Tavola, 16 basic linens from our local rental company, and a generator. The generator was a last-minute expense (like, the day before the wedding) that pushed this category way up.

9.8% ON PHOTOGRAPHY | Includes Tanja and Tia’s travel but does not include any sort of album.

6.3% ON CINEMATOGRAPHY | Includes a highlight and feature film; Inkspot did not charge us for travel as described here.

5.9% ON LOCATION | Our ceremony venue was free, so this includes use of the O’Neill’s Sea Porch and Sunken Garden.

5.8% ON FLOWERS | Includes 1 bridal bouquet, 4 bridesmaid bouquets, 2 small nosegays for our moms, 2 pin-on corsages for our grandmothers, 8 boutonnieres for the gents, 2 wreaths for the church doors, 21 small to medium centerpieces for the tent, 6 small centerpieces for cocktail hour high tops, and arrangements for the guest book, bar, and gift tablea.

5.4% ON BAND | Includes fee and tip.

4.5% ON GIRL ATTIRE | Includes my gown minus the amount we sold it for, alterations and cleaning post-wedding, my shoes, and half of my veil (I split it with my sister in law!).

2.7% ON HAIR & MAKEUP | Includes hair and makeup for the bride, as well as some subsidizing of hair for 5 others and makeup for 6 others.

2.3% ON STATIONERY | Includes 90 9×18″ custom-designed flat-printed invitations and envelopes, 90 response cards and envelopes, save the dates and envelopes, and postage for all of the above.

2% ON RECEPTION/COCKTAIL HOUR DECOR | Includes the four ottomans and four side tables we purchased from Ikea, all of the silver centerpiece vessels, our cubbies, candles, photo frames, etc.

1.6% ON THE CEREMONY | Includes bell and bow materials, our string trio, travel costs for our pastor, etc.

1.2% ON BOY ATTIRE | Includes John’s tux, tuxedo shirt, dress shoes, suspenders, cuff links, and tailoring.

1% ON DAY-OF COORDINATOR | This was a bit less than usual because Diana is a friend of ours.

.25% ON MISC. DIY PROJECTS | Includes various frames, signage materials, calligraphy ink, stickers for the poppers, etc.

.13% ON OTHER | I actually realized this entire category was made up of ribbon – ha!

Whew! I hope this was helpful! Note that this did not include our wedding bands, gifts, rehearsal dinner items, or our honeymoon or minimoon. I tried to include everything else but certainly could have missed a few things.

WHERE WE SAVED:
— I sold my gown post-wedding and recouped more than 50% of the cost. A designer gown would have been out of the question otherwise.
— I borrowed most of my accessories from friends and family or wore things I already owned. Marget and I also split our veil.
— Paying our bar on consumption versus a fixed price per person was a huge savings for us — over 50%.
— Our ceremony spot was so beautiful that we didn’t feel we needed any additional decor beyond the door wreaths.
— We splurged on custom designed invitations, but saved on flat printing versus engraved or letterpress.
— I made most of our signage with materials I already owned instead of paying someone else to do it. I also addressed our save the dates and invitations myself.
— We opted to drive my car instead of rent a vintage one for the day, and I restrained myself from purchasing custom cocktail napkins.
— We played a custom CD at cocktail hour instead of hiring musicians.

WHERE WE SPLURGED:
— A videographer. SO WORTH IT.
— Having a tapas style reception meant our staffing costs were much higher than they would have been over a buffet or sit-down style, but it was the bedrock of the “feel” we were going for.
— A Sperry tent versus a standard frame or pole tent.
— John’s dress shoes were about six times as expensive as mine (ha!) but because they’re dress shoes and not tuxedo shoes, he can wear them to work, church, etc. for years to come.
— We booked a luxe, large hotel room for Friday and Saturday night instead of staying at our nearby homes. The gals used it to get ready on Saturday morning and John and I stayed in it Saturday night.

Those are just a few examples for each category — I’m sure I could list many more.

One last thing I wanted to say: Weddings are my passion, and I’ve had a vision for my own for a long time. We have wonderfully generous parents that were happy to contribute to our special day, but early on I knew there were going to be costs going above and beyond the usual ones that I simply wouldn’t expect them to cover — namely top of the line photography and cinematography. We spent WAY more on capturing our day than most people would have, and it was important to me that John and I helped make up that cost. I started saving in college for our wedding, and I don’t regret it for a second. (Granted, not everyone knows who they’re going to marry at that point, but I did!) If you think you fall into the same category as me, start saving your pennies now! :)

I’d be happy to try and answer questions in the comments!

P.S. If you’d like to compare our percentages to the “average,” check out this link or this link.

February was such a good month — I was able to share our wedding from start to finish with you all, and we capped things off with my birthday yesterday. Thank you again for the well wishes!

Ryan Ray

I did pretty well with my February goals despite a busier than anticipated month — I got to everything but the Valentine’s Day packages, though I will admit I ticked off several last night! Just in the nick of time.

This month, I will:
— Photograph our apartment to share on EFM
— Read another biography (for no. 61)
— Investigate eBates, and possibly sign up
— Finish the Gospel of John (reading along with COR)
— Decorate some eggies for Easter

You can see all of my 101 in 1001 goals here and my 2013 daily goals here. If you’d like to share your goals for March, I’d love for you to either list them in the comments or leave a link, and I promise I’ll check them out!