Tag: budget

31 days

31 days – fall 2013 – making our place “home”, pt. 2

Rachel Atwell7 Comments

When we got married in July we knew the chances of us staying in this apartment past January were slim.  But even though we would only be here for five or six months, I wanted to make this place feel like ours. I wanted to try and use what we had {even if that meant alot of paint} before we invested in other things. I wanted this apartment to be somewhere that we loved, not just lived.

2013 home | Atwell Adventures 1

Since I’ve moved in, all our boxes have been unpacked, we’ve G has put nails in the walls, hung and rehung pictures {some are still correct orientation pictures in them, please excuse me while I twitch}, and painted 12 of the 15 pieces of furniture we own.

2013 home | Atwell Adventures 2

And after months of inhaling paint fumes, I have to say, I’m happy we didn’t wait until our next place to settle in. It’s been fun to discover each others likes and dislikes, use a sander and toolbox, and learn some things along the way.

2013 home | Atwell Adventures 3

And now we are in the process finding a new place for when we move to Augusta.  It’s crazy and exciting to think we get to do all of this again soon!

31 days - newlyweds | Atwell Adventures

31 days

31 days – fall 2013 – settling into a home on a budget

Rachel Atwell2 Comments

Picture newlywed me: lover of home decor blogs and within a 15 minute drive of several awesome antique shops, Home Goods and World Market.
 on a budget | Atwell Adventures.1

Now picture that same thing and stamp the word BUDGET on my forehead {#FirstWorldProblem}.

on a budget | Atwell Adventures 2

I won’t say that settling into our new home on a budget has been the easiest thing for me – but I know it has taught me alot.

I remind myself over and over again, decorating a home won’t happen – and shouldn’t happen – overnight.  Our budget has reinforced that idea and made me think about my purchases more and really consider the things I’m investing in.

Do we NEED this?

Do I LOVE this?

Is this something I’ll want in my home forever?

These last few months I’ve also been able to stretch my creativity by using what we have and making those things new for us {more on that tomorrow}.

I know that one day when I look back on the memories of our first home together, my thoughts won’t be overrun with “what was I thinking about spending money on that” but instead, memories we made together, using the things we had, and all that we learned during our first few months first of our marriage.

What are some memories of your first home?

31 days - newlyweds | Atwell Adventures

31 days

31 days – fall 2013 – easy ways to save

Rachel Atwell4 Comments

I love good deal and very rarely do I pay full price for something. So when we had finished our monthly budget and took a step back, I knew there could be ways to save, we just had to look a little bit harder.

One of the first and easiest quickest ways to reduce our spending was canceling our cable. It was hard for me to let go of HGTV and TLC and for Gary to say goodbye during college football season, but so far I’ve hardly missed it. We have a subscription to Netflix {which runs about $8/month} and that allows us to watch past seasons of things we like and the shows that are currently on tv, we usually just watch online the next day. So don’t go spoiling any shows for us! 🙂 Savings – $60/month.

The next way we save money is by eating dinners at home during the week. It’s crazy to think how much we are probably saving by doing this, since usually a meal cost anywhere between $15-$50 for the two of us.  Another added benefit of eating at home is the time we save since Gary often works later in the evenings. When we do go out to eat {usually once on the weekend}, its always a treat.  Savings – about $60-200 month.

So those are two simple ways to save a little over $100/month without even trying hard. And every penny counts, right?

What are some ways you save each month?

31 days - newlyweds | Atwell Adventures