If you've read Crazy Together for any length of time, you already know that Maria and I love to save money. But, we're people, too, and I'm sure you have noticed by now that there are also several areas of our budget that we indulge and allow ourselves splurge on. The key for us … [Read more...]
On Our Way to Debt Free, Again
Maria and I have been living in our "new" house now for just over 9 months. We love our home and everything about it, even its little idiosyncrasies (like the far-from-perfect DIY electrical wiring and plumbing). One thing that we don't love is the fact that we had to take out a … [Read more...]
The New Year’s Resolution We’re Sure to Keep + A Giveaway
The Christmas season is mostly over (though I'm sure we'll leave the decorations up for a little while longer so Dessa can continue to enjoy them) and we are looking ahead to the New Year. We always use this time to reflect on the past twelve months and to focus on our goals for … [Read more...]
Ringing in the Holidays with a Huge Home Expense
Remember a couple months ago when Maria and I gushed about how great it was to have sinking funds when we were buying our new minivan? We've been following along with Dave Ramsey's financial plan and slowly working our way through the Baby Steps, using the tools Dave lays out to … [Read more...]
How We Paid Cash for a New Car (and How You Can Too)
So you may have read in one of Maria's recent posts (specifically, the one about our recent no-good, terrible week that just would not end) that we bought a new-to-us van. If there's one lesson that was truly driven home to me in that whole car-buying experience, it was this: I … [Read more...]
How Buying a House Affected Our Finances
Holy wow, the past couple months have been pretty crazy around the Gavin household! Between buying a new house, painting the interior, coordinating contractors, hiring movers, packing, moving, unpacking in the midst of renovations, all while taking care of a baby, wrapping up the … [Read more...]
Guess What! We’re Buying a House!
Surprise: we're buying a house! Believe me, it's nearly as big a surprise to us as it is to you. But, when one of the cutest houses in our area went up for sale, we decided we just had to go for it and make an offer. From there, everything just fell into place and we are thrilled … [Read more...]
7 Things to do with Your Tax Refund
It's just about that time of year again: tax season! If you're like Maria and me, you play it safe and get a tax refund nearly every year. We try hard to minimize the amount of our return (after all, a tax refund is really just the government paying back an interest-free loan you … [Read more...]
Fitting a Baby into the Family Budget
Babies are expensive. Not only are there the medical bills, the diapers, and the formula, but there is so much more that doesn't even occur to you beforehand. As soon as we found out that Maria was expecting, we began to prepare our finances for life with a baby. But even the … [Read more...]
