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...]
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...]
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...]
Everything You Need to Know Before You Sell Your Clothes on thredUP
We are definitely in tidying mode at the Gavin household - especially when it comes to closets and storage space. Our first baby is due to arrive in July and our 950 square foot house has very limited closet space, which means that all of the things we've been tucking into the … [Read more...]
Playing Detective with Our Stolen Debit Card
If you saw our last post, you already know that Maria's debit card number was stolen not too long ago. Not to fear, we noticed the theft quickly, cancelled Maria's debit card and got the charges reversed. So that was it, right? Drama over? Not quite. We got mail from our bank the … [Read more...]
