Our Fifth Wedding Anniversary

Happy anniversary to my best friend! I can't believe it's already been five years! We've seen all sorts of changes these past five years: moving to Chicago, buying a house, changing jobs, and having a baby. And I couldn't think of a better person to experience them with than you :)

While we're more likely to go out to dinner or take a long weekend trip than give gifts, I thought I would share a few gift ideas based on the traditional fifth anniversary gift: wood.

Mrs. Earrings, Dress, Shoes, Bracelets (knot, pink, white), Wood Clutch

That wood clutch is a little out of my price range, but isn't it gorgeous? I would love to take it with me to a fancy pants anniversary dinner.

AHeirloom cutting boards: Missouri, Flag, Chevron

We love to cook, so a custom cutting board from AHeirloom is only appropriate. They recently added the monogrammed cutting boards in addition to their always-popular state and country boards.

Beer sampler set and coasters from Taunton Green

As a homebrewer and lover of craft beer, a beer sampler set with matching coasters and a 6-pack of craft beers would make John one happy guy.

Chef Graham Elliot's custom wooden glasses

If your significant other wears glasses, Chicago's Urban Spectacles makes custom wooden glasses. As I've mentioned before, we're huge fans of the show MasterChef and judge Chef Graham Elliot wears a pair of bespoke wooden glasses made by Urban Spectacles. In related news, we went to Graham Elliot (the restaurant) for an anniversary dinner two years ago and he replied to my tweet about our amazing dinner.

Have a fantastic Friday and weekend!

PS - If you're interested in reading previous anniversary posts, here are my posts about our wedding,  wedding planning tips, and discussion points and tips for merging finances.
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Three Years of Blogging

Hi, friends! It's a day late, but yesterday marked three years of blogging at Fiscally Chic. Heck, it's anniversary month around these parts. In addition to Fiscally Chic's birthday, last week was the second anniversary of my Etsy shop and Friday will be our fifth wedding anniversary!

At my second blogging anniversary, I wanted to focus on the "big wins" of creating wealth, organizing your finances, and writing about other financial moves that give a bigger return on your time investment than cutting back on lattes. While I succeeded with posts like financially preparing for a baby, buying a new car, and negotiating cable and Internet bills, I also noticed a surge in traffic on my DIY posts. The biggest being sewing curtains with a hidden tab top. Is that something you want to see more of?

A new subject matter also creeped into my blogging line-up this past year: pregnancy and babies! I don't plan on turning Fiscally Chic into a mommy blog, but Monica is a huge part of my life now and it's only natural to occassionally blog about baby-related things.

That being said, this coming year will be more about setting priorities and figuring out how to balance everything: family, personal time, work, blogging, my Etsy shop, and the like. So what does that mean for Fiscally Chic? I'll be taking my time to write quality posts and be gentle on myself if I only have time to blog once a week.

To help celebrate Anniversary Month, I'm having a sale in the shop! Use coupon code "ANNIVERSARY15" for 15% off all purchases through September 15, 2013.
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Money and Marriage

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary! It sounds a little corny, but time really does fly when you're having fun. Sure, we have our ups and downs, but the ups definitely make up for any downs. Plus, being on the same page for several "adult" topics, particularly faith and finances, makes things a little easier.

So in honor of this momentous day, I thought I would share some discussion points and tips for merging finances. Heck, these should be revisted every so often since finances can change over time due to new jobs, new kids, retirement, etc.

Here's a jumping off point for your "money talks:"

• Are you comfortable discussing money?
• Are you a saver or spender? 
• Do you want to have a budget? (Hint: Mint is a great resource)
• Should we have a joint checking account or separate accounts or both?
• Who is going to be responsible for making sure that bills are paid on time? 
• What are necessities and luxuries? Think about going out to eat, cable TV, going to the movies, vacations, etc.
• What are our assets?
• How much do we owe in debts (credit card, student, car, mortgage)? How do we plan on paying down any debt?
• Where does our money go? Spending, savings, investing?
• What are our financial goals?
• What are our future plans for purchasing a home?

 

Extra Credit

You should also consider discussing what to do with your monetary gifts from the wedding. Chances are, you’ll be leaving the reception with a good chunk of change. If you don’t have time to make a deposit before leaving for your honeymoon, have a trusted family member deposit the checks at the bank for you. You’ll also have to decide what to do with that money. Perhaps you'll use it to pay bills from the wedding, save for a house, or pay down debt.

Finally, once you’re all settled back in from the wedding and honeymoon, the real financial fun begins. How will you actually merge your finances? Depending on your bank, you might be able to open accounts online or you might have to take a trip to the bank with a copy of your marriage certificate.

John and I are pretty financially savvy, so we have a joint high interest savings account, a joint checking account, and separate credit cards. Paychecks are deposited into the checking account and used to pay all bills (common and personal). We also have automatic transfers set to move money from our checking account to our savings and investment accounts.

This is simply what works for us. Other people might have joint and separate checking accounts. The joint account would be used to pay common bills (rent, utilities, food) and the separate accounts would be used to pay personal bills.

Keep in mind that whatever method you use, it’s important to maintain your own credit cards. That way you can keep growing and maintaining your credit score. Also, credit reports don’t automatically merge once you’re married unless you have joint accounts. Also, take special care of your credit scores and history if you’re looking to buy a home together. One spouse’s negative credit history could impact your mortgage rates.

Overall, communication is key for a successful engagement and marriage. That and a healthy dose of flirting ;)

Do you have any other tips for merging finances? Or do you have a talking point to share?

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Two Years of Fiscally Chic

Guess who what turns two today? Fiscally Chic!

It's hard to believe that this is post #285. In the past 284 posts, I've written about saving money, making money, refinancing, recipes, decorating, style, getting cable, and more.

Last year, I shared some interesting stats from my first year of blogging. More than anything, this anniversary is making me think about how I want to approach the blog over the next 2 years (and then some). I don't read very many personal finance blogs, but the ones I'm really drawn to are entertaining and geared towards earning more instead of cutting back on lattes. (I'm looking at you, I Will Teach You to be Rich)

Taking my cue from Ramit, I want to focus on the "big wins." Sure I'll still share small money saving tips, but I'd rather write about creating wealth, organizing your finances, and other financial moves that give you the most bang for your buck. (Or ROI for the financial nerds in the house) And you know I'll still be writing about cupcakes, homebrewing, and attempts at decorating our house :)

How does that sound?

Whether you've been reading Fiscally Chic for two weeks or two years, I want to give each and every one of you a big hug and heartfelt "thank you!"

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Anniversary Month

I don't know if it's the new school year or the impending change in seasons, but September has had some big changes during the past few years.

• Four years ago we got married
• Three years ago we started our transition to Chicago (John moved here first)
• Two years ago I started Fiscally Chic
• And last year I started my Etsy shop!

It's been an exciting year with my first craft show, being featured in the Etsy Finds email and on the front page, and breaking 100 sales.

To help celebrate Anniversary Month, I'm having a sale in the shop! Use coupon code "ANNIVERSARY15" for 15% off all purchases through September 13, 2012.

As for this year, there are still 25 days left in September to make things happen :)
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Third Anniversary Wedding Recap

Holy moly! I have a whole new appreciation for wedding bloggers! It's tough stuff putting together a wedding recap! So I'm going to cheat a little and let the pictures do the talking. These are all photos taken by friends and family since I don't recommend our photographer. They know how to sell and took beautiful pictures, but the customer service was lacking. Long story short, we should have gone with our neighbors in St. Louis, Zettl Photography. I totally recommend all of our other vendors.

John and I met at Saint Louis University, so we decided to get married at St. Francis Xavier College Church on SLU's campus.

Pictures were taken around SLU's campus, including in front of the Scottish Rite Cathedral across from campus.

Where John proposed!

Getting our plungers at Humphrey's, the bar near campus.

John wanted a pinata at the reception. I vetoed that, but friends brought one anyways as a wedding present.

We had our reception at the lovely 9th Street Abbey in Soulard. It used to be an old church!

The best cake from The Cakery!

I might be biased, but our wedding is the best I've ever attended :) Happy anniversary, John!

More details on planning the wedding tomorrow!

Dress: Oleg Cassini for David's Bridal
Veil: DIY (similar instructions)
Shoes: Naturalizer
Bridesmaid dress: Jim Hjelm Occasions, ordered from The Perfect Bride
Tux: Savvi Formalware
Church: St. Francis Xavier College Church on Saint Louis University's campus
Reception: 9th Street Abbey and Patty Long Catering
Cake: The Cakery
Flowers: Sisters Flowers
Limo: A Perfect Touch
DJ: Millenium Productions
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Two Anniversaries!

J.Mendel dress, Tiffany earrings, Judith Leiber koi clutch,
Kate Spade About Town bangle, Jimmy Choo lace pumps

Happy Friday! It's a very pleasant Friday because I'm celebrating two significant anniversaries over the next several days. Most important, it's our third wedding anniversary on Tuesday! Which means several wedding-themed posts during the coming week. I'm looking forward to sharing some wedding photos and ways to save while planning a wedding.

The only thing really planned for our anniversary is a dinner out on the town. We wanted to go to Girl and the Goat, but reservations fill up months in advance. So the only openings were around 3pm on a Wednesday. No thanks. We might be going to Graham Elliot instead, since we enjoyed watching him on MasterChef.

This outfit is more aspirational than usual as the lovely J.Mendel dress is almost twice as much as our monthly mortgage. Which is a bargain compared to some of the accessories, but that's the point of dreaming up a Friday's Fancies outfit. Speaking of accessories, I love the koi clutch as it adds a bit of humor to the outfit. Maybe we should go out for sushi instead :)

Now for the second anniversary....it's my one-year blog anniversary/birthday on Saturday!! I can't believe it's been a year! On one hand it seems like I'm still a baby blogger with so much to learn, and on the other it seems much longer than a year. I've had so much fun writing and getting to know all of you! To thank you for all of your love, support, and comments I have a giveaway in the works. I'll post the details next week when everything is finalized.

Since I'm an analyzing fool, how about some stats and a little walk down memory lane?

Over this past year I (or we)...
Brewed beer
Ran a marathon
Made an appearance in a Southwest Airlines commercial
Celebrated John's golden birthday
Had a cupcake recipe shared on the Izze Facebook page
Ramped up our savings (step 1, 2, 3, 4)
Cooked quinoa for the first time
Was included in the SLU Shareholder magazine
Bought a house (!)
Celebrated the long life of my Grandma
Became an contributor with Makeunder My Life
Grew an extremely large zucchini

Most popular posts
Raspberry Champagne Cupcakes and Berry Good Cupcakes (pretty much a tie)
Big Impact, Little Budget Art (DIY Crate and Barrel classical symmetry painted canvases)
Makeunder My Finances series (step 1, 2, 3, 4)
Whooga Ugg Boot Review  (ETA - since removed due to a request by Whooga)
Curtain Call (we finally hang some curtains in the house)

Posts with the most comments
Easy Summer Hair
Father's Day Weekend
House and Birthday Weekend!
7 Random Facts
Throwing Pasta at the Wall

How you found Fiscally Chic (leaving out Google and Facebook as traffic sources)
Makeunder My Life
Inspiration and Rough Drafts
The Rest is Still Unwritten
Long Distance Loving
Smitten Kitchen

Top keywords
fiscally chic
raspberry champagne cupcakes
ninni rund
blueberry rhubarb cobbler
champagne cupcakes

Funniest, most questionable, or "how did they find me with that?" search keywords
while i can run i'll run quotes
"shadow to its former self"
burrito costume running
famous ncaa student-athletes [I'll take it!]
fat black crossdressers [???!]
miss piggy
synergy overrated word
too old to wear aqua shorts
where to find great lakes christmas ale in chicago 2010 [apparently I'm an authority...ha!]

Other important stats
I've had visitors from every state, including Washington DC
-Top states are IL, OH, MO, CA, and NY
I've had visitors from 69 countries/territories!
-Top countries are USA, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, and Netherlands
My top day was February 1, 2011 with 1,209 pageviews when Jess started to share my Makeunder My Finances series on MML

Interesting observation
You're very interested in the blogs I read since that's the most popular page. Guess I better keep it updated!

Thank you again for reading Fiscally Chic! I can't believe it's been a year. Muah!

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