On Husbands and Marriage
It was Eric’s birthday yesterday and since he claims that I only tend to bag on him on my blog and never say anything good about him (I don’t do that, do I? *shuffles feet*) , I decided I’d post some things he does that make me HAPPY:
- Now that he is back on a work schedule, I have come home to a clean
homelove shack every single weekday! - We are taking turns washing dishes!
- Last week, he actually cleaned the whole bathroom–even the toilet!! And I didn’t even ask him to do it!
- He has started inputting his expenses into our budget spreadsheet.
- He is trying really hard to stick to his weekly allowance.
- He cooked dinner this past week!
- We enjoyed a date night last Friday that involved us getting dressed up (read: no sweatpants) and go out to dinner…in public…at a restaurant *gasp*!
Overall, my happiness level has soared this past month. The stress of being the sole breadwinner and the sole housekeeper is gone. It’s amazing the wonders a little dish washing and an extra paycheck can do to a marriage ; ) Not that I was unhappy before, but I was definitely stressed out and over it.
On running
So yes, I signed up for the Orange County Half Marathon May 6. I’m sure many of you were saying, “I didn’t know you were a runner” and well, I’m not. Prior to Jan. 2, I think the last time I ran was…a long time ago. It currently takes me 35 minutes to run 3 miles and that’s like really pushing myself at the end. According to this training plan though, my official training doesn’t start until March. SO I am focused on running consistently until then, I did four miles on Wednesday. I’ll worry about speed later.
Why am I doing it? It was something I sort of toyed with last year in my goals, but I’ve been too chicken sh*t. 2012 just feels like a good year to go for it, right? So what if I’m not a runner? If I can do it, anybody can do it. Because I am literally going from no running to a half marathon in 5 months.
On Blogging
On Jan. 14, my Alexa rating reached under 200K! This was huge for me! And it’s only continued to go down since then, I am currently at 179,671 since yesterday : )
Shout Outs
Girls Just Wanna Have Funds has a great series called 21 Days to Rock Your Finances. Day 9 features info on getting your credit score for free!
The Miracle Journal posted a great budget template to help you get started tracking your finances.
Mom’s Plans is hosting the Debt Snowflake Challenge: essentially funnel any extra and “found” money in your budget toward your debt repayment.
Nickel by Nickel talked about the temptation of stuff.
Thirty Six Months wrote about the importance of investing in the new year.
Giveaways
Money Spruce is hosting a Spruce up your life giveaway.
As featured in…
Yakezie Carnival at Prairie Eco Thrifter
Carnival of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
Totally Money at Family Money Values
Carnival of Wealth at Control Your Cash
Carnival of Financial Planning at Skilled Investor Blog
22 comments
[…] ever. I was not a runner. Running is still very hard for me–you can read about how much I struggled with running at the beginning. But I signed up for a half-marathon because I love proving myself […]
[…] thanks to Erika at Newlyweds on a Budget for recommending the budgeting spreadsheet I posted recently. You Might Also Like:January financial […]
G’Day! Newlywedsonabudget,
This might be off topic, however, I know there is no hard and fast answer, but can anyone give me a ballpark? I want to get it for my husband, but first want to make sure we can afford what needs to be done(lol). The car is $800 and has a running engine. Husband can do interior and body work, but will need some one to bring it up to date (updated breaks, install A/C, any welding type things etc). Any rough idea of what this could run?
All the Best
First, I can practically hear the relief in your voice with having two incomes! It also sounds like Eric has really thought about how important money management is to you and your goals as a couple. Good luck with all of your goals in 2012!
Happy bday to your hubby 🙂 Glad to hear that you’re having a great month and life is good.
Congrats on your alexa ranking!
I wanted to try to like running, but it didnt happen. I think it’s awesome that you’re doing a marathon – you’re brave!
Once you run the half marathon you will become addicted! Running a long race is a great feeling and you will really dig the vibe of the whole event, not to mention that you will feel great afterwards.
The coolest part though is when you actually believe that going for a 3-mile run is “too short of a run” and you will only get out of bed for runs 5 miles+. Then you really start feeling like a hero. You will get there! I can also recommend a great training plan that is less painful than some of the over-training/too-much-mileage plans that are out there. E-mail me if you are interested.
What a great week! Good luck on your training for your half-marathon. I ran some a few years ago and am starting to get back into running. Just stick to your training plan and you will be crossing that finish line with a smile on your face!
omg! that’s what i did last year! when i started my half marathon training i literally could not run a mile without stopping. a word of advice: build a little extra time into your training plan to account for injuries/life happens/etc. i broke my toe about a month before the half marathon and had to take almost two weeks off. as you get to the end if you’re on track, just repeat the last week or so.
I ran three miles last night… I have a 5k next month, and I’d li,e to increase my speed. BUT, I have also toyed with signing up for a 10k to try to see if I can run more than 3 miles at a time…maybe I’ll actually do it this year. Yikes!
Woot! This is awesome! So happy to hear that things are going great with Eric and the new job and the additional happiness it has brought to your lives =)
I just pulled my annual free credit report and paid $7.95 twice for my score (two different agencies), doesn’t that just figure! LOL…But we are about to be on a mega budget since I am losing my job very very soon so I am def planning to check out your “shout outs” and also so happy you got to go on a *real* date night outside of the frozen pizzas 🙂
Happy Birthday Eric! Big sloppy kisses to you both as I sit here in my sweats. We ordered in last night:) Good luck wtih the running! You will do great!
Erika we are so similar, we even have the same name! I live in SD. We should meet up some time =) Double date!
I totally get what you mean about going out, to a restaurant, in public. BF and I are such homebodies it’s almost a huge event just to dress up and go out!
I totally bag on the BF a lot too but he does have some admirable qualities. Sounds very similar to your hub.
I want to run a half marathon! I used to run 3 miles everyday and then I got lazy. Good luck and make sure you have good running shoes.
Way to go signing up for the half marathon! What a challenge, I haven’t even found the courage to sign up for a 5K yet!!
I think you’ve said lots of nice things about Eric and about how hard he works with going to school! (Congratulations on having two income again though, I Imagine it’s a huge help!)
I’m super lucky because my husband loves to clean, maybe even a little too much…
What is Alexa rating?
It is really nice when husbands clean bathroom without us asking them, isn’t it? 🙂
Congrats on your great Alexa rank! Things are moving along! 🙂
Thanks for the shout out!
Here’s my miracle for this morning – I signed up for the 10-pound challenge but don’t have a scale, so I haven’t been able to weigh myself. Between the breakup and big deadlines at the newspaper, figuring out how to get one cheap hadn’t made it to the top of the list yet. This morning I walked through the vestibule of my apartment building…and there was a scale that someone was giving away for free!! 🙂
Now I’ll be able to weigh myself and get started with the challenge! Thanks for setting all of this up. 🙂
Thanks for the shoutout! good luck with your training program and congrats on falling below 200k! I hope to get there (again) very soon as well 🙂
Congrats on your Alexa score!
I love this! I love how happy you are and I love how much of a team you and Eric and are continue to work at. Very awesome. As for the half, I am so proud of you and KNOW you can do it!!!!
What a great start to the new year! Good luck with the running, it sounds like a huge challenge, but I’m sure you can do it 🙂