This is in contrast to my lovely fiancé, who is just awful at packing. First, she's the world's greatest pack-rat - even better than my 77-year-old grandmother who still has drawings I drew when I was five (and some my mom drew at that age too!). I would imagine that 80 percent of the stuff we will need (or have) in our apartment is already there. She's also pretty terrible at unpacking - most of her stuff is still in boxes a month after she moved. I take part of the blame for that though - I told her to wait until I move in so we don't have to rearrange five times.
I think the goal in all of this process is to minimize the amount of stuff we have for maximum benefit. We'd love to live well on less stuff, especially since we're going to be poor. Since newlywed poverty seems to be a common phenomenon, do any of our six subscribers have any tips on how to live well on a small budget with less stuff? If so, leave them in the comments. You know you want to.
Rule #1 - Don't buy anything on credit. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Keep a credit card for emergencies only.
ReplyDeleteRule #2 - Anything you don't need, sell on craigslist or ebay. Turn it into cash
Rule #3 - Don't eat out all the time.
Rule #4 - Use coupons. Keep the ones you get at the store, cut them out of the paper/sale papers and use them.
Rule #5 - Be careful with your utilities. Don't run the A/C or heat all the time.
Rule #6 - As tempting as it looks, unless it contributes to your survival, you probably don't need it.
Rule #7 - Savings account. Start one. Don't dip into it unless it's for a bill you can't pay or another true "necessity".
We learned all of this the hard way. It's a lot harder to retro-act than to pro-act. Especially when you're fresh out of school, up to your ears in school loan debt and looking for a job. We have only lately (thanks to some massive blessings from HP) started to turn the corner on our debt, pay things off and actually be able to live by these rules.
hahaha, if you think that Leah is the ultimate pack rat, you need to come visit me! The problem with having more space is that you then fill that space up with more crap. But I remember the days in college where I was amazed at what Leah could throw out without a second thought, and in fact, several items in my closet and kitchen that I use the most are from her throw aways. So you see, you're very lucky! Plus...boys get away with saying their girlfiends/wives have too much stuff, when in reality, the boys have just as much in other stuff (like music gear!) :) (Obviously, I've heard that before!)
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