We have reached an exciting moment in our adult lives today. Today marks the last day of paying back our outrageously large amount of student debt and lets be honest, it feels GREAT!
I am one who believes in student debt. All debt sucks, but at least school debt has a priceless outcome. It is one thing to invest in that will make its money back for you over and over if used right. We are currently attempting to put our university education to good use, but the fact that we no longer have this debt hanging over our heads feels fantastic.
No more school debt in this house, until January at least, Lord willing. So happy!
Monday, July 21, 2014
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Budget Friendly Party.
Yes we had a birthday party for our cat, you can check it out here. No we are not completely crazy. It was really a reason to dress up the cat, take some cute pictures and spend some great time with friends and family.
Now because he is a cat and because no one really cares all that much about what decor there is we kept it super simple. Our apartment is small and would be filled with lots of people so we needed things that did not get in the way, also because it was a cat we wanted to save some money. We threw the entire party for under 10 dollars plus the cost of food.
To stick to a small budget I recommend a number of DIY projects that are simple and cost effective, also a colour scheme can go a long way.
The Decor
1) Gather all picture frames in your home, if you are like us, they are already empty sitting on your shelf so you're half way there. Now if its a person, filling them with cute pictures is an awesome idea, if it is a cat that might seem strange, so we went with the idea of party theme. At the dollar store I found some wall stickers for a $1. I put them on construction paper and filled the frames around the apartment. Total Cost = 1$ Total Time = 10 minutes, 5 if you do not have a cat trying to lay on the paper you are cutting.
2) For a dramatic table we went with a balloon over head display. I bought a bag of balloons in bright colours at the dollar store that already came with string. Next time I would have gotten a bit bigger of balloons. The party theme was solid bright colours such as red, blue, green and yellow, so we went with a whatever was in the package, if you were going for a pink party I would have gone with shades of pink. Total Cost = $1 Total Time = 5 minutes, I suck at blowing up balloons.
3) Food supplies. Paper plates and napkins were solid red and bought at Target post valentines day so they totalled 60 cents and I have a bundle left over. The fun straws are a staple in our home and I keep buying them whenever I see them on cleaence anywhere. Cups were bought at the dollar store $2 because I wanted a mixture of colours and we simply glued eyes on them to make them look like monstors. Total Cost =$3.60 Total Time = 5 minutes to glue eyes and draw mouths
4) Party hats. I considered making my own party hats, but I figured why bother and found some in priomary colours that were perfect for the party and only cost $2. I glued googly eyes onto them and the husband drew some funny faces and we called it a day. They were really awesome, but at an adult party total under apriciated. Total Cost $2 Total Time = 10 minutes.
5) Fancy Candle. I added google eyes to a number one candle that I bought at the dollar store for 50 cents. So easy and looked awesome on the cake. Total Cost $.50 Total Time= 2 minutes
Total Cost = 8.10 cents.
Total Time = 32 minutes
Obviously food and drinks and such cost more because we fed a number of people, but that would be expected regardless. I loved how it all turned out, it was fun and easy and everyone, Baxter included, loved it.
Now because he is a cat and because no one really cares all that much about what decor there is we kept it super simple. Our apartment is small and would be filled with lots of people so we needed things that did not get in the way, also because it was a cat we wanted to save some money. We threw the entire party for under 10 dollars plus the cost of food.
To stick to a small budget I recommend a number of DIY projects that are simple and cost effective, also a colour scheme can go a long way.
The Decor
1) Gather all picture frames in your home, if you are like us, they are already empty sitting on your shelf so you're half way there. Now if its a person, filling them with cute pictures is an awesome idea, if it is a cat that might seem strange, so we went with the idea of party theme. At the dollar store I found some wall stickers for a $1. I put them on construction paper and filled the frames around the apartment. Total Cost = 1$ Total Time = 10 minutes, 5 if you do not have a cat trying to lay on the paper you are cutting.
2) For a dramatic table we went with a balloon over head display. I bought a bag of balloons in bright colours at the dollar store that already came with string. Next time I would have gotten a bit bigger of balloons. The party theme was solid bright colours such as red, blue, green and yellow, so we went with a whatever was in the package, if you were going for a pink party I would have gone with shades of pink. Total Cost = $1 Total Time = 5 minutes, I suck at blowing up balloons.
3) Food supplies. Paper plates and napkins were solid red and bought at Target post valentines day so they totalled 60 cents and I have a bundle left over. The fun straws are a staple in our home and I keep buying them whenever I see them on cleaence anywhere. Cups were bought at the dollar store $2 because I wanted a mixture of colours and we simply glued eyes on them to make them look like monstors. Total Cost =$3.60 Total Time = 5 minutes to glue eyes and draw mouths
4) Party hats. I considered making my own party hats, but I figured why bother and found some in priomary colours that were perfect for the party and only cost $2. I glued googly eyes onto them and the husband drew some funny faces and we called it a day. They were really awesome, but at an adult party total under apriciated. Total Cost $2 Total Time = 10 minutes.
5) Fancy Candle. I added google eyes to a number one candle that I bought at the dollar store for 50 cents. So easy and looked awesome on the cake. Total Cost $.50 Total Time= 2 minutes
Total Cost = 8.10 cents.
Total Time = 32 minutes
Obviously food and drinks and such cost more because we fed a number of people, but that would be expected regardless. I loved how it all turned out, it was fun and easy and everyone, Baxter included, loved it.
Baxter's 1st Birthday!
I would like to preface this with we do not have children. Baxter is our baby and therefore it was only appropriate to throw him a first birthday party. Two parties to be exact but that is more so a result of our tiny apartment and not being able to accommodate everyone. We had the parties back to back, a family fiesta on Friday and a few friends over the next day. That resulted in a lot less work because obviously I decorated. It was monster themed, and we were able to use the same decor for both days. Honestly the decor might have actually stayed up for another month, and still the party hat is on the entertainment unit and every time my niece comes over she insists he wears it.
We had a lot of fun and clearly so did Baxter. His birthday and parties were back in April, but with everything that has been happening this is one of those super late posts. So happy very belated 1st birthday Baxter.
We had a lot of fun and clearly so did Baxter. His birthday and parties were back in April, but with everything that has been happening this is one of those super late posts. So happy very belated 1st birthday Baxter.
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| A little party decor. |
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| The bib says 1st Birthday under his chin. Couldn't find a tshirt, he would have liked that better. |
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| We have awesome friends who put up with us and love our cat. |
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| He loved his cake. |
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| Opening presents like a boss. |
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| Exhausted after all the partying. |
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