en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/909576 Comments by Lindsey http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/06/17/goodbye-ing-direct/#IDComment163630078 I have my savings through ING, and hopefully nothing major will happen as a result of this acquisition. Fri, 17 Jun 2011 19:26:12 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/06/17/goodbye-ing-direct/#IDComment163630078 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/05/20/paris-in-the-winter/#IDComment154345588 I am dying to get back to Europe (haven't been in 10 years), and my husband is right on board....except we have to wait until I am done with my master's. BUT at least I will be able to live vicariously through you. Can you rent an apartment while there? That might cut down on costs, since you'll be able to eat in and all that. Reading Julia Child's "My Life in France" made me want to go back immediately. Fri, 20 May 2011 13:19:06 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/05/20/paris-in-the-winter/#IDComment154345588 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/03/14/love-hate-lifestyle-design-blogs/#IDComment134863792 I had actually never heard of lifestyle design until I read your post. And this post makes me never want to read a lifestyle design blog because of the smug attitudes you are talking about. One thing I have learned is that sometimes I can suffer from "grass is greener" syndrome, and over the years have learned that there is no perfect formula that fits everyone's life, you have to live YOUR life in the way that YOU want to, and don't apologize for it. Does wanting to own a house make you a bad person? No! It all comes down to what makes you happy and if working that 9-5 allows for you to live the life you want and you don't hate your job (been there, don't recommend it), then there is no problem with that, since it works for you. I do envy the people who can just pick up and move anywhere, but to me it's more of a personality trait, I thrive in structure and don't love chaos. So I have built my life around that and have come to love and accept that about myself. I totally got off topic on this one, but my point is to not let ANYone make you feel bad about how you live your life. Mon, 14 Mar 2011 16:43:59 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/03/14/love-hate-lifestyle-design-blogs/#IDComment134863792 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/02/15/food-budget-inflation/#IDComment128104816 While we don't have a set budget for food every month, looking back into our tracking spreadsheet it looks like the husband and I spend about $400ish a month on food (cooking and dining out). We try to limit our eating out, partly because it's expensive, and if we do it too much I end up feeling gross. When I cook I know exactly what goes into my meal, and I also plan ahead to make plenty of leftovers for lunches. I happen to love to cook, so that's not a problem for me, although I am also in grad school and some days just don't have any energy to do so once I get home from work. But I do a lot of menu planning, and some nights we have super simple meals that don't give us any leftovers, and others we will have something that is a bit more time consuming but will provide enough leftovers for each of us to have a lunch the next day. We had some issues a while back with food costs spiraling out of control, because we went to the grocery store more than once a week, and once I started menu planning and limiting our trips to be only once a week, with some supplemental trips to Costco for bulk items like meat and pasta and such, it helped get our food costs under control. Tue, 15 Feb 2011 14:21:57 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/02/15/food-budget-inflation/#IDComment128104816 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/02/08/budget-for-health-care-costs/#IDComment126952970 I am incredibly fortunate to have my job pay for my health and dental 100%, especially since I work for a small nonprofit. My last job was 60/40 for health and I had to pay 100% of dental when I left. My husband's job (which is an enormous fortune 500) just changed their health plan to be an awful high deductible plan with a health savings account (not to be confused with an FSA). I have my annual checkups, cleanings, and I also see my dermatologist regularly for acne. I have some prescriptions (although by getting an IUD I don't have to buy birth control for 5 years, even though there was a bit of a small upfront cost) but the real kicker is that I have to get an eye exam every year, as my state requires it for contacts. So I spend just over $200 a year for contacts at costco (cheapest by far), and then this year was fleeced by Lenscrafters when I needed an eye exam at the end of the year (it was something like $150). Wed, 9 Feb 2011 18:11:48 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/02/08/budget-for-health-care-costs/#IDComment126952970 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/02/04/yours-mine-ours-money-in-marriage/#IDComment126484383 My husband and I are common potters. We fully combined finances when we got engaged, which was about a year before we got married. No prenup, as neither of us had significant finances to protect, and whatever my husband did have (it had been tied up in stocks and mutual funds, put in place by his father ages ago to fund his education and what not), we used toward our down payment on our condo. We each have separate retirement accounts through work, but everything else is combined. When making large spending decisions, we definitely talk it through (unless it's something like a surprise birthday gift) before committing to whatever it is we are buying. We've been married for almost 3 years and it's worked well so far. Mon, 7 Feb 2011 15:20:35 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/02/04/yours-mine-ours-money-in-marriage/#IDComment126484383 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/01/31/giving-charity-not-enough/#IDComment124952522 I can imagine there could be some interesting discussion about this issue. While I don't know the exact percentage of my income I give (and I'm in a multiple income household, my husband and I both work full time and are in our late 20's/early 30's, own a condo, and I am also part time in grad school that we are paying for ourselves), I think it's important to do so. My husband thinks we give "enough" while I think we could easily do more. I also have the interesting perspective of working for a small nonprofit, in the development (aka fundraising) office, behind the scenes. So I already know the importance of donating, be it money or your time. I give to my alma mater (husband refuses to give to his), also sometimes to my high school (it's quasi public, a strange situation), as well as some other local nonprofits. Most of our donations rarely exceed $100 at a time, although I do also have them matched because my husband works for a large corporation. We have been increasing our donations over the past few years, but still aren't giving enough to itemize our deductions. I give to causes I feel strongly about, and I'm also starting to get into more volunteering, as my coworkers put me to shame with all of the great work they do outside of the office for other organizations that are in many cases much smaller than we are. Mon, 31 Jan 2011 18:04:28 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/01/31/giving-charity-not-enough/#IDComment124952522 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/01/24/when-it-comes-to-housing-what-does-gen-y-want/#IDComment123521824 My condo is just around 1200 sq feet. It's a loft, so it's all open living (has been my dream forever!). We have our own washer/dryer, a parking spot right out front, and are hopefully getting another off street spot, and a small patio for grilling. Also live on a bus line that is super convenient to downtown, and driving into the city is just as easy. Not a super developed neighborhood, but I kind of like being in an up and coming area before everyone else. Mon, 24 Jan 2011 21:42:39 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/01/24/when-it-comes-to-housing-what-does-gen-y-want/#IDComment123521824 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/01/08/nontraditional-engagement-ring/#IDComment120369105 I have a non traditional engagement ring (that I picked out with my husband). It's an eternity band with three rows of diamonds. So I still have diamonds, but they're a lot smaller and totally different than what most other people have. I didn't want a big stone sticking off my hand (I have kind of small fingers), and after looking at a ton of options, I decided on the eternity band (my husband said that when I put it on at the store my face lit up and he knew that was my ring). And so for my wedding band I also have an eternity band, but it's one row and a different setting. The two rings can stand alone or look great together (also something to consider, what your wedding band would be as well). Sun, 9 Jan 2011 14:18:04 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2011/01/08/nontraditional-engagement-ring/#IDComment120369105 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/12/30/2011-goals-money-life/#IDComment118900018 Happy New Year! Your goals sound great, and for the most part completely manageable (I WISH I had the motivation to even try to get in 4-5 hours of exercise a week. I'm lucky if I get 1 hour in sometimes). Fri, 31 Dec 2010 15:06:27 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/12/30/2011-goals-money-life/#IDComment118900018 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/10/06/deal-food-waste/#IDComment102843009 We too waste food, but have been trying to cut down on that a lot. One thing I do is try to only go grocery shopping once a week, and plan out all lunches and dinners. So I make a lot of food that will work for lunches during the week, and any extras I will try and freeze in lunch sized portions for eating later. I also buy my meat in bulk from Costco, and they come in already portioned out packages, so if I want to grill chicken I will just take a 2 pack out of the freezer to defrost, and voila, dinner for 2. Same with ground beef or turkey for use in chili or tacos or something (doesn't work for making meatballs or meatloaf, since there is too much moisture that gets into the meat and it doesn't stay together as well). Thu, 7 Oct 2010 16:05:00 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/10/06/deal-food-waste/#IDComment102843009 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/06/29/finacial-topics-for-living-together/#IDComment83493037 Congrats! While we didn't completely combine finances right after moving in together, we did before we got married (we were living together for a few years before getting engaged). But one thing that always comes up is chores, like who will do what, getting used to one another's habits (cleanliness, computer, tv, who goes to sleep or gets up sooner or later). In my experience we had some arguments about those things, but then everything sort of figured itself out (like Brad vacuums, but I clean the kitchen and bathroom, we split the cleaning of the litter box, we generally grocery shop together, etc.). BUT we are also a bit odd in that we communicate by arguing, if that makes any sense, and resolve most issues pretty quickly. Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:52:06 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/06/29/finacial-topics-for-living-together/#IDComment83493037 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/06/23/apartments-rental-ads-write-effective-craigslist/#IDComment82211220 I hated apartment hunting. In Boston it is almost impossible to find a good place listed by a landlord rather than by a realtor (which will take a fee, and when you add first, last, security, and a month's rent for a fee, that adds up fast). And don't get me started on the sketchy realtors we have around here, especially since there are so many college kids who don't know any better (been there as well). Fri, 25 Jun 2010 18:31:29 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/06/23/apartments-rental-ads-write-effective-craigslist/#IDComment82211220 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/06/14/moving-finances-dating-prenup/#IDComment80270808 There was definitely no moving in contract, although we had discussed how we would pay for things (we didn't do 50/50 because at the time my husband made significantly more than I did), and ended up combining finances after we got engaged but before we got married. We also didn't have a prenup before marriage, as by that time we had a good system going and didn't need to hash out all details of expenses. We are somewhat old fashioned in that we combined all finances, have multiple joint accounts, we both are on the mortgage, although our cars are separately registered (jointly insured though). If something were to happen we will just face it as it comes, which I know can sound naive of me, but at the same time neither of us entered the marriage with significant assets that we needed to protect. We are also not planning to have children, which would make things infinitely easier should we not end up together someday. Tue, 15 Jun 2010 15:51:55 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/06/14/moving-finances-dating-prenup/#IDComment80270808 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/06/02/5-habits-save-big-money/#IDComment78370373 One of my favorite things is to cook at home as much as possible, instead of eating out. Not only do you save a ton of money (especially if you bring your own lunch to work as well), but you also have a practical life skill, should money ever get tight at another point in your life. I happen to love cooking and baking, so it works out well for me! Thu, 3 Jun 2010 14:39:37 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/06/02/5-habits-save-big-money/#IDComment78370373 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/05/18/swimming-sea-consumer-electronic-devices/#IDComment76176215 Let me start by saying my husband is an engineer. We each have an older ipod, we both have Blackberries (I am trying to convince him to let us get the HTC Evo when it comes out next month, since we already have Sprint), a laptop from 2004, a netbook, a new laptop, and a desktop that he built a few years ago. We also have a Tivo, and a DSLR that we use ALL the time (for trips and also for my food blogging). I'm a huge book nerd, but have not yet gone to the world of Kindles, and I'm not sure when and if I ever will, as I love being able to get books from the library and swap them with friends. Let's not even start on how many video gaming systems we have and memberships that we have for some of them. Wed, 19 May 2010 15:04:25 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/05/18/swimming-sea-consumer-electronic-devices/#IDComment76176215 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/05/12/personal-finance-money-obsession/#IDComment75259929 You definitely bring up some really interesting points here. Money is one of those topics that everyone has an opinion on, and there never is one right or wrong opinion. And obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and to do whatever they want with money. Everyone has their own priorities, so to one person living at home with their parents in order to get large amounts of money might be exactly what they want, while another person might rather live frugally on their own so they can have independence from their parents. I like a middle of the road approach, where I know about how much I have (my husband and I have a budget spreadsheet set up), but we don't track a lot of things that other people might in our budget (like retirement, what our condo is worth, etc.). My personal goal is to not have tons and tons of debt (which will change a bit when I start grad school, and that will be better debt than say credit card debt), and to just live life to the fullest and be as happy as I can while I'm living. But at the same time I am planning for the future, so it's always a delicate balance. Thu, 13 May 2010 14:11:20 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/05/12/personal-finance-money-obsession/#IDComment75259929 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/05/04/places/#IDComment72729865 I don't have quite as an extensive plan, I just have a list of places I want to go. I can totally give you tips for Japan (for affordable hotels check out Toyoko Inn, super cheap, EVERYWHERE, and clean), as I have been twice, and Kyoto and Tokyo are two of my favorite places. My husband and I would love to do an extended vacation in Europe (and by extended I mean more than 1 week), and so I'm thinking maybe after grad school, could be a good way to celebrate. I also want to go to more places in Asia, as well as visit South America. Wed, 5 May 2010 12:08:45 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/05/04/places/#IDComment72729865 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/05/01/netbook/#IDComment72072648 I LOVE our netbook, it's absolutely perfect for travel or just sitting on the couch and surfing the web...you will love it! Mon, 3 May 2010 15:17:14 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/05/01/netbook/#IDComment72072648 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/04/26/squeeze-time-day/#IDComment70936625 I am a huge fan of the crockpot, it requires me to be more creative, and who doesn't love dinner right when you get home? I also love to cook, so sometimes cooking during the week is MY time, when I can unwind. I am a huge reader, and read novels during my lunch break (which will sadly change when I go to grad school, I am sure). Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:52:26 +0000 http://www.wellheeledblog.com/2010/04/26/squeeze-time-day/#IDComment70936625