Back from Saskatoon!

I'm cah-razy!!

Oh geez, Saskatoon had its way with my wallet! After the whole 4 hours of waiting in the airport ordeal, I finally got my meal voucher and get this – it can’t be used on beers! Honestly, I know how much of an alcoholic I must come across as in my blog, especially since alcohol was one of my biggest expenses before I started this whole rebudgeting thing, but when you’re at the end of a long week and stuck in a boring airport, you want a drink letmetellya! Anyway, I made the big mistake of bringing my credit card with me on the trip and since I was going into my Saskacation without any money in my bank account, I was stuck using my MasterCard to pay for a lot of stuff, I think it was something to the tune of $400!

There is a very good reason for why I leave my credit card at home and why Gail cuts them up on her show, they’re just so goshdarn sexy, you can’t say no to them! You just can’t wait to whip it out and swipe it and get whatever you want. I am all about balance though, so as soon as I got my paycheck, I threw $900 onto my MasterCard. Happily, I can say that I have paid off more money than I owe on my MasterCard! How cool is that!? There are still two more paychecks coming my way this month and then I have my birthday coming up right after this month ends, so I am really psyched about that too! I’ll be turning the coveted age of 29 and I know that I’ll be stepping into my 30s looking good and right on track to getting rid of all my debt!

Saskatchewan - so flat, but so beautiful!

My trip to Saskatoon did cost me a lot more than I usually spend in a week, but you know, when you’re on vacation, it’s pretty lame to tell everyone that you’re just going to sit around and do nothing because you’re on a super tight budget. Sometimes you just need to loosen up the purse strings and get wild and crazy, which is what I did. What was really awesome though was that my friends and family really helped me out in paying for a lot of my expenses and I think that this trip to Saskatoon was one of my favorite in a long time. There are things about s’toon that I forgot how much I miss; like how inexpensive going out can be! I think the one night that I went out I might have spent $20 and I definitely got my party on. I was drinking champagne and dancing on stripper poles (clothes on surprisingly) and just having a blast. I can’t remember when I was able to let loose like that. It helps that I have a pretty awesome group of friends back home and not to mention that my family is just a wild and crazy as I am. Really though, it’s remarkable that 5 kids can all get along with each other so well! I sure am lucky to have such wonderful permanent fixtures in my life.

Beautiful day and beautiful couple! xoxo

Now, speaking of permanent fixtures, I have a new sister in law! Yes, my littlest brother is now married and they’re wedding was a blast! They reminded me that there are ways to still have lots of fun and not overspend your money. They kept the wedding small and adorable! My sister in law made a lot of her own decorations and they looked so amazing! She used simple cute flower pots and put some dried baby’s breath in them and used pieces of odds and ends from fabric to make simple and adorable decorations for the wedding. My brother even used his carpentry skills to make them a beautiful arbor to get married under and now it’s something they can keep forever and put into their yard as a memory of the most beautiful day of they’re lives together! It’s true that some of the simplest weddings seem to become some of the most memorable because what we all really focus on and remember is the couple themselves and how happy they are. It was the same for my other brother and his wife’s wedding, I remember how happy they were more than anything so if you’re planning on doing a big event like a wedding, think about ways that you can keep it simple, and have an amazing time.

Anyway, this post is going to be short and sweet because I have been on the go so much since I came back from my vacation, but I owe you guys and extra post soon since I totally missed out on last week’s post entirely! All in all, things are going really well, I’m happy, I’m healthy, and the debt is getting under control. I learned a lot from my vacation though; leave the credit card at home; take the time to get to a bank machine so you spend cash, not credit, and plan your events with simplicity and remember that you don’t have to spend a fortune to have a great time as long as you’re surrounded by people you love!