Mr. D and Mrs. M

Mr. D and I are getting ready to celebrate our third anniversary, and we feel fortunate and blessed in our current financial position. We started out knowing little about how to manage finances, but we appreciate the advice we had and thought we would share a little about what we did the last three years. I always assumed I would be a stay-at-home mom after college, but when I was a single college student shadowing people for possible careers, one woman shared with me that with financial situations that option is not always possible. She also shared that some women like having the option to be in the workforce. She shared that she could be a full-time stay-at-home parent, but that she chose to work. She and her husband agreed to live on one salary so that she would not feel pressured to work when she became a mom. Her salary went toward retirement. I remember liking what she said and asking Mr. D when we were engaged about how he would feel about living on his income and then s...

Brendan and Alee at the reception This past weekend Mr. D and I traveled to Los Angeles to attend the wedding of our friends Brenden and Alee. They have been great friends to us ever since Brendan and I did internships at Walmart in 2010. We absolutely loved attending their wedding and are so happy for the commitment they have made to figure life out with each other together. I loved how personalized their wedding felt; the beachside wedding (that fit Brendan’s love for the beach), the wedding vows (which were full of philosophy and humor, true to Brendan’s personality), the decorative sign that said “I love you” in multiple languages including Japanese (where Brendan studied abroad), and the stories told about the couple throughout the night that reflected the thoughtful people Brendan and Alee are. During toasts, one young girl told a story about a time when they all went to build-a-bear together about eight years earlier when Brendan and Alee’s courtship had begun. The girl ...