Danielle Tate

Why Saving Doesn’t Mean Stop Living Your Life

Hoping to understand why saving doesn’t mean an end to having fun? Saving money to buy a house after marriage can be equally as exciting as getting married, but costs astronomically more than your wedding. An overwhelming thought, I know! Once you and your partner decide to start saving your money you may feel like you can’t afford to do anything. We’re here to tell you it’s not true.

While it is important that you think about exactly how to allocate your money and keep track of your monthly expenses, you shouldn’t forego all extra-curricular activities such as going on out on dates or making small purchases once in awhile. When couples decide to save all their money it leaves little room for having fun through experiences…or just plain living life!

Don’t get me wrong, you can live your life at home and enjoy yourself, but after a while you’ll be sick and tired of the same-old-same-old all the time. Think about it, how often can dinner and a movie on your couch be the most fun you’ve ever had?!

Here are some helpful tips on what you and your partner can do (socially) while still saving up for the biggest purchase of your life!

Plan a monthly happy hour or dinner with friends. It doesn’t have to be at the hottest spot in town to be a great time! You could host a pot-luck dinner at your house and ask each guest to bring one thing, keeping the cost down for everyone. The perks are that you don’t have to pay high prices for your dinner, cocktails or leave a tip at home! A great site for party planning themes, tips and recipes is hostesswiththemostess.

You and your spouse can go out for a lunch date, rather than a dinner date (since lunch prices tend to be lower than dinner entrees). This allows the two of you to enjoy quality couple time out without paying higher prices– often times way over-priced, without sacrificing your dates all-together. Depending on where you go, tips may not be necessary (i.e. any place that you don’t have a waiter/waitress serving you)! While these places may not offer a romantic ambiance, what they do offer is a place for the two of you to catch up and simply enjoy one another’s company.

If you’re the active type; you may be interested in participating in a charity event (spending money, but on a good cause—BONUS: tax write-off!) A great site to search for events is active.com allowing you to select the type of event you’re looking for and a specific date range, displaying all the events for your region or in the country!

If you are dead set on saving every penny, then the two of you could do some research using the internet or read your local paper to find out about free local events. Many communities have free festivals, concerts, church socials, etc. especially during the summer months!

What are you and your partner doing to keep things interesting while saving for your dream house? Share your stories or tips and help out other newlyweds in the process!

Newlywed In Bed

Newlywed in bed? Now that you’re sharing a house, life and possibly a last name…you’re also sharing a bed…every night. While there are some definite benefits to sharing a bed with your mate there can also be a few adjustments too. Here are a few common newlywed bed complaints and fixes.

1.Snoring
No matter who in the couple is the culprit, snoring can wreck a good night’s sleep and cause some serious resentment in the morning. Try to figure out what causes the snoring: allergies, dry air or laying on his/her back and then fix the situation. Simply popping a decongestant or buying a humidifier could be your solution or one of you may need to get some ear plugs. If, after trying some of our suggestions, the snoring situation is still leading to sleep deprivation make a doctor’s appointment. There are medical conditions that can cause snoring and you want to make sure your best beloved is diagnosed and treated.

2. Cover Stealing
Anyone who has ever woken up at 3:00am freezing cold and looked over to see their partner cocooned in all of the blankets knows how annoying cover stealing can be. Fortunately, there are a few alternatives to an all night game of cover tug of war. One thing to try is tucking in your side of the sheets and blankets to anchor them in place. You could also consider buying the next size up in linens (ex: buy King size sheets for your Queen size bed) to have more “coverage” available.

3. Miscellaneous Pets
It’s enough to share a bed with your husband, but what about the combination of your pets? One of you may be dead set on letting Fluffy sleep with you, but there are a few things to consider. Does the animal disrupt either partner’s sleep? Is there a possibility that Fido has fleas or ticks that could end up in your bed or on you? Does a pet in the bed decrease your likelihood of getting it on? Here’s an article that covers the pros and cons of sleeping with your pets. At the end of the day, you need to make a decision that results in you being a well-rested and happy couple. If you’re feeling really guilty about giving a pet the boot out of the bedroom, you can always buy them their own fabulous bed!

4. Snooze Addicts
As a single person, it is completely acceptable to hit the snooze button on your alarm several (okay more than several) times each morning. As a newlywed it is insanely rude! Unless your spouse gets up before you or is an absolute saint, you need to find a way to decrease the number of snoozes. Going to bed 15-30 minutes earlier in the evening may make waking up the first time the alarm goes off easier. You could also try positioning your alarm clock across the room so you have to get out of bed to turn it off…thus decreasing the likelihood that you’ll roll over and go back to sleep.

Do you have a newlywed in bed pet peeve or story? We’d love for you to share it with us and our readers!

The Scoop on Weddzilla: What Is It & How Does It Help?

Have you heard of Wedzilla? As bride-to-be or someone helping with the planning process, there is a high likelihood that you will be inundated with wedding information: a flood of ideas, vendors and of course a million sites claiming to help guide a girl through the process. We had a chance to catch up with the folks at Weddzilla and ask them a few questions about what they do and what their benefits are to you. Read on to learn more…

1. What is Weddzilla.com?
Weddzilla.com is the first website in the wedding industry to really integrate the wedding planning process into popular social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Weddzilla uses the power of community to simplify the wedding planning process for our Nearlyweds. It’s all about connecting them with their perfect vendors and making their wedding planning easy, social, and fun.

2. How is Weddzilla.com changing the game for online wedding planning?
Planning a wedding is supposed to be fun. With a million sites out there focusing on selling brides something, Weddzilla aims to make their planning experience easier. We created each feature with the thought that if it didn’t simplify their planning process, it didn’t make it onto Weddzilla.

3. What is the one feature you would highlight for Nearlyweds to use?
Our Nearlyweds are loving how easy the Weddmark (a visual bookmarking tool) makes makes collecting and organizing inspiration from all over the web.

And of course they love the fact that each new item they Weddmark between now and September 30, 2010 gives them one entry in the “Weddmark Challenge” and a chance to win a $1,000 gift registry from Macy’s!

4. Do you host any Webinars or educational series to help Nearlyweds or Vendors?
Yes! We want to be a resource for brides and vendors alike. Our current educational series focuses on social media. I can’t tell you how many times I have talked with wedding professionals and heard them say “I know that I need to be engaging brides via social media, but I feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start.”

5. Tell us about your gurus. How did you pick them? What will they be bringing to the Weddzilla community?
The Weddzilla Gurus are our team of celebrity wedding professionals that will be sharing their awesome expertise and experience with the Weddzilla Community. The Gurus are not only trendsetters in their fields, they’re also trusted names in the wedding industry.

Plus, they all have HUGE personalities and that comes through in their blog posts and interaction with our Weddzilla community. They are all seriously passionate about what they do…it’s inspiring! And it’s why they have all gotten where they are today.

6. What’s on the horizon for Weddzilla? Tell us what we should be looking out for from you guys.
Up first is the Guru Awards …this is going to be really cool. We are all about social media and blogs play a huge role in the wedding community and we can’t wait to award 25 great blogs our Blog Guru 2010 title!

Also on the horizon is an iPhone app for Nearlyweds…if you thought the Weddmark was cool..wait till you see the iPhone app…Its going to be addicitive!

We have a whole bunch of new site features coming soon like the Ideabook, a new twist on the store, and we will also be introducing our “Wedding Helpers” soon which allow our Nearlyweds to really get social and get their family, friends, and bridal party involved in the planning process.

Have you checked out Weddzilla recently? We’d love to hear your feedback on their site and services!

Co-habitation: Newlywed Surprises and Compromises

Cohabitation can be full of newlywed surprises and compromises. If you’re moving in together after the Big Day, you probably can’t wait to start married life together. What could be more romantic than sharing a home, waking up together and never having to wait to see each other? With all of this built up anticipation, the challenges of early co-habitation might catch you off guard. There are several things to consider as you plan your move-in to help smooth the transition and ensure newlywed bliss.

If your partner is moving into your house, make room for him. Empty a closet (this can include a painful trip to Goodwill) in your room for his clothes, and if room permits, give him a room that is “his”. These small acts will show your man that you have made room for him in your home and in your life. He will sincerely appreciate the fact that you don’t expect him to squeeze himself and his stuff in a corner. Added bonus: the man room can be a great place to put any of his bachelor “décor.”

If you’re both moving to a new place after the wedding, consider how much space you’ll need based on how much stuff you both have. If neither of you can part with the majority of your furniture, you might need a much larger place than you anticipated. This brings us to potentially one of the harder parts of living together…combining your stuff. Try to be as rational as possible when approaching the big merge. If you have a ratty old couch from college and he has a new sofa, concede that his should be the one you keep (even if it is orange). Make trades, such as “I’ll get rid of this lamp if you get rid of that recliner”.

If you can’t come to a decision you both feel good about, consider donating both items and buying a new one together. It’s important to realize that with the addition of all of your wedding gifts, it is virtually impossible to keep all of each person’s belongings.

Living or moving somewhere with two bathrooms? I highly recommend starting a marriage with your own bathroom. Learning to live with someone can be stressful, and allocating bathrooms allows you to keep your current morning schedule without interrupting each other. It also circumvents any disputes about cabinet space and leaving seat up vs. leaving the seat down. Small amounts of personal space allow you both to breathe and adjust to living together.

No matter where you’re living or moving to, communication and planning are key. Try to hash out the majority of major co-habitation decisions before your move. Take into account both partners’ current schedules, commutes, belongings and ideas as you come up with a mutual plan to co-habitate and start your journey of married life together. A little planning goes a long way towards happily ever after!

Do you have any funny co-habitation newlywed surprises and compromises? We’d love to hear how you accidentally used an expensive bottle of “his” wine to make spaghetti sauce or how he ended up washing his hair with your fancy body lotion!

Name Change Kit or Name Change Service—It’s Your Choice!

Deciding between a name change service and name change kit? Once you and your spouse are married, one of the very first decisions you will make (if you haven’t already thought about it prior to your wedding) is whether or not you will be changing to your new married name or keeping your maiden name. If you decide on married name change you will look into the steps of dreaded name change process and may decide to make your life easier by purchasing a Name Change Kit or a Name Change Service.

Name Change Kits as well as Name Change Services are designed to assist brides and newlyweds with name change after marriage. Each could be the answer to all your name change needs, the question then becomes which one would best suit your specific needs? So, you’re asking yourself what is the difference between a Name Change Kit and a Name Change Service?

Name Change Kits will provide you with State and U. S. Government name change forms allowing you to manually complete them at your leisure, in the comfort of your own home. They can help keep you organized by providing you with the forms you need all in one place, saving you from the hassle of having to search the internet for name change forms or worse—having to physically go to each office to obtain the most up-to-date name change forms. If you decide to purchase a Name Change Kit, be sure to purchase one that will be sending you YOUR specific State forms; such as the one offered by NewlywedNameChange.com. This way you have exactly what you need (rather than the forms for all 50 states leaving you to figure out what you need and what you don’t) to officially and legally obtain a name change after marriage!

A Name Change Service is designed specifically for the busy, yet internet savvy bride or newlywed. MissNowMrs.com provides you with all the most up-to-date State and U. S. Government name change forms for YOUR State within an instant online account, allowing you to login and auto-complete your forms in under an hour! Our Name Change Service keeps you organized every step of the way by providing your name change forms in one convenient and easily accessible place, asking you all the necessary questions and making sure you have detailed instructions on how to file your name change form with each agency.

Help Me Change My Name

Our married name change experts are readily available to answer ANY questions that may arise during the name change process via our Customer Support phone number, email and live-chat features 9:00am-5:00pm EST. There’s no need to worry if you made a mistake, as with our Name Change Service you can edit your forms as many times as you need to without having to use white out or obtain another form.

We’ve even gone one step further by providing you with name change notification letters for banks, credit cards, utilities, etc. making our Name Change Service a blessing for any bride or newlywed by alleviating unnecessary stress!

So, whatever you decide to do just know that there are options out there to help make your life easier. You worked hard planning your wedding, worrying about all the little details; so now it’s time to enjoy your newlywed status hassle-free! Congratulations!!!