Ode to the Maxi Skirt: Sweatpants in Disguise

For those of you who have yet to discover the wonder of the maxi skirt, let me introduce you...

How do we love the maxi skirt? Let me count the ways:

1. Didn't shave? NO PROBLEM! Because no one can see your legs!
2. Feeling lazy? Maxi skirts are super easy to wear. You can pair them with anything: tanks, button downs, Ts, ANYTHING! 
3. Feeling fat/bloated? The maxi skirt sits at your waist, making it look tiny, and hides everything else below the belt you might not be feeling so great about.
4. Maxi skirts are UBER comfy. They are usually super soft AND have elastic waistbands! (Double win!)
5. They work great in all seasons! They are long enough to cover your legs and keep you warm in the winter and breezy enough to wear all summer long. 
6. Maxis look great with flats, sandals, boots, or heels!
7. Maxi skirts can easily be dressed up or down to fit the occasion:
• With a sparkly necklace = Glam Maxi
• With a colorful scarf = Cute Maxi
• With a cardigan or blazer = Profesh Maxi
• With a jean jacket = Weekend Maxi

Basically, these are awesome skirts that have the same feel as sweatpants but look way chic-er! 

You should get on board.

Terrifying Taxes!

In keeping with Michal's previous post regarding finances, I thought I would chronicle my recent experience with... (insert ominous music here...)

Filing TAXES!!

Up until I got married (this past summer), I was a dependent on my parent's tax returns.

This is because I :

1. Am a little spoiled.
2. Am a little privileged. 
3. Am a little sheltered. 
4. Have awesome parents who helped me out maybe a little too much...
5. Got married pretty young (22 - right out of college).

So this made filing taxes seem:

1. terrifying.
2. daunting.
3. WORLD ENDING.

(Yes, I have a flair for the dramatic.)

Anyways, 

I had off work today for MY BIRTHDAY!!! Just kidding, it was technically for President's Day, but my birthday was yesterday, so I'm counting this as my birthday present from my employer.

Husband had a break in classes/lessons/rehearsals after lunch today so he came home and we had a feast of left-over Pad Thai (from early birthday dinner) and Bar-B-Q (from real birthday dinner) and it was delicious. 

Then the discussion began of what to do with our free afternoon:

Me: What do you want to do?

Him: I dunno, what do you want to do.

Me: I dunno! (this is where I start thinking of the vultures in the Jungle Book)

Him: Why don't we get our taxes out of the way?

Well... Let me tell you, I have been pushing this to the back of my mind and pretending it didn't exist ever since I got my W-2s in the mail. But I knew it had to be done, and I knew I wanted husband's help because he's done it before, and I knew I wouldn't ever want to do after a long day at work, or want to spend any precious weekend time on it... so I agreed to spend part of my BIRTHDAY DAY OFF (okay... President's Day) doing taxes. 

We decided to file jointly. BECAUSE WE CAN!! (Yay for being married!)

Four W-2s, a few other forms, two phone calls to my dad, one to my mom, one interruption from our upstairs neighbor, two hours and a few tears later... We're DONE! 

It was a little stressful, and a little confusing (mostly because we've only been married since July and my name changed half way through the year) but since we're pretty poor, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been... and we're getting a nice return! YAY!

Afterwards, we rewarded ourselves with left-over birthday tiramisu. 

And it was delicious. 

And it almost made doing taxes bearable. 

Money Money Money!

Something that is crucial to becoming a "grown-up" in the world and helpful when you eventually separate the financial umbilical cord with your parents is CREDIT. If you are living off a debit card and cash and you're over the age of 18 you need to apply for a credit card. It is virtually impossible to be denied when applying for a credit card (especially if its the same bank as your debit card).

My parents got me a credit card when I was 16 years old and monitored how I used it so that I could learn to pay bills on time but also build credit in the meantime. It has really paid off (no pun intended) because I successfully learned how to manage my paychecks and spending, and I earned a great credit score (which has helped tremendously in the home purchasing department). Many banks like BOA offer a "student credit limit" if you're still in school.

Credit card beginners tips:

• When starting out on a credit card it is good to set a reasonable limit (about $400-500).
• Only use your credit card for things that are consistent month to month like gas and groceries.
• Only purchase on your credit card what you KNOW you can pay off every month. It really skyrockets your credit score if you pay everything off every month, which is good reason to start off nice and slow/low.

New Adventures

Welcome to our new adventure! This blog is really for us to write down and share everything we have learned about fashion and clothing, how to look professional without being in "the red" on your debit card, what you can expect in your first year with your hunny, real world help and anything else that we think is necessary to share. Have fun looking around and leave us comments!