Chip Chip Cheerio and a Bonjour to You Too!

WE ARE GOING TO LONDON!!!!!!!!

AND PARIS!!!!!!!!!!

I can't believe this is happening!  I can't believe this happened! 

I have wanted to go to Paris since... birth?  And London... well, we all know my Obsession with The Royals.

George and I went to AAA on Saturday, put the ticket on hold and tomorrow, they are ours!

We leave mid-May and are there for our 1 year anniversary.  If not our honeymoon, at least our first anniversary as husband and wife: adventurers of life :)

I have started our budget spreadsheet.  Broken down by city, just to see

London

- Double Decker Bus Tour $35 pp (2 hr. 15 min)
- Globe Theater $16 pp
- Westminster Abbey $21 pp (mass is free)
- Buckingham Palace $25 pp (if open!!) State Room and Palace
- Changing of the Guard FREE - 11:30 am daily
- Windsor Palace $23 pp
- Madame Tussauds $52 pp
- London Eye w/Madame pass
- Harrod's FREE!!!!!
- Piccadilly Circus (round-about) FREE!!!!!
- Cleopatra's Obelisk FREE!!!!!
- Tower of London $26 pp
- Afternoon Tea $26 Euros pp The Georgian Restaurant or The Savoy
- Big Ben Free - sightseeing
- Parliament Free - sightseeing
- Notting Hill Free - sightseeing
- Picnic at St. James Park Free Get food at Fortnum & Mason
- Gardens Free - sightseeing

TOTAL $326 in sightseeing


The Paris budget is barely started but at least this will give you an idea of what we are planning...

Paris

- Train $232 one way
- The Louvre eat at Café Richelieu
- Notre Dame
- Luxembourg Gardens
- Eiffle Tower
- Arc de Triomphe
- Laduree
- Musee d'Orsay
- Versailles
- Seine River Cruise
- Montmartre - Free   http://www.montmartre-paris-france.com/
- Champs-Elysees - Free
- O Chateau Wine Tasting near Lourvre
- Sainte Chapele Church
- Café de Fleur
- Molin Rouge
- Chez Janou Bistrot for Chocolate mousse
- Boulangerie Eric Kayser (best croissants in Paris)
- Napoleon's Tomb
- The Pantheon
- Chanel Flagship Store - Free
- The French Open (? For George?)
- Galeries Lafayette - Free
- Sacre Couer in Montmartre - Free
- Street Market - Free
- Luxor Obelisk - Free
We are very focused on not over spending so planning ahead is important.  And because I am a little bit Type-A, it's fun!
 
So now I need to:
1. Lose weight
2. Exercise and get ready for lots of walking
3. Get a European-inspired wardrobe
4. Get a passport (make this priority 1)
5. Get a new camera
6. Practice my French
7. Go to the doc and get something to make me sleep on the plane!
 
In the words of Jesse Spano...
 

 
 
HAPPY, HAPPY MONDAY!!!

Life vs. Responsibility

Well, we have some good news. Geo and I can take the trip of a lifetime!

But, here's the thing.  We have some debt.  We have a house.  To be honest, I am worried about my job right now (buy out rumors are circulating). 

Our debt isn't crazy; a bit on charge cards but a substantial amount in student loans.  Our savings is growing but we planned on using that for this trip... or a chunk of it.

So we are torn. 

Pay off the charge cards and be down to my student loans and car payment (we paid off George's car and he didn't have student loans). 

OR

Go to Paris and London or Paris and Rome. 

We could scale back the trip but I'm not too sure how much more we can scale back.  And to be honest, we might never get back there.  Kids+Flying+Europe = An Expensive Nightmare!

We are going to talk to a travel agent and see what else we can do to keep cost down. 

We might wait and pay off the debt and re-save up for the trip but I don't know.  I would like to think we could save enough by September or October but it might be more like next spring:  That's OVER A YEAR AWAY!

Okay, I need opinions and I need them now.  What do we do? 

Pay it off... Get our travel on... or pay it and wait it?

Hope everyone is enjoying the NBC Thursday night lineup :)

Sarah

New Years Resolutions: Part 2

Yep, I forgot to mention another resolution I have for 2011.  Ironically, the resolution I forgot to mention is the resolution I always forget to practice: Finances.

I'm not talking money.  I'm talking wealth. 

I have the basics: a retirement plan, a life insurance policy and a few hours of pay in my savings but that's about it. 

Since getting married, we have been trying to get better at watching and controlling our spending.  Honestly we could do better. George is pretty darn good at it but me, well,  I am the shopper.  I'm a cheap, wheeling-and-dealing shopper but a shopper all the same.

I can make any event into a shopping experience.  I'm a marketing company's dream (probably why I'm in marketing).  I crack under the pressure of the impulse items in the checkout line at the grocery store.  I claps at the sign of a sale. I caved at the dentist and bought a fancy toothbrush and he didn't even push it! 

So when I say "it's not money, it's wealth", I mean, I am fine income-wise (though I could ALWAYS use more) but I want to have long-term wealth.  I love the idea of having a few months of income saved.  A more aggressive retirement plan.  Stocks, bonds and CDs... whatever those mean.   I want my car paid off faster.  My student loans paid off faster.  And to throw more in my savings and retirement. 

I want to retire early.  Travel.  Live well and enjoy life.  I don't want to ALWAYS think finances and wealth but I do want to stop forgetting about it.

How about you all?  Any tips where to start?