10 Questions

 

I saw this on Natasha's blog this week and thought it looked so fun! Since I've had a crazy 24 hours and my head is spinning (hello, job) I thought I'd have some fun with this today!

1. What was your first job? How old were you when you started working?

My first job was babysitting, and I loved it. I was somewhere around 12 when I started working. My niece was a few months old and my sister bravely entrusted her to me for an hour or so while she went somewhere. My brother-in-law, who was a pastor, was in his office next door to where they lived, so if I'd had any sort of emergency, he was right there and could be home in seconds. I was SO NERVOUS for that first job, but we got along beautifully and it led to many years of babysitting. I did that all the way through junior high, high school, and even some into college. I still love kids so much and don't hate it at all that the WillowBridge kiddos have adopted me without hesitation. 

2. Tell us about the best job you've ever had. And the worst.

Tricky! I really loved radio so much, but I also really love getting to work alongside Ryan now. So I would say I love aspects of both of them dearly. Radio was a really fun job. I loved all the people I got to meet, the guests I interacted with, the concerts and events I attended, and the people I worked with. But in my current job, I also dearly love working with Ryan, the best EVER commute, and the wide variety of things I get to do every single day. The worst job I ever had? Hmmmmm. Maybe the loan company I worked at early on? It just was so outside my comfort zone. I was just outside of high school, and it was major culture shock.

3. Are you a saver or a spender? How about your significant other?

Am I allowed to say both? :)  Probably in the eyes of most people, we are definitely savers. We are not into impulse shopping and we certainly don't live beyond our means. We do everything we can to be fiscally responsible. But we also don't save every single penny to the point where we never do or buy anything fun. I appreciate the balance that we strike in saving and spending. I really appreciate that Ryan is responsible with money, because I choose to be that way also, and it makes marriage so much nicer to have us on the same page with that. But I appreciate that we are able to have some fun and get the things we need.

4. Do you play the stock market? Do you play the lottery? Ever gambled? Ever won big?

We are much too conservative for any of this. Plus, you know I have terrible luck when it comes to games, so do you really think gambling and lottery-playing would go well for me?

5. What is your favorite way to splurge? What do you dislike spending money on the most?

Favorite way to splurge...probably would be things for our home. I love making it pretty. (And of course, now things to make Abby pretty.) I'm not big into buying clothes or jewelry or makeup or anything like that. OH! And experiences. I really love spending on things like trips or experiences on trips. Memories more than stuff. Things I dislike spending money on? Repairs. Underwear. All manner of things you can't see. LOL!

6. How do you save money? Do you save change? Christmas club or vacation accounts? Time-share? 

Hmmmm. We probably save money (in comparison to most people) by not eating out much. And when we do eat out, most of the time it's fast food. We don't go to many high dollar restaurants. And we try really hard to be frugal on regular fees. (Like we try to have the cheapest cell phone plan possible, and we don't do high-tier TV services. And we use phones, computers, and cars until they die. And then we duct tape them and use them some more.) We do not save change. I have never saved change. Back in the day when I carried cash more than I do now, I used every penny. I never had leftover. While it may not be a specific Christmas club, I am so thankful my mom taught me back when I was five to start saving part of every allowance for buying Christmas gifts. We always save up for Christmas and trips so we don't have to go into debt for them. We've never done a time-share. 

7. Who pays the bills? Who does the taxes? Do you file early or last minute?

I was so delighted to hand over all the money to Ryan when we got married. I did it and did it well when I was single, but I hated it. Like I said earlier, we are on the same page with financial responsibility, so I never have to worry about him paying things late or doing anything unethical or unwise with our money. He enjoys it and I hate it, so this arrangement works well for us. He takes care of our taxes and we are all about being as early as possible for everything.

8. Name brands or generic groceries? Favorite stores to shop? Have you used grocery pick-up? Delivery? Coupons?

We try to buy generic on everything we can - other than things that we don't like the generic brand. WE do get name brand toilet paper, laundry detergent, coffee, etc. But we don't get hung up on name brands for most things. We usually shop for groceries at Aldi and get everything there that we possibly can. Whatever we can't get there, we get at either Meijer or Wal-Mart. And we have a handful of things we get at Sam's. We don't use grocery pickup or delivery. And we don't clip coupons, but we do have some apps to get coupons that way when we can.

9. Do you shop thrift stores and yard sales? Ever use Poshmark or eBay?

I love thrift stores and yard sale, though I haven't had much time for either in the last few months. I have no shame in buying other people's leftovers!! I've never used Poshmark or eBay. 

10. Is there anything you collect or save that you think might be valuable one day?

Not a thing. I'm not really into stuff so I don't have collections. And back when I did collect, I collected business cards. They're not worth anything. 

So there you have it! We're not very exciting, are we?