Worrying

So the Atlanta Journal Constitution ran an article yesterday discussing the possibilities of further lay-offs and possible furloughs for university system employees. At this point, all we can do is conjecture about what will result. I've been lucky so far, but I feel like I need to plan for the worst just in case.

I know that people everywhere are dealing with lay-offs and lost income and job searches. But it is scary to try to plan a wedding (even a very small, fiscally responsible one) during times like this. It's also incredibly frustrating to feel like we're really doing well at this point in aggressively paying down debt, living below our means, and taking responsibility for it all and that could easily be derailed if we lose income. Sometimes it can feel really defeating that we're taking these hits and we've been trying to be responsible.

Worst case scenario - I lose my job entirely. Here's what I'm guessing would happen. We'd have no health insurance at all. We'd have no long term savings. We'd have to take on a roommate to help with rent & utilities. We'd have to cancel the wedding. Paying down debt wouldn't happen for a long long time. Ugh. It's depressing.

To end on a more positive note, in the meantime, we'll be constricting our spending (I know this is one reason the economy sucks) and socking as much into savings and debt as we can.

Getting Out of Debt Update

Last year I had a few posts on personal finance and thought that it was about time for an update on how I'm doing with my goals of getting my spending under control and slowly getting out of debt.

Controlling my spending -
I have done really well at this. The best thing that I did to get a hold of it was to create and maintain a budget spreadsheet in Excel. It took me a little bit of time to decide what was most effective for me - I tried a handwritten notebook, an online tool, my online banking - but what I found works best for me is an Excel spreadsheet. It took several months to really get it down to being both reflective of my actual spending and also at regularly updating it. But now it's become a habit and I have actually been living within in my means (buying only what I have cash to pay for) for the past 6 months.

I now have categories for my spending and anything extraneous (not a bill or fixed monthly expense) is really tightly monitored. I also set up an automatic savings deposit through my payroll deposit so that for the first time since childhood, I have a growing savings account.

I will say that this aspect has probably been the hardest part, but also the most gratifying. One of the hardest lessons I've had to learn is the art of saying "No". I've struggled with feeling really guilty about saying no to plans with friends, buying gifts, participating in office get togethers, etc. But the effect has been worthwhile and I'm feeling more empowered each time I make a decision that I know is right for my long term financial health. Also, I've often been surprised at the reactions of others who seem relieved to find that they also get say "No". (Resulting in the "No in '09" resolution which deserves it's own post.)

Getting out of debt
I've done well here too - and mostly as a result of my budgeting. It's amazing how when you make it a priority suddenly cash appears to start paying it down. My car is fully paid off. I've paid off one smaller credit card in full and will pay off the second smaller one in two months. That will leave one card with a large balance, but once these smaller payments are eliminated then I just throw all the cash towards the one card and hopefully it will be paid off in a couple of years.

Get Rich Slowly has a great post today about how others view our spending. It got me to thinking about how one really needs to come to a decision to live within their means on their own terms. It took me a long time to feel ready to tackle my finances. Whether they know it or not, there were a couple of people who I really looked to as great examples. Andrea and Ian - Thank you for sharing your own successes in a way that was unjudgmental but incredibly motivating!

CSPIA update

I haven't been making much of anything lately to be honest. Our schedule at home has been pretty busy and I don't feel like I've had much down time to enjoy being in the studio or sitting down to knit. In light of that, I figured that I'd give a quick update about the CSPIA legislation.

It went into effect on February 10th, but with an extension for a year before manufacturers need to officially start testing products. However, we're still liable. So if one of my products was found to contain lead or other toxic materials, I would liable for a $100,000 fine.

In light of that, just to be safe I'm pulling anything from my Etsy shop that has plastic buttons. I believe that they have exempted fabric, but buttons and zippers and closures could still be problematic for me. I will not be listing my wooden blocks with the vintage children's illustrations as books printed before 1985 are considered potentially unsafe. For the moment, I will not be making many new items for sale until I figure out if all the materials that I use will be considered safe and exempt (that includes stuffing, buttons, adhesives, etc.)

If you're interested in reading more, please consider reading the following:
Etsy update
Crafty Hangover
Publishers Weekly article
Forbes article

Idea in the Works - Wedding Photo Booth

So I've been tinkering with the idea of creating some sort of photo booth set-up at our wedding and trying to figure out the particulars. I don't want to rent a booth or build a booth, so I figure that we can set something up. And I want it to fit in with the whole country picnic idea. I'm thinking about stringing up a quilt between two trees, having a stationary camera set-up - likely a digital camera mounted on a tripod with a remote trigger, and some fun props and costume items available for dress-up. I'm guessing we'll need to ask somebody to sort of be in charge of the project and the go-to person in case of problems.

I really like the idea of having it hooked up to a photo printer so that folks can print out the image and then insert it into our guest book pages. Friends did that at their wedding with polaroids and I thought it was adorable. Apparently though a lot of guests didn't figure out what to do with the pictures and ended up taking them home as mementos. Could also get expensive for printer paper. Also could be a little too complicated for some guests to figure out. And then there's the issue of dealing with children in this whole project.

Anyhow, I saw photos of a wedding on StyleMePretty (scroll down through pictures to see the Photo booth) that really got me excited about trying to figure it out. The bride (who is also a professional photographer) was kind enough to let me know about how it went and give some tips on set-up.

Readers - what do you think of the idea? Cheesy or fun? Easy or too hard to coordinate? What are some of your ideas for making it work and of course keeping it affordable!

Beautiful Truth

Excerpted from A Walk Down the Aisle: Notes on a Modern Wedding by Kate Cohen (New York: Norton, 2001)

[Photographs are the] ideal representation of a relationship. It's what weddings are too. Weddings and photographs are both ways in which we self-invent, present our ideal of ourselves....The bride and groom make vows before a god they have until then ignored. Later they carefully dance a complete, newly acquired waltz routine, though they had never before advanced beyond the junior-high cling and grope. These actions can be read as false, as distortions of reality. And photographs of that distorted reality will be false too: the bride and groom won't end up with an accurate, historical record of who they are and how they felt. They'll end up, in the worst case, with a record of who Hollywood and their parents and their photographer's portfolio taught them a wedding was supposed to be, and who they were supposed to be.

The hardest task a couple have when they wed is holding out against other people's images of what a wedding should be, and how a bride and groom should look and act. But if they can resist those forces, if they can build and then protect their own vision of their wedding and of themselves, they will end up with a truthful record. Maybe it won't reflect the true nature of their feelings for their in-laws, or their true comfort level on the dance floor. But the record will reflect something even more important; it will reflect what at that moment they wished reality had been. When we marry we get to create a day - and a photo album - devoted to our notion of our best selves. There is truth in that, beautiful truth.

And this is why we are striving to make each part of the day something that truly represents us and also why we're not using a professional photography but instead are using the talents of people who already know and love us.

CPSIA about to put me out of business

I only very recently found out about the passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act that goes into effect on February 10th. The intention of the law is to give added protection to children's products in regards to safety and in reaction to the recent spate of unsafe imported toys and toy recalls.

However, the law has been written so that it will affect any sale (or resale) of a children's item including handmade toys, clothing or furniture - even books! This means that I will no longer be able to sell my handmade stuffed animals, baby blocks or any future items without having to pay an insanely prohibitive fine to have the item tested.

Aside from how that will affect just myself, as general consumers our choices will now be severely limited. The costs associated with testing will prohibit many smaller manufacturers, both in the U.S. and abroad, from putting items in the marketplace. That means that you will not have very much choice as a consumer when you go to buy a children's product. Additionally, thrift and resale shops will no longer be able to resell used items. That means that all used items will have to go into the trash! What a waste.

It seems to me that this law was written hastily and is reactionary. The problem of safety is definitely legitimate and needs to be addressed. However, a quickly passed law that will affect businesses and consumers alike by effectively making it impossible for small business to compete is not the answer.

For more information, please check the following links and please consider writing your congressperson to ask for more thought into how they can protect small business and competition while still maintaining the intent of the law.

http://www.handmadetoyalliance.org/
LA Times Article on reselling
Sign a petition

Savannah enters the world of responsible citizenry

If you can believe it, Savannah is instituting curbside recycling starting today. Having grown up with it in my small town and having it everywhere else I've lived, it was terrible to see how much went into the trash here. But I jumped with excitement when I saw the recycling carts being delivered and ours is totally full and ready to be picked up this week. Better late than never...