Money Challenge

I realize I haven't posted about my own savings in a while. I've been putting it off.

As documented, March and April were big spending months for me. And I mean BIG. Not only did I spend more money in April than I earned in April, I spent more money in April than I earn in 2 months!

I've been watching my net worth drop, and I've been trying to ignore it. Even though I don't feel good about it, I knew it was going to happen: I planned this vacation, and I knew my taxes were coming up.

My sister is getting married. We're thrilled - her fiance is a great guy - they love and respect each other, and they're looking forward to spending the rest of their lives together.

They're also looking forward to having a party, and we're trying to help. I've spent hours flipping through wedding websites and magazines, and I'm a little shell-shocked. If you wanted to, you could spend your life savings on a wedding, the industry is so big. One day, you're thinking: "Should we put something on the table?" the next, you've spent four grand on centerpieces.

In 1594, Henri Estienne wrote: "If youth only knew; if only age could."

This was the earliest quote I found along the lines of: "kids these days", which I'm sure even neanderthals were thinking. I've been thinking it lately.

There's been more talk than usual about whether or not young people today have it harder than those who came before them. My last post, which was inspired by HBO's Girls, skirted the issue, but I've read a couple of articles this week that have made me think about it more.

There are lots of reasons that I’m enjoying Girls, not the least of which is that it’s made me think a lot about personal finance in your early 20s.