Last night I was able to spend some much needed time with three of my girlfriends from high school. It is always nice to take a night away from boyfriends, husbands, and babies to gossip about the unimportant things in life and to simply "check-in" with your friends. Throughout the night I realized that no matter where each of us are in our lives, we all seem to be in the same boat when it comes to finances. No, all of my friends aren't spreading themselves so thin that they found the need to start a blog about being a financial mess, BUT it was apparent that everyone has money on the forefront of their minds at all times. I guess what it comes down to is that all of life's decisions and choices somehow or another involve money. We had serious conversations and we had downright hilarious conversations (I never knew having a mother-in-law could be such a task!), but by the end of the night I found myself feeling huge amounts of admiration for each one of these ladies, all for very different reasons. Here are there stories.... (yes, I watch too much Law & Order)
**names are changed, yet not as obvious as Howard.
We decided to have the girls night at Cheetah's house because she lives next to Whole Food's. You must understand that we are NOT the type of girls to eat healthy and be excited about Whole Foods. Cheetah was devastated as she told us the story about trying to find junk food at Whole Foods after a long day of drinking for a Raven's Game. I believe vegan chicken wings were involved; I would rather starve. Anyway, Cheetah had us to her house because she has mastered the Whole Foods meal schedule. With these options and this schedule, she gets away with looking like she slaved over the stove all day. Admiration #1 for Cheetah. She beat the system. Here is the schedule:
Monday- Meatloaf night. $10 meatloaf for $6. Cheetah swears it is the best meatloaf. I hear the word meatloaf and think of Will Farrell in Wedding Crashers, "maaaaaaaaa, the meatloaf!!!"
Tuesday- Buy 1, get one free pizza night. Approximately 16 inch pizzas and a variety of toppings. Comes frozen with no box. No box = no delivery = homemade.
Wednesday-Buy 1 soup, get 1 free night. Cheetah made it very clear to me that Chili was an option. Phew
Thursday- Soup and grilled cheese night. This is not from whole foods. This is leftover soup and a homemade grilled cheese. Now, grilled cheese is something I can handle. Sometimes I jazz it up with a slice of tomato, but only if I'm showing off.
Friday- Dip Night. Yup.
The moral of the story is that if you live near Whole Foods, take advantage. This is a great way to cut back on groceries AND look like you are Martha Flippin Stewart.
Rosalita is six months pregnant. She didn't drink any wine. Impressive. She has always been the friend that encourages me to take advantage of my single years and if I want something, buy it. Because once you have someone looking over your shoulder, a mortgage to pay, and savings to create, the frivolous items are few and far between. Maybe she should have been a culprit from blog #1? Kidding. I listened last night as Rosalita talked about negotiating maternity leave with her company and childcare options when she goes back to work. My head was spinning. Weren't we just living together in a rat infested house, cracking open natty lights at noon? I was overly impressed with her maturity and grace as she prepares to become a mother. Not to mention the basketball on her stomach and the lack of any baby weight on her body. She is one hot mama!
I admire my friend, Skywalker, for two reasons. First and foremost, she drank the disgusting wine that I brought with me last night. Girls night did not mean that I was going to break my budget. So, unfortunately, I brought a $9 1.5 liter of wine. It really wasn't too bad going down and I was impressed. Skywalker and I almost polished off the entire bottle. But if she is like me, her head was pounding this morning. Lesson learned; don't drink my contributed wine during Financial Freedom February. Skywalker is in a unique situation right now. Her and her husband just submitted their top five list for his residency program. I have no idea if I explained that correctly, but if you are like me, just imagine Meredith Gray and George O'Malley at Seattle Grace. Ultimately, Skywalker and her husband chose their #1 choice in an expensive city, but the best hospital in the country. #2 choice was almost equally as impressive of a hospital yet in a city where cost of living is relatively inexpensive. Let me start by saying that her attitude towards all of this was amazing. She believes that no matter what happens, they will be happy (she is right!). Through our conversations last night, I began to see just how much goes in to a decision like this. From what I gathered, the biggest factor was the cost of living. Ultimately, Skywalker and her husband want children. Will they raise their children in a condo in the city, or in a five bedroom farmhouse on many acres of land? This was obviously a tough decision. I kept thinking, wow! She is a patient, loving, amazing wife. I am sure at some point, I will be faced with similar decisions about the quality of life for my family. I can only hope that I exemplify the same unselfish qualities that Skywalker is exhibiting right now.
So that was girls night, minus all of the gossip :) We have all come really far over the past five years, but no matter what, these nights keep us grounded.
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