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Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about buying now and refinancing later, once mortgage rates drop.

Of course, that’s if mortgage rates do indeed fall at some point in the near-future.

There’s no guarantee they will, but if inflation does settle down, we could see a return to more reasonable interest rates before long.

And that would support the marry the house, date the rate supporters, who believe it’s better to buy now while rates are high.

After all, if rates drop again, competition to buy a home could heat up fast.

Enter the Navy Federal No-Refi Rate Drop

While there’s logic to buying now and refinancing later, it still involves a pesky mortgage refinance.

And even if rates are lower, there are downsides to refinancing. For one, it’s time-consuming and paperwork-intensive.

There are also closing costs involved, stress, and of course you need to qualify for the thing. That’s never a guarantee if your situation changes. Or if home prices fall, etc.

To alleviate some of this concern, select lenders have been offering to waive fees on subsequent refinances if you use them for a home purchase loan.

But this still requires the borrower to go through the entire home loan process a second time. Not fun.

That’s where Navy Federal Credit Union’s  “No-Refi Rate Drop” comes in. They’ve taken both the big cost and hassle out of it.

As the name implies, you can refinance your high-interest rate mortgage into a lower-rate mortgage without refinancing.

That way you can take advantage of lower mortgage rates without all the hoops and hurdles, and the closing costs.

And it seems super easy, with apparently only one document to sign.

How It Works

If you buy a home and use Navy Federal to get your mortgage, keep an eye out for lower mortgage rates.

After six consecutive monthly payments, you can take advantage of their No-Refi Rate Drop if they fall by at least 0.25% versus your existing rate.

For example, if your current interest rate is 7%, and rates fall to 6.75%, you could take advantage.

Aside from needing to make six payments, you also must be current on your loan with no more than one 30-day late payment within six months of the rate drop request.

Additionally, your loan must be a Homebuyers Choice, Military Choice, or 15- or 30-year jumbo fixed-rate loan.

Note that cash-out refinances are not eligible for the no-refi rate-drop option, nor are adjustable-rate mortgages.

Assuming you fit that criteria, and rates drops enough, all you have to do is call them to start the process. If eligible, they’ll send you a single document to sign within five business days.

Simply return that signed form and a $250 payment and your new lower rate will take effect within 30-60 days.

They say you’re guaranteed to get the mortgage rate that is offered on the day you call in, similar to a traditional mortgage rate lock.

So it doesn’t matter if rates increase while they process your application.

What’s more, you’re able to lower your rate multiple times during the loan term as long as you are eligible and pay the $250 fee each time.

Another perk is your loan term will stay the same. So if you make the request two years into a 30-year loan term, you’ll still have 28 years remaining.

It won’t increase the loan term like a standard refinance could.

Is the No-Refi Rate Drop a Good Deal?

As always with promotions like these, you have to use the company now for the promise of future, potential savings.

In other words, you won’t get to take advantage of No-Refi Rate Drop if you don’t use Navy Federal initially.

That means you need to compare loan rates and fees with Navy Federal versus other options.

If you plan to use them regardless, it’s an added perk that may or may not come to fruition.

If you’re deciding between them and other lenders, you need to consider if this potential benefit tips in their favor.

Of course, mortgage rates may not fall in the future, there’s no guarantee that they will.

But if they do, the mere $250 fee to lower your rate 0.25% or more sounds like a pretty good value.

Not just from a monetary standpoint, but the time savings as well.

Read more: Can you lower your mortgage rate without refinancing?

Source: thetruthaboutmortgage.com

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Have you been diagnosed with congestive heart failure?  It can make applying for life insurance coverage becomes a bit difficult.

You may be able to get it approved, however insurance companies will  be concerned about offering you coverage because of your potentially serious medical condition.

However, it is still very possible to get insured with congestive heart failure. Obviously it doesn’t mean your heart has actually failed and stopped working, or you wouldn’t be reading this information.  It simply means it isn’t working as efficiently as it once did.

That being said, CHF, along with other heart diseases like heart attacks, congenital heart disease, and coronary heart disease, are the Number One cause of death of adults in the country.  This includes both men and women.

Since this is the case, trying to get life insurance approved can be a longer process than it would normally take.  This is because of additional underwriting requirements such as medical records having to be ordered.  If the doctor’s office is slow in getting medical records to the insurance company, it will just take longer to get approved.

This means the SOONER you APPLY for coverage, the sooner the process will get started. You can complete our brief form on this page to get the ball rolling.

If the condition is severe then your type of coverage will be impacted. First off let’s look at some underwriting guidelines for life insurance on how they relate to congestive heat failure. Hopefully this gives you a idea on what is ahead on your application.

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Life Insurance Underwriting for Congestive Heart Failure

Your agent, knowing you have CHF, will ask you some pre qualifying questions when you first talk with them. Listed below are a few of them:

  • When was your congestive heart failure diagnosed?
  • Did any health issues contribute to your diagnosis of congestive heart failure?
  • Do you have high blood pressure or hypertension?
  • What tests have you had done to evaluate your condition?
  • Do you have high cholesterol?
  • Is there any history in your family with heart disease or death in the family due to heart conditions?
  • Tobacco user?
  • Are you prescribed any medicine to help with your issues?

Even though you might take some medications, beta blockers, inhibitors, or nitrates, for your condition, you still might be insurable as long as you don’t take multiples of each and have other issues that coincide with CHF.

When it comes to life insurance underwriting, the more information you can give the better. If your application doesn’t clearly describe your condition, your chances of a bad rating or rejection go way up. Make sure to fully answer all the application questions plus give any other details you think are important.

 

Life Insurance Quotes with Congestive Heart Failure

Congestive heart failure has a wide range of different severity levels. Your life insurance quote will depend on how serious your health issues are because of your condition. Insurance companies also do not accept applicants that have recently been diagnosed with congestive heart failure because they want some time to see how the condition develops.

To avoid rejections and get the best rate, its best putting off an application for twelve months after diagnosis.. From there, your rate will depend on your condition plus your overall health.

It is even possible that you may have CHF and not even realize it because the symptoms usually don’t show up initially.  The reason they don’t is because your body and your heart can mask it at first, which is called compensation.  The symptoms will start showing up when the heart just can’t pump enough blood to the rest of your body.

These are some standard rating classes that most life insurance companies use, though every carrier determines how you’d fall into each category, I’ll explain your chances with each class.

  • Preferred Plus:  Generally impossible. Congestive heart failure is too serious a condition and carries too many health risks for applicants to receive the best possible insurance rating.
  • Preferred:  Very difficult but not impossible. If your congestive heart failure has only mild health symptoms and you are in great health otherwise, you could get a preferred rating.
  • Standard:  The likely best rating for most applicants. Applicants that only started having heart failure at 60 or older, are in good health, and have waited at least a year after being diagnosed to apply can get a standard rating.
  • Table Rating (substandard):  Many of you will end up in this class due to the health issue.
  • Declines: Most applications within 3 to 6 months of a diagnosis for congestive heart failure.  And other persons who deal with many health issues combined with history of health

If there is a situation where you do find that due to your medical condition you are declined for traditional life insurance, then our next recommendation is to look at a guaranteed issue life insurance policy.  This type life insurance application only asks a few health questions, but not to decline your application but only to determine how much and when the death benefit would be paid out.

As you are thinking about applying for life insurance, you may also try to improve your chances of getting the best rate by doing some of the following:

  • Lower your sodium intake
  • Lower your cholesterol
  • Stop smoking
  • Exercise more often
  • Eat a healthier diet
  • Keep all other medical conditions under control with responsibly taking medications
  • Continue with proper medical care by your medical professionals

These recommendations are common sense, and your doctor may have other activities and guidelines.  Even though there really isn’t a cure for congestive heart failure, the above lifestyle choices can minimize the degree of your heart deterioration, and allow you to get a lower life insurance rate.

Other Considerations as You are Applying for Life Insurance

This is common sense, but if you haven’t thought about it, now is the time to be thinking about how much death benefit you are looking to buy.  Since you have a serious medical condition, you might not be able to afford what you would want, so be realistic in also considering how much money you have to budget for a monthly life insurance payment.

Also, how long a period will you need life insurance?  Although typically no one knows for sure when their beneficiary might be filing a claim on the policy, you will need to consider whether to buy a term life insurance plan or a permanent life insurance plan.  We can help you with making this decision.

Lastly, it would be a good idea not to drop or cancel any life insurance policy you presently own.  As you get older, the premiums increase.  So if you are comparing an old policy vs a new policy, the rates on the new policy will probably be higher than what you are paying now.

 

Congestive Heart Failure Life Insurance Case Studies

Its important to understand how filling out the application can hinder or help your approval percentage. Below are instances on how to and how not to go through the process.

Case Study: Female, 63 year old, non-smoker, diagnosed with congestive heart failure at age 61, taking Beta Blockers and Ace Inhibitors, no other health issues.

This applicant was only showing mild signs of congestive heart failure and was otherwise in very good health. She had no other health issues and no family history of heart disease. However, because of her condition, she was only receiving expensive, rated life insurance offers. We advised her to request an EKG to prove that her condition was under control. With this extra information, an insurance company gave her a much less expensive standard policy.

Case Study #2:  Male, 54 year old, diagnosed with congestive heart failure at 51, father died young from heart disease, former smoker, improved health and weight since the diagnosis

This applicant had a very poor lifestyle prior to his heart failure diagnosis. He was smoking, overweight, and had high blood pressure. This combined with his family history of heart disease led to him being rejected from all his life insurance applications. However, since his diagnosis, this applicant dramatically improved his lifestyle. He lost a good deal of weight and quit smoking which made his condition much less severe. Since his health had improved we let him know it would be smart to get a written referral from his doctor stating how much healthier he is now. By reapplying with this extra certification, this applicant was able to receive a rated policy despite his relatively risky profile.

While congestive heart failure is quite serious, it is not enough to prevent you from taking out life insurance. You just need to handle your application well. To make sure the process goes smoothly, it helps to work with expert brokers that understand this condition.

Source: goodfinancialcents.com

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From making lamps out of used bottles to bean bags out of waste fabrics, here are a few online brands that are making sustainable home décor out of recycled materials

Updated On – 03:01 PM, Thu – 1 June 23

These brands are turning waste into cool home décor 
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Hyderabad: With growing environmental consciousness, sustainable home décor has emerged as a captivating trend with people eventually making more eco-friendly choices. From making lamps out of used bottles to bean bags out of waste fabrics, here are a few online brands that are making sustainable home décor out of recycled materials.

Diti 

Collecting waste fabric from local tailors, boutiques, weavers and block printers from across the country, Diti is on a solid mission to turn this into art for our walls and homes.

Sirohi

Sirohi works with women artisans from disadvantaged communities who are taught to upcycle leftover plastic and textile waste materials using traditional Indian styles. All of their products are handcrafted with either natural or upcycled waste materials.

Opaque Studio

The brand makes aesthetic pieces like candle holders, planters and ottomans using old tables, chairs, bookshelves, and other leftover materials. It also uses sustainable materials like cane, jute and terracotta to craft some of its most unique home décor items and furniture.

Design5 

They turn discarded wood into pretty wall photo frames, decorative tray boxes, tray platters or candlesticks. The home accessories are also hand-painted with delicate Indian motifs, florals and nature-inspired designs.

Rimagined 

The brand recycles empty wine bottles, old rags and car tyres as cushioned stools, baskets, vases and spice racks. According to their website, their team includes women and traditional artisans.

Artisanns Nest 

The brand uses its surplus to furnish homes with regal, simple and patterned cushion covers and bean bags. Most were created using the patchwork technique that ranges between themes of monochrome, and florals.

The Retyrement Plan

They upcycle old and urban waste materials like used tyres, textile ropes, cane and bamboo and skilfully make colourful furniture like chairs, pouffes, stools, and swings. The Retyrement Plan works with skilled urban migrant artisans and craftsmen.

Source: telanganatoday.com

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Editor’s Note: Since the writing of this article, President Biden signed the debt ceiling bill on June 4, canceling the federal student loan payment pause as of Aug 30, or “60 days after June 30.” Later this month, the Supreme Court will decide whether the Biden-Harris Administration’s Student Debt Relief Program can proceed. Loan payments are expected to resume in October.

Student loans are a significant issue in the United States, where consumers have more than $1.7 trillion in total student loan debt. In 2021, the average federal student loan debt per borrower was just over $37,000. And 20 years after students enter college, half of borrowers still owe $20,000 in student loans.

Broken down by degree levels, the debt increases. Graduate students who receive a degree leave school with an average of nearly $70,000 in debt. Law students are saddled with an average of $180,000; and medical students owe $250,000 on average for total student loan debt.

With so many borrowers and so much debt, it begs the question, “Should all student loan debt be forgiven?”

Who’s in Favor?

By a 2-to-1 margin, voters do support at least some student loans being forgiven, according to a poll from Politico and Morning Consult. And 53% of voters from the same poll support Biden’s extension of student loan payments through August.

Proponents of canceling student loan debt point out that the government is partially responsible for this debt crisis. Because many states slashed higher education funding after the 2008 recession, tuition at both public and private colleges has gone up steeply, and many students have been forced to take out even more in loans.

Unfortunately, the increase in student loan balances hasn’t gone hand in hand with a bump in post-college salary. The result is a national situation where borrowers owe increasingly more in student loans but don’t have the paycheck to aggressively tackle their balances.

Although the government has created income-driven repayment options that seek to keep monthly student loan payments affordable, signing up isn’t without its downsides.

Since these income-driven plans often lengthen loan terms, borrowers may pay significantly more interest on their loans over time. Also, any forgiven balance at the end of their loan term is typically treated as taxable income.

Why Forgiving Student Loan Debt a Isn’t a Slam-Dunk

There are several reasons why forgiving student loan debt may not be a straightforward positive. The first is that, according to U.S. tax laws, debt that’s forgiven is a taxable event. Under income-driven student loan repayment plans, for instance, if you make consistent, on-time payments for the life of the loan (20 or 25 years, depending on when you borrowed), any balance remaining at the end of your loan term is forgiven — but whatever’s forgiven is considered taxable income.

The second issue pundits raise with this plan is that it’s being sold as a stimulus: If the government forgives people’s student loan debt, they’ll put money back into the economy, the thinking goes. But forgiving debt isn’t the same as handing people a check.

And finally, the federal government so far isn’t planning to forgive student loans that borrowers hold with private lenders, which average over $54,000 per borrower.

Alternative Options to Canceling Student Loan Debt

Instead of targeting only student loan borrowers who qualify for relief, the government could provide a stimulus check to all Americans, and Americans could decide for themselves how to use it.

If someone has $10,000 in outstanding student loans, for example, they might prefer to use a check to put a down payment on a house or pay off high-interest credit card debt.

Then there’s the higher education system itself. Canceling or forgiving student loan debt may provide only temporary relief as long as tuition levels continue to rise. As it stands, future generations will be saddled with just as much, if not more, student debt than Americans currently have today.

Tackling Your Student Loan Debt

There’s no telling when or if some form of more long-term relief might appear for student loan borrowers. If you’re struggling under the weight of your student debt, there are strategies that might help:

•   Alternative payment plans: Federal student loans come with a variety of repayment options, one of which might suit your situation.

•   Direction of overpayments: If you make extra payments on your student loans, you may instruct your servicer to apply them to your principal, rather than the next month’s payment plus interest. This will help pay off your loans faster.

•   “Found” money: If you receive a work bonus or tax refund, applying it to your student loans can help reduce your balance faster.

•   Refinancing: Refinancing student loans (private and/or federal) into one new loan with a private lender could lower your monthly payment and interest rate, and make it easier to manage payments. Just know that refinancing federal student loans with a private lender means losing access to federal repayment and forgiveness programs.

Recommended: Can Refinanced Student Loans Still Be Forgiven?

The Takeaway

There is no quick fix for student loan debt, which will take further discussion from stakeholders on all sides.

If you are struggling with your own student loan debt, there are options to consider. You can apply for an income-driven repayment plan, apply for student loan deferment or forbearance on your federal student loans, or refinance your loans with a private lender. Keep in mind, though, that refinancing disqualifies you from federal benefits you may otherwise be eligible for.

If you do decide to refinance, consider SoFi. SoFi has a quick online application process, competitive rates, and no origination fees or prepayment penalties.

See if you prequalify with SoFi in just two minutes.

SoFi Student Loan Refinance
If you are looking to refinance federal student loans, please be aware that the White House has announced up to $20,000 of student loan forgiveness for Pell Grant recipients and $10,000 for qualifying borrowers whose student loans are federally held. Additionally, the federal student loan payment pause and interest holiday has been extended beyond December 31, 2022. Please carefully consider these changes before refinancing federally held loans with SoFi, since the amount or portion of your federal student debt that you refinance will no longer qualify for the federal loan payment suspension, interest waiver, or any other current or future benefits applicable to federal loans. If you qualify for federal student loan forgiveness and still wish to refinance, leave unrefinanced the amount you expect to be forgiven to receive your federal benefit.

CLICK HERE for more information.

Notice: SoFi refinance loans are private loans and do not have the same repayment options that the federal loan program offers such as Income-Driven Repayment plans, including Income-Contingent Repayment or PAYE. SoFi always recommends that you consult a qualified financial advisor to discuss what is best for your unique situation.

SoFi Loan Products
SoFi loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A., NMLS #696891 (Member FDIC). For additional product-specific legal and licensing information, see SoFi.com/legal. Equal Housing Lender.
Non affiliation: SoFi isn’t affiliated with any of the companies highlighted in this article.
Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.
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Source: sofi.com

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Weddings are a big deal. You plan them for months or even years and invite everyone you know, then you have the highly-anticipated, heavily-photographed event and they all live happily ever after. (Cue the end credits.)

So much goes on behind the scenes before the big day, as anyone who’s ever attended or been in a wedding should know. But what you don’t really find out until you plan one for yourself is just how expensive and wasteful they can be. 

What’s Ahead:

The true cost of a wedding

When I was planning my wedding between 2018 and 2019, I learned pretty quickly what weddings actually cost. And I’m not just talking about the bill. 

Each year in the U.S., couples spend thousands of dollars on average on their weddings. In 2022, the national average price of a wedding was around $30,000, according to The Knot. Of course, these averages vary by state and city but could be much higher. And destination weddings can add another several thousand onto your final total.

And every year, these averages go up.

I didn’t know any of this when I got engaged. But once I started actually planning and crunching the numbers using quotes from vendors and venues, I realized that there was no way I could afford the “average wedding,” and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. 

Creating my lists also had me thinking about how all of these different “to-do” items would eventually become “to-dump” items. Those flowers would have to go somewhere, right? The table decorations would need to be disposed of, the cards tossed, and the wrapping paper from the gifts thrown in the trash. 

So I decided to try to do things a little differently. Both out of necessity because I was poor when we got married – like still in college, barely 22 years old poor – and out of a desire to be eco-friendy. 

I’m going to share seven real ways I made my wedding greener and some ideas for making your big day low(er)-waste too.

Read more: Are you financially ready to get engaged?

1. Swap the flowers

Sola wood flower bouquet

My flower total: $94.55

Swapping real flowers for sola wood, paper, fabric, or anything else that will last is a smart place to start. Because the fact of the matter is, flowers are incredibly expensive. And then they wilt and die, as cut plants are prone to doing.

For my flowers, I opted for sola wood. This is a material that comes from tapioca that can be treated and shaped almost like paper. It’s lightweight and looks darn close to the real thing.

I found a shop on Etsy that sold individual sola wood flowers in a bunch of different colors and varieties, and I used 24 of these for my bridal party. For myself, I purchased a pre-made sola bouquet from another store so I didn’t have to cobble one together. 

The great part about using sola or another material for your flowers isn’t just that it’s inexpensive but also that you get a keepsake.

I let my bridesmaids keep theirs as a memento and I have the leftovers in vases.

For me, that was it in the way of flowers. I used other decorations for everything else, including repurposed antiques and some DIY items. But there’s nothing saying you couldn’t go all out with the sola since it’s a fraction of the cost of live flowers.

Tip: Purchase sola flowers in large quantities to save even more, and buy them early so you can match them to your other decorations and customize them.

2. Buy your dress secondhand

My dress total: $700 (without alterations)

I know, I know. This one is a harder sell. Many brides have very clear visions in their heads about how they want their dresses to look and make them feel, and purchasing secondhand limits your options. Plus, thrifting a top or a pair of jeans is different from thrifting one of the most important outfits of your life.

But hear me out. No one is going to know someone else wore your dress before you. Wedding dresses usually get worn once, maybe twice, before collecting dust. And creating gowns is so labor and resource intensive that even repurposing one has an impact.

For my dress, I went to The Brides Project in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This is a nonprofit bridal boutique that collects donated dresses, sells them, and uses the profits for charitable causes. The Brides Project donates to the Cancer Support Community of Greater Ann Arbor and everyone who works there is a volunteer. 

Buying secondhand saves serious money and prevents a dress from being wasted. At the end of the day, I spent $700 on my dress and I loved it. This was in 2018 when the average cost of a wedding gown was right around $1,750. 

Tip: If you don’t have access to a secondhand bridal shop, check out your local consignment and thrift stores, go on eBay and Poshmark, or browse a marketplace specializing in pre-owned bridal gowns.

Secondhand marketplaces include:

Point is, you’ve got options.

3. Use one venue

Wedding venue with dance floor and tables and chairs set up

My venue total: $1,850

If you can find a venue with enough room for both your ceremony and reception, book it. This is one of the best decisions we made. Venue rental fees will eat up a big chunk of your budget no matter where you go, but choosing one for the whole event can help you save a little money and make things easier on yourself – and your guests.

With one venue, nobody has to kill time in between, you don’t have to get multiple places set up, and you don’t need to pay for twice the decorations. You save your elderly relatives from climbing into a car more than necessary and nobody gets lost.

This creates less waste and simplifies your planning. Plus, without all those cars on the road getting from one place to another, you’re not responsible for as many carbon emissions.

Tip: To pull this off, you have to love whatever venue you choose. Rather than picking a “blank canvas” venue you’d have to style from floor to ceiling, consider one with some personality. If you choose a place that suits your style, you don’t need to do as much decorating. 

We got married in a city club that had vintage art, furniture, and accents throughout, and our wedding was in spring when the flowers were blooming. It felt timeless and setup was minimal.

Overall, highly recommend. 

4. Skip (some of) the cards

My card total: $117.19

Physical engagement announcements, save-the-dates, invitations, and programs are nice to look at. But that’s a lot of material that’s probably just going to get recycled. And wow is it pricey.

The only paper I purchased was invitations and RSVPs. We ordered these from Paper Culture, a company that creates custom eco-friendly cards using recycled paper and bamboo. 

The cards included links to our wedding website where people could RSVP and find out everything they needed to about the event. We did receive some physical RSVPs back, but the majority of our guests used the website to “joyfully accept” or “regretfully decline.”

There are so many wedding planning websites and apps that organize everything from responses to registries in one place. You can pretty much skip most of the cards if you want to.

Great wedding websites include: 

  • The Knot
  • Zola
  • Joy
  • WeddingWire

Tip: Send invitations a little earlier than recommended if you’re doing digital. This will give guests more time to “save the date” and you more time to track down RSVPs. And you might need to give your tech-averse relatives a call if they don’t respond.

As for programs, you might not need them. I wrote down the schedule of events with times on an extra-large mirror (that I got on sale for $35) and displayed this centrally at the venue. I still have this mirror today, with the writing on it, on my wall.

Bonus tip: Not everybody needs a plus-one

Maybe this seems selfish, but we gave out plus-ones very sparingly. If we had met a person’s significant other, they were invited. Otherwise, we didn’t really want to give them hugs in the receiving line or pay for their dinner.

We made a note on the RSVPs that if someone wanted to request a plus-one they could, but no one actually did this. People get it. 

5. Choose food wisely 

Appetizers on trays and stands at wedding

My food total: $3,077.50

For many couples, the food and drink bill ends up being the biggest. The Knot 2022 Real Weddings Study found that the average food bill for a wedding comes out to $75 per person. 

But most people don’t go to a wedding for the food. In fact, this is often the worst part (just stating facts). Don’t put too much pressure on the meal you’re serving to be a highlight of the day or evening, and don’t fork over more cash than necessary.

That said, we decided to do a menu of just appetizers. We ordered enough that everybody would be able to pile their plates with several individual bites and have plenty to eat, but not so many that we’d have leftovers to deal with. 

Every venue is different, but ours charged a per-plate or per-head price on dinners and a per-item price on appetizers (or hors d’oeuvres if you want to be fancy). By choosing apps instead of plates, we saved a ton of money and gave our guests more options. They were able to enjoy dinner-sized portions and we still hear from people about how fun this was.

Tip: Some venues require you to use their caterers and might place a minimum on how much you need to order. Try to get this information before signing a contract to rent a venue. And if your venue doesn’t offer appetizers or you’re not into the whole strolling dinner thing, buffet-style meals can be an economical alternative to plated dinners.

For 130 guests, we could have spent over $9,000 going the traditional route. I’m glad we didn’t.

6. Ask for money

It’s not weird anymore to tell people you just want cash.

Especially if you and your partner already have most of the things you need or have been living together for a while, chances are you don’t need a gift from everybody coming to your wedding. Feel free to ask for money.

Many wedding planning websites have built-in options for collecting cash contributions (we called ours the “Honeymoon Fund” but I’ve also seen “Newlywed Fund”). This is easier for your guests because they can just virtually send cash without having to buy and wrap a gift and better for you because you can get what you really need. Bonus, there are no boxes or piles of wrapping paper to get rid of.

Tip: Don’t worry about offending anyone. A lot of your guests have been in your shoes. They know weddings are expensive and would probably be more than happy to help you out this way instead of buying you a pan or sheet set.

7. Rethink the diamond

My ring total: $2,000

Okay, so this one isn’t technically for the wedding. But it’s important.

Consider an alternative to a diamond engagement ring if you’re planning to get engaged. There are much more sustainable options out there than the standard diamond, and ones that won’t break the bank.

Moissanite is one of the trendiest non-diamond stones but precious gems like sapphires, emeralds, morganite, and opal can be fantastic choices for couples looking to save money. 

And if you love traditional diamonds, that’s great too! There are so many ways to buy diamond rings that don’t involve going to a big box store.

Tip: Antique shops and estate sales are perfect for finding vintage rings and many online retailers carry gorgeous rings without the markups you typically see. Try Blue Nile for discounted conflict-free diamonds.

You can also choose an “imperfect” diamond. This is what I did. I have a salt-and-pepper diamond from Alexis Russell and it’s pretty perfect to me. It’s certified conflict-free and made with recycled gold. 

When I got engaged in 2018, my husband spent $2,000 on this ring. That year, couples were spending over $7,800 on average for engagement rings. 

Read more: Where’s the best place to buy diamonds? 

When to splurge

The great thing about getting married is that you get to do what you want. It’s your day. 

You and your partner can strive for a greener wedding if you feel compelled, and that can look however you want it to look. Compromising in some areas and splurging in others is the best way to have the wedding you’ve been dreaming of without too much guilt or sticker shock.

You should splurge on the parts of your wedding that matter most to you and your partner, and try to save on the things that don’t. For example, maybe you love fresh flowers. You can’t imagine a wedding without fresh flowers, so you get these and rent the rest of your decorations or buy them used.

Or maybe the pictures are most important to you. To balance out this cost, maybe you serve cupcakes or cookies instead of a tiered wedding cake. 

There are no wrong answers, as long as you’re doing what makes you happy.

Bottom line

The wedding industry is due for a shake-up, and enough people making tiny changes to their big days could have a huge impact on the planet.

With careful planning and some compromises, we were able to completely recoup what we spent on our wedding in gifts and cash contributions. That means we got married without debt, and that was worth celebrating in and of itself.

Our wedding was by no means the most eco-friendly it could have been. And if I were to plan it again today, I’d probably try to do better. But I feel good about the little changes we did make.

Read more: 

Source: moneyunder30.com

Apache is functioning normally

No matter what kind of apartment building you live in, units that come with their own private balcony are among the most coveted. Having a small outdoor space like a balcony for your apartment opens up a world of entertaining possibilities, from dinner parties to simply enjoying the view with your morning coffee. Our apartment balcony ideas take you through all four seasons of festivities and relaxation.

But there’s a catch: Unless you live in an area where the weather and climate are mostly the same throughout the year, you’ll need to decorate your balcony in accordance with the seasons. That doesn’t just mean fun seasonal decorations for different holidays like the Fourth of July or Christmas, but weatherizing it so the space is actually usable from installing rain protection during the rainy season to adding a safe outdoor heater during winter. Apartments that come with balconies typically fetch higher rents than other units without, so you don’t want to let it go to waste for half the year. Reclaim and fully enjoy your balcony space with these year-round apartment balcony decorating ideas.

outdoor area balcony ideas

How to decorate your apartment balcony space for all seasons

Unsure how to decorate your tiny balcony for winter so it’s both cute and cozy? Don’t have a ton of floor space but still want to add plants to your small balcony? We’ve got you covered.

For each of the four seasons, we’ve got balcony ideas for how to decorate and best use the space. That way, you can enjoy your balcony as a living space and lounge space throughout the year instead of just for a few months.

small balconies can still be decorated for the holidays as long as you make use of vertical space

Winter

Winterize your outdoor balcony — but keep it cute at the same time — with these winter balcony decorating ideas.

Add a space heater

Set up a cozy space heater in one corner to keep things warm and toasty. If you only have a small space to work with, be careful to keep the heater far from flammable objects like curtains or outdoor rugs. For an extra charming touch, choose one of the models that feature fake logs.

If you have enough space, an outdoor heating lamp works as well.

Enclose the outdoor space to keep it warm

Use zippable plastic walls, curtains or privacy screens to keep heat in and keep the cold out by creating a contained indoor space.

This is also for safety reasons. If your balcony is open-air or snow and ice can still get into the balcony through curtains or tarp coverings, you’ll need to prevent them from building up and turning your balcony into a slippery, potentially dangerous ice zone. Keep a shovel or broom on hand as well.

Add winter plants

Instead of summertime flowers or fall cornucopias, pick out some seasonal or hardy, cold-weather-withstanding plants like miniature conifers. Around the holidays, poinsettias are another nice touch!

Add lots of cozy rugs, blankets and pillows

Gotta stay cozy while enjoying your balcony outdoor space in the winter! Cover your table and chairs, as well as couches and other patio furniture, with plenty of plush, warm throws, blankets, seat cushions and pillows. On the ground, a fuzzy outdoor rug also completes the snug, “cabin in the winter woods” aesthetic.

Light things up with candles

Add candles with seasonal scents like pine to tables and shelves, bringing a warm glow to your outdoor area. But be sure to monitor them and don’t leave them burning unattended. If you don’t feel comfortable with real candles, battery-powered ones also work great.

Make s’mores with a portable mini-firepit

Go all out on the winter season with a mini-firepit to make s’mores, fondue and other cozy foods from the comfort of your own balcony.

Celebrate the season with holiday decor

Tis the season! Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hannukah or another seasonal festivity, deck the halls (or more accurately, balcony and balcony walls), with colorful lights, wreaths, miniature trees and more. Add garlands to your balcony railings, set up a nativity scene on an outdoor table…the options go on and on!

Use a terrarium or small greenhouse to protect plants

If you want to protect plants that don’t do as well in the cold, try adding a small greenhouse or terrarium to shelter them from the elements.

small patio with garden - small balcony ideas

Spring

Spring has sprung, and apartment balconies everywhere should be bursting with life and color! Get your outdoor space ready for the warm season and create your own outdoor oasis with these tips.

Outfit the space with plenty of plant life

Have a green thumb but live in an apartment building that only has tiny balconies? Celebrate the return of greenery by turning your balcony into your own private garden! Potted plants, hanging plants, flowers and more are all great ways to bring greenery and life to your outdoor space. Plus, they’ll all flourish in the fresh air. Just be sure to choose plants that will do well in the apartment environment.

Add hanging planters if you only have a small outdoor space

Don’t have enough square footage or floor space for tons of plants? Install plant hangers from the ceiling instead. You can also hang planters from your balcony railings.

Install a rail planter or vertical garden

Another great option for plant lovers with small balconies is to install planters that hang off your balcony railing. A railing planter won’t take up space on the floor and makes for easy watering (just make sure you’re not dripping on your neighbor down below!)

The exterior wall of your balcony is an often overlooked space when it comes to decoration and utility. Put that vertical space to use with vertical planters. Vertical planters are another easy way to have potted plants in small spaces. Vertical gardening maximizes space, holding lots of small potted plants so you can have everything from flowers to fresh herbs.

Set up furniture

Store away the cold-weather coverings in favor of colorful, warm-weather comfortable furniture like tables and chairs. If you have enough space and love spending time outside, you can even try to install a day bed in one corner so you can lounge.

At the same time, though, you don’t want to overfill the whole space. Give yourself more space to move around by choosing stylish but space-appropriate furniture like a small table or

Choose furniture that’s easily storable

With summer right around the corner, you know what that means? Parties and having friends over! Because of this, you’ll want to make sure your balcony isn’t too crowded or has too much stuff. During spring and summer parties, people can hang out on the balcony to drink, smoke or just chat. You want to have as much access to the entire space as possible so your guests aren’t crowded.

An easy way to seamlessly change the space for parties is by choosing folding furniture and stackable chairs that easily disassemble and can be stored away. Nesting tables are another great option. If you have hanging chairs or hammocks, they should be easy enough to take down for parties.

Choose weather-resistant fabrics

If you plan on leaving your balcony open to the elements during spring and summer, you want to protect your furniture and decor from rain. Choose weather-resistant fabrics or have them treated to be more water-resistant so they won’t grow mold or get discolored.

Jazz up the floor with tiles or rugs

Does the balcony have ugly or uncomfortable flooring that draws the eye, becoming a sad focal point amid all the other thoughtful interior design you’ve done? Hide flooring with colorful, patterned rugs or interlocking deck tiles for a more sophisticated, upscale look.

add rattan or folding furniture to sit outside all summer

Summer

It’s summertime, so spend all your time outdoors on your balcony in the perfect space you created for the season.

Get your grill on

A great idea for how to enjoy your balcony in summer is by adding a grill! If space permits, stick a grill into a corner to host summertime barbecues and dinner parties. Just be sure to make sure your apartment complex allows grills on balconies, as some only permit them on a small patio area.

Add fans to beat the summer heat

Install ceiling or small table fans to keep airflow going on hot days.

Add a hanging chair to maximize room on your small balcony

Only have a small balcony space with not enough room for lots of balcony furniture? Install a hanging chair, swing or hammock to maximize floor space.

Elevate the space with tall plants

One of the best small balcony ideas for making the space seem bigger is adding the illusion of height. Lengthy palms and tall plants help the space open up, as well as make you feel like you’ve entered a literal urban jungle.

Add a festive feel with string lights

Swap out the colorful holiday lights for chic string lights to illuminate your balcony at night. Just make sure they’re intended for outdoor use. Even better: a great alternative to regular lights is eco-friendly solar string lights. That way, you don’t need to plug them in or swap out batteries.

Add new summertime decor

Break out the Independence Day decorations, watermelon-themed decor and more to help your balcony match the summertime vibe. That calls for new throw pillows, light-colored cushions and fabrics, wafting flags and banners. Have fun and get creative!

a small square footage space outdoors feels cozy in the fall with an outdoor rug and something warm to drink

Fall

Make your balcony feel like fall in all its color-changing foliage glory with these tips.

Add a cozy rocking chair

Sit back, relax and watch the leaves change while snuggled up with a good book and hot drink in a rocking chair.

Keep things spooky with Halloween or autumnal decor

From pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns to putting a cornucopia on your balcony table, there is no end of ways you can decorate the space for fall. Wind garlands around railings, hang fake spider webs (just make sure birds won’t get caught in them), carve jack-o-lanterns and set up tons of candles for an extra spooky atmosphere.

Keep it clean

Keep a broom on hand to sweep fallen leaves and other debris

Start adding the cold weather cozies

It’s time to start breaking out the blankets, throws and snug rugs again as the days get colder.

Use our apartment balcony ideas to stay practical and stylish

Make your balcony the place to hang out and be no matter the season. And as you can see, you don’t have to be a professional interior designer to turn an open balcony into an all-season space for socializing, alone time, gardening or whatever you want to do.

Still looking for a place with an outdoor getaway built right in? Find your next home here.

Apache is functioning normally

After spending months working 60 or 70 hours per week, realizing that life is all too short, and preparing for our kids to come home, it’s time for a new financial paradigm of my own: I’m semi-retiring.

I had always been perplexed by those who, say, retired early to travel to exotic locations. I like working and don’t really like traveling, so my dreams involved some sort of fulfilling employment until I couldn’t work anymore. I’m the life of the party, I know.

But then two or three years ago, I read about a guy who took a year off from full-time employment and I thought, what if?

What if I (or my husband) could take a year or two off from full-time employment? Or work part-time for a few years? Or work six months out of the year? Is that possible and would we want to?

Maybe and probably.

So over the last 2.5 years, my husband and I crafted a plan to send at least one of us, if not both of us, into temporary, semi-retirement once our kids arrived. Ideally, we would be financially independent with no need for earning monthly income, but… yeah, we knew that wouldn’t happen. So what we needed was a job (or jobs) with very flexible and part-time hours, jobs that would allow us to help our kids transition to a new culture, and jobs that paid enough to keep the lights on.

The First Laps

Before you dive into semi-retirement, take care of the basics.

1. Decrease debt load. The more debt you have, the more money you will need to have in semi-retirement. By now, any non-mortgage debt is a distant memory. Our monthly mortgage payment is significant, so our semi-retirement income needed to be at least four times our housing costs.

2. Increase savings. Because you’re taking a break from full-time employment (and perhaps from IRA or 401(k) contributions), you need to be creative with retirement savings. On the other hand, if you get used to living on less, maybe you don’t need as much in full retirement. We’ve been contributing to Roth and traditional IRAs for over a decade. Plus, we have an emergency fund. If we didn’t have those things, decreasing our income would require more radical sacrifices.

3. Increase income. Before you semi-retire, earning more can help you decrease your debt and increase your savings. Earning more is not always possible for everyone, but this is the reason we are able to semi-retire.

The Middle of the Race

The next step is to calculate how much money you’ll really need in semi-retirement. Some expenses (like transportation costs and work clothes) will decrease. Others (utilities and health insurance) will increase. Once we knew how much money we needed, we started looking for the money to replace our full-time income.

We don’t have real estate and with very little investment income, we knew that money must come from part-time employment.

I first sought opportunities as a subject matter expert so I could maximize my income-earning potential. But I also wanted jobs that matched our new lifestyle goals: something that could be done mostly at home with very flexible hours. Fortunately, I found a side job that fit all those criteria.

While we still had some lifestyle inflation with our increased income, having a goal kept us mostly on track. As I mentioned, our goal was to stop full-time employment when our kids come home. (We are still waiting on paperwork approval. Hopefully soon!)

The Finish Line

As of today, we are making enough “semi-retirement” income to pay our bills, not counting our full-time incomes. It does mean that our 2014 income will be closer to our 2005 levels, but we are okay with that for a couple of years or more. We are confident that we can do this because we’re already living close to the semi-retirement income level.

Even though this means we’ll have to be very careful with our spending, we’re still excited. The best thing is this opportunity allows us more flexibility to spend time with our kids. We’ve missed out on too many years of their lives already. We should also have more time to do DIY projects on our little farm and start that business I have always wanted.

I’ll be honest with you, though. The last couple of years have been stressful in many ways. I’ve spent a lot of time with my laptop and not as much time with my husband — and I know it’s time that I can’t get back. Our lives felt out of balance, and there were times when I wondered if our goal was worth it.

And I had other questions, too. Did I want to quit my job? I have never had a job I loved more. Were we creating more stress by cutting our salaries… even though we would have more time to spend with our kids? What would an indefinite break do to my career? We would be leaving behind company-provided benefits like a retirement plan and health insurance. The real question? Are we crazy?

The Next Race

Maybe we are crazy, but if we don’t enjoy semi-retirement, we have options. I’m leaving my job on good terms, and it’s possible there may be a similar job opening there in a couple of years. Or, because I’m a specialist, I should be able to find a similar job at another institution if necessary.

Semi-retirement isn’t for everyone. But having your financial ducks in a row gives you options. Maybe you can cut your schedule to four days a week. Maybe you can take six months off to travel. Or take a job that pays less but you love more.

In the meantime, I’ll test the semi-retirement water for you.

Source: getrichslowly.org