Class Act Wedding Invitations

Weddings aren't cheap. And the planning isn't usually carefree. (One exception was the wedding of us gazelles- and that was long before we became students of personal finance!) Any bride is thankful for a tip of where to find a great deal on wedding necessities that maintain their class whilst remaining inexpensive. So if you're getting married, I have one such tip for you. Wedding Invitations from 1st Class. They have some swell invitations, response cards and other coordinating paper items. One feature on their site that I found to be nifty was the zoom tool that allows you to see the items in greater detail. It makes the whole ordering online thing much easier.
Check out one of my favorites from their site.

No matter how well you plan, you can't prevent mishaps. From a guest's point of view, often mishaps provide a bit of humor and entertainment to an otherwise solemn occasion. The last wedding I went to had one such incident. It was the wedding of a coworker/fellow high school senior. He and his bride were doing the whole unity candle thing while a romantic song was played. Try as they might, they could not get the unity candle to light. A murmur went across the congregation inside the church. The song ceased to have it's romantic effect on the affair as everyone became fixed on this symbol that was not cooperating. Finally the bride gave up and replaced her candlestick in the candlelabra, but the groom promptly shoved his candlestick into the top of the unity candle where it stood awkwardly until the end of the ceremony. Laughter and applause rang out across the congregation as they strode back to take their place before the minister.

Photo: mariposa.yosemite.net/weddings

More about insurance

Insurance is a big deal. Insurance is all about transferring risk. There are all types of insurance available these days, but it's up to you to be a wise consumer and determine which types are a good value for you. For my readers in the UK, AutoNet Business Insurance offers you an opportunity to get various types of insurance quotes online. I like the idea of researching insurance and getting quotes online. And I have done just that with my auto, life and even identity theft insurance. By doing so, I saved $500 a year on my auto insurance versus what I had been paying. I actually budget $82/week out of our paychecks to cover homeowners insurance, auto insurance, his and hers life insurance, and identity theft protection. Yeah, insurance is a huge deal, but we all know what a bigger deal it can be if you're caught in a situation without it. (Don't worry, health insurance isn't in my budget because my employer pays for it. That's the best deal I've found on insurance yet!)
The one type of insurance that we are lacking at the moment is long term disability insurance. I have looked high and low for a good deal, but insuring some blue collar workers is nearly impossible to do at a decent price. Hegazelle's employer offers a group plan for short term disability, but not long term. I plan to keep looking.
The more I learn about insurance, the more I know I'm in the wrong business.

Disclosure Policy

"Budgeting is 'top priority' for Brits"

I read a short article at Uk Mortgages about budgeting becoming a top priority for Brits. Apparently the "crunch" we hear about daily on the financial news is having an effect worldwide. Now it seems people are becoming more aware of their finances and actually watching what they spend.
Even before I began doing a zero-based budget every month, I always had a budget of some sort to help me keep track of our expenses. I don't understand how a household, or an individual for that matter, can function without a proper budget. Aimless spending with no thought for how the mortgage, utilities and other necessities will be paid can only last so long. I really do feel bad for the people who get themselves in a mess because they lack the skills and/or discipline to budget their money.

But of course, here at Normal Is Broke, budgeting is second nature, right? :-)

My Blog is Now Making Money

I've done it again. I'm always looking for good ways to make some extra money, and I do believe that I've found another new way to do so. I believe I first heard of PayPerPost on Give Me Back My Five Bucks. Krystal makes a decent amount of spare change writing sponsored posts on her blog for PayPerPost, and yet her blog remains as a good read- not one cluttered by ads and constant off-topic sponsored posts. I figured if I handled the sponsored posts like she has, I could make the extra money, avoid annoying my readers, and maybe actually tell you about some great stuff along the way.
Like me, you could all use some extra cash. I only know a couple of people who don't. If your blog is at least 30 days old, and you've got at least 10 posts on it, you can join PayPerPost too. If you're pretty regular about writing in your blog, this would be easy money for you. PJ, this could save you from your nerve wracking job of performing weddings on the weekends! Shane & Deanna, you guys each have a blog, so you could double your money. AL, you might even be able to make a few bucks to fund the "Snack Envelope" for those kiddos!
If you give it a try, let me know how it works out for you. And by the way, I just made $20 typing this very post!
Check out payperpost and see how you could be making money too.