Today my “Aussie dad” sent me a Twitter direct message saying, “Happy Anniversary! 2 years ago today?” For a brief moment I was puzzled, and then I realized it has been exactly two years to the day since my plane touched down in Australia after a 24 hour flight + layover from home.
How did I celebrate? By doing what I already had planned before remembering the anniversary — watching State of Origin at the only pub we could find that was open and airing the event!
In addition to reflecting on the huge lifestyle change I made two years ago, I’ve had countless other things to think about this month. Gavin and I have spent HOURS emailing caterers and vendors with little success as we plan our spring 2013 wedding. We’ve also chatted about future travels. And we know that while his moving to a new country and our paying for a wedding requires financial resources, we also want to save and plan for future travel.
Cold day in London
How are we going to make it work?
For starters, we’re looking for any deals we can find. Whenever I find a good price with an online shop, I always do a search to see if I can also find online coupon codes for the retailer before I click to confirm the purchase. Saving just 10% or scoring free shipping can make a huge difference over time.
We’ve also had offers from friends and family to help tackle DIY projects, and we’re carefully comparing proposals from caterers and rental companies to figure out which scenario gives us the best value for money.
Long term, we hope to develop remote work so we can have greater flexibility in our schedules for travel. Gavin’s already on the right path, and I have a couple of ideas I want to grow after he’s moved to the states and we’ve settled in a bit.
In the next two years, we hope to return to England several times, enjoy a honeymoon in the USA (in case Gavin isn’t free to travel outside of the country at the time), and head to Oz for a few months so I can introduce him to the place that helped put me on a new path.
We’ll do our best to put a few pennies and pence away for these trips, but even if we were to win the lottery tomorrow, I’d still look for cheap travel deals back to Australia and England. I’m a thrifty gal, and I hate paying too much for items I can more easily score deals on with a little time, patience, and research. I’d rather use the money on good eats!
It could be difficult to save for visas, legal fees, a wedding, a temporary home in the US, and future travel, but if we don’t aim high and set goals, we can’t get there. Like the Queensland Maroons, we’re gonna make it work.
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Lovely post babe 🙂 You are wonderful and amazing, we will get there :-)!
Inspiring blog Heather….Aim for the moon and pray as you go.
I love your positive attitude. I am in a similar situation with the spring 2013 wedding and residency app for Aus. It’s a lot to tackle, but one day at a time, discipline and creativity will get you there.
Love that you have these goals, and I know you’ll make them work! If you make it to Oz this year, drop us a line! Though I might make you renounce QLD first …
Lindsey, I won’t be back in Oz in the next 12 months, but we’re aiming for 2 years from now. That’s SUCH a long time to wait, but we also have a busy year ahead of us, and I’m sure the time will fly by 🙂 Maybe we’ll meet up in the USA first?
My suggestion on the wedding is to always keep in mind that, as wonderful as it is, it’s just one day. Decide on 1 or 2 things that are really important to you (the dress, the cake, whatever) and try to limit how much you spend on everything else. We actually found a place that was sort of a package deal. So the venue contracted with the caterer, cake person, photographer, florist, and DJ, and we were able to provide our own alcohol. It worked out pretty well in the end that way. I’m all for prioritizing travel and saving money for that whenever possible. Good luck with all the planning!