My best impulse buy ever...

which was also the most expensive, was worth every single cent.

I just bought a guitar.

It's not for me, of course. It's for Abet. There's this guitar lent to him by his friend Joseph who is based in China. Abet's been using it for several months now, and he really loves the sound of this particular instrument. Now, with musicians like Abet, finding an instrument that one is really kasundo with is no easy feat. It's akin to finding a girlfriend or boyfriend. He is partial to the sound of this guitar and wanted to buy it months back, but the owner wasn't selling.

Last week, the owner offered to sell him the guitar, but Abet declined. He said he has other expenses to prioritize; he has a trip to Bangkok (short-term) and our wedding and beyond (long-term) to save up for, and that guitar wasn't in his priorities right now.

Of course, I couldn't let that offer pass up, could I? It would just absolutely break my heart--and his, for sure--if that little piece of plywood spruce and glue and varnish would be sold to someone else. So I did what any supportive girlfriend would do: I e-mailed Joseph and offered to buy the guitar behind Abet's back. It cost as much as our budget for one person for our 6-day/5-night trip to Bangkok with accommodation at a 5-star hotel this June. Pikit-mata akong nagbayad, and I paid for it as soon as I could before I could change my mind.

Lest you guys think that I'm Abet's sugar mommeh, let me say that I paid for it from our joint money. I did some quick calculations and realized that we can afford the guitar. I know I should have discussed such a major purchase with him before I made any decisions, but if I did, he would have hesitated and talked me out of it. He's as worried about our wedding and our post-wedding finances as much as I am. Besides, his face was priceless--just priceless!--when I handed him the deposit slip today. I didn't tell him what I did, I just let him figure it all out. He actually teared up a bit, much like how my sister May teared up when Abet gave my family a beautiful guitar two Christmases ago. Oh, he was so happy! It was all worth it. Honestly, I was a bit worried about how he might react. I did have to promise him that I won't ever do something like that again, though. I won't, I promise. I don't think that will be allowed once we're married.

He was so happy today, he gave me impromptu guitar lessons. I think it's about time I learn--the guitar is half mine, after all.

*EDIT*
The boyfriend had a violent reaction to this blog post. It's spruce daw, not plywood. Foyn. :P

Money, money, money...

must be funny in a rich man's world.

I just realized that I'll be thinking about money everyday for the rest of my life starting now. :-/

Abet has decided to stay here for his MA instead of studying in Japan, the pros of staying here outweigh the cons by a ton. This change of plans brings us back to our original plan: get married next October on our 5th anniversary. Our original date was October 16, 2011 (we decided on this just after being together for a year), but Abet had decided to study in Japan and he wouldn't be home on that date. We were to push the wedding to April 2012. Now we're back to the original plan.

Which means we'll get married in 21 months.

Which means that we have only have 21 more months to save up.

Which is too little time, really.

We actually started saving together in 2008, depositing an equal amount monthly. Yes, we went where angels fear to tread: the joint savings account. We do have some money stashed away (in BDO in MoA, to be exact), but we counted our money and made a wedding budget earlier today, and we realized that we don't have enough. We won't have enough if we put in the same amount we've been putting in all these months. No, wait. We'll have enough for the wedding we want, but that's it. No money for the 1 month advance, 2 months deposit on rent, no money to buy a refrigerator and a dining set and 400 thread count sheets (¡Que horror!), and no money for a honeymoon (an even bigger ¡Que horror!). We'll have to amp up our savings.

My goodness.

I've never really thought about money as obsessively before. I make some, save some, pay my credit card bills, and spend the rest. The only thing I majorly saved up for and spent was travel. Now, I have the wedding to think about. I'll probably obsess about this--what we can and can't afford, what nice-to-have's to let go of, what to prioritize with our budget. After the wedding, there will be the rent and bills and groceries. Then we'll have to buy a car (I don't want to be a pregnant woman a-commuting). Then we'll have a baby. And then another baby. (And maybe still another baby.) Then the babies will grow up and go to school and go to college. Of course one of our ultimate dreams is to have a house of our very own sooner than later, so we'll also have to work on that.

It won't stop.

I wish I did some major splurging yesterday before I realized all these.