Guest Post : Ericka

Hi there Showered with Design readers!  I'm Ericka from This Crazy Thing Called Life.  I'm excited to be guest posting for Lisa while she is enjoying her wedding and honeymoon.  I can't wait to hear all about her big day--she is going to be such a gorgeous bride!

I started my blog a couple of years ago after I got engaged and was in the process of becoming a first-time home owner with my then fiance, Kevin.  We got married on June 29, 2013, so we are just over a year!  You can find all of the details about our wedding and our home buying/owning process on my blog, along with recipes, diy projects, our fur baby, and all of our other adventures!

Today I wanted to share a few things I have learned during our first year of marriage.

Having a joint bank account was not as difficult as I thought it would be.  I thought I would really struggle with this, since I've always been pretty financially independent, so I thought I would struggle having to "share" my money with someone else (sounds dumb, I know).  However, it really didn't change anything at all, which was great.  I know couples all handle their finances different, but having a joint account has really been great for us.

It doesn't really feel different being married versus dating or being engaged.  This might not be the case for everyone, but aside from the fact that my last name is different and I get to call Kevin my husband now (which makes me feel old), it doesn't really seem too different (besides the fact that we get asked about having kids ALL the time now).  This might have to do with the fact that we dated for almost six years before we were married and lived together for three of those years.  I think if we wouldn't have dated for so long, or wouldn't have lived together first, it would have felt way different.

Marriage takes work, but is totally worth it!  Even though I just said being married doesn't really FEEL different, it is very different when it comes to decision making.  When big decisions come up, you have to make sure you make those decisions together.  I think most of those decisions are financial ones, or at least for us they have been.  But they could be job related, family related, etc.  In the end, you have someone on your side.  Someone rooting for you when you succeed and there to pick you up when you fall.  You get to go through life with your best friend, and that is the best part!

Thanks for reading!  Hope you all find these tips to be somewhat helpful, and thanks Lisa for having me! Hope you have the most fabulous honeymoon!

 
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If you want to write about your weekend recap (Since I am absent gettin' hitched, check out Dateless In Dallas's blog and write about your weekend! Don't forget to grab 
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