What would you like first? The good news or the bad news?

The good news: I think the fact that I’m planning for April and August events in late February and Early March is a huge step on my path to being financially intelligent. Before, I was always more of the “eh…I’ll throw it on my card and worry about it later” type of guy.

The bad news: By looking forward to some major events in my friends’ lives, I’m seeing just how much it’s going to cost me.

Two good friends of mine are getting married (separately) in August. One of those friends is having a bachelor party in April. I live in Boston. The bachelor party is in Florida. The first wedding is in New Jersey. The second wedding is in Seattle. Yikes.

So that’s two plane trips, two wedding gifts (which I’ve never had to deal with before) and possibly three stretches of hotel stays. Again…yikes.

By using Kayak.com, I was able to get a decent price on a flight down to Florida. Mind you, when I say “decent”, I mean compared to the other fares I found for the same trip – not decent price wise. In fact, I think the airline US Airways should have at least bought me a glass of wine before “having me their way” like they did.

Anyway…

I’m planning on paying that trip off using my state tax refund, which I have not received yet.

The issue now comes with how to pay for the hotels, gifts and additional airfare. I need to start working on a budget that will be able to pay for all of these things. If I don’t – it could severely set back my debt reduction plan.