Our home, for the past few weeks, has been total chaos. We’ve been having some much-needed “freshening up” happening. But my goodness. It’s tough when you’re a Type-A keep everything neat and tidy type of gal. We’re having the interior painted and will have new carpet installed before the end of the year.
The reality behind this chaos is that it’s costing us a LOT of money to have it all done. Yes, there are ways to save here, and we’re fortunate enough that my husband is a Contractor, so many of these things we’re getting for cheaper anyway. But the beauty behind the expenses is that they were PLANNED.
None of these expenses were surprise expenses. We knew we both wanted and needed to repaint our home’s interior. It’s been twelve years since the interior has been painted, and the carpet is also 12 years old. The carpet is in such bad shape that there were spots in the hallway that had absolutely no fibers left!
And so we decided that this year was the year to make these expenses happen.
How we saved for our home updates:
Well, the quick and easy answer is our Sinking Fund system. That’s how we save up for these kinds of significant expenses to avoid going into debt. We have a separate bank account which we save for these kinds of expenses. Can we afford to do a big update/remodel like this every year? No way!
But we can save over time, and when we have enough ready to go, we can have the updates/remodeling/repair work done free from financial stress. Don’t get me wrong, it still sucks as a Saver to watch that money leave our account, but it’s also nice knowing that it’s paid for. We didn’t need to swipe a credit card to afford it or take on a home equity loan. We saved and freed ourselves from going into debt for a planned expense.
How we plan for home updates, remodeling, and repairs:
My home was built in 1979. Trust me, I’d love to do a ton of updates to this house, but the reality is we couldn’t afford to do them all at once. And so, my husband and I take time at the end of every year to plan out what we want our house projects for the upcoming year to be. This helps us keep our finances in check and keeps us from getting sidetracked.
Right around Christmas time, we sit down in our living room and bounce around what we hope for in the New Year. This includes planning out any family vacations we want to take, any home projects we want to complete, and big home maintenance needs that need to be completed. If and how many extracurriculars we’re going to allow the kids to participate in, and what our plans for homeschooling the upcoming school year will be. We plan out anything major that we as individuals want to do (say, a big fishing trip, a trip just for the two of us, or if one of us wants to go back to school or get certified in something). This exercise aims to ensure that all the big things we want to accomplish in the year are planned for and accounted for.
And, of course, this includes home stuff.
Usually, this includes one big maintenance project like:
- Getting the HVAC system cleaned (which was this year’s maintenance project)
- having the septic tank pumped.
- Having the chimney swept
- Getting the home pressure-washed
- Aerating the yard
- Having trees that are too close to the house removed
And we usually include one to two home improvement projects, like:
- remodeling our master bathroom
- putting sod in the front yard to prevent erosion
- creating our raised garden
- remodeling our laundry room
Remember to take it one step at a time.
We can’t afford in both time and money to do everything all at once, but we can afford to do a few things over time. And those things add up.
We tend to get caught up in the sweeping big makeovers and think that’s how it should be. It’s as if Chip and Joanna Gaines are going to show up and remodel everything for pennies on the dollar, and we get to live a newish feeling home. But the reality for most of us is that we have to take our time and plan a little bit. And that’s okay!
We have to get clear on our priorities for our homes and start there. Set a savings goal and start saving a little bit at a time. And over time, we’ll build up enough to pay cash for those projects, and our home will improve over time – little by little. Which, in my opinion, is a beautiful thing.
Even if you’re not a homeowner, you can apply this same thought process to anything you have going on in your life. You can’t travel the world and stay out of debt unless you plan accordingly, right? So write down your priorities, set a savings goal, and start tackling it a little bit at a time.
OTHER POSTS YOU MAY ENJOY
JOIN THE CHALLENGE!
Money controlling you? I know the feeling. My family has been living this real life on a budget for a long time and I can tell you that there's never a perfect season, but with a few changes you can start to reign in your money issues.
Join the 5-Day Challenge today and start getting your money life in order this week!
