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I'm all over the place mentally in deciding whether to spend money on a driveway/walkway/front yard project. It's a want not a need. And I've always had trouble deciding to spend money on wants vs. needs. (Raised by a depression baby mother who never spent money on "wants.")
For me this would be an 8-10k project. 8K for the design I don't like, 10k for the option I really want.
(And in about 3 years the back yard would be about a 15k project. But right now I'd just do the front.)
So....
...what's the most expensive home project you've done that was a want and not a need. The sort of thing you did just because you wanted to.
Did you struggle with deciding to spend the money?
Also, have you every done all the research for a project, and then decided never mind?
And was it the cost/money that made you pull the plug or some other reason you changed your mind.
Oh gawd, I could write a book about my wife and I discussing wants vs. needs on our home.
We have, thankfully, avoided 95% of the "want" projects so far, in large part because we pay cash for whatever we do (not borrow) and we did major upgrades we deemed necessary when we bought each of our homes. The proof there is that we've thoroughly enjoyed what we upgraded with zero regrets.
The biggest thing we've contemplated and then pulled back multiple times is the yard. Our front yard is fine; our backyard is "fine" (note the "") but my wife has visions of making it much nicer. We politely disagree somewhat. I want to wait until we can do it the way we REALLY want it. In the meantime, I will admit we've wasted some $ with some little half-azzed things back there like outdoor furniture that didn't last.
We had the exterior of our house painted. My wife, who selected the color, decided the result didn't look right (the color just seemed off). So we had it RE-painted shortly thereafter to a different color.
KemBro, do you think you ever really will do it like your "really" want? Once you have the "cash" for it will you want to give it up for that project?
I KNOW it makes no sense. But that's why how we each feel about money is so fascinating.
IF I save up the money to pay for it in cash...psychologically I don't think I'd want to give all that cash up for the project. Once I save up 25K or more -- even though I know that's why I saved it...I won't want to give it up.
Then again I've never saved up cash for a project. IF, IF I want it bad enough, I'll put a project on a CC. 1) IF I have the money I don't want to give up 25K at one time....and 2) by the time I save up the cash the cost of the project may have gone up a bit anyway, so I'll need that much more cash saved for it.
So, 18 years ago, in another house I had, I put an entire kitchen remodel on CCs. And I just balance transferred over the balance for a few years as it came down. I only paid 3 percent for the transfers, after that it was at 0% for a a year to a year-and a half each time, until it was paid off in about 5 years. I figured if it took me those years to save up the project would have cost more anyway.....and by putting it on the cards, I got to enjoy my fantastic kitchen every day, right then, instead of hating the kitchen until I had the money to pay for the remodel. It was the price I was willing to pay to have the kitchen I loved. And I never regretted it. I walked in every day loving that kitchen. (I know people who are anti-credit card will be aghast. And that's OK. Delayed gratification has never been my forte.)
I'm just not going to live every day with something I hate. Now if it just sort of irks me, I might hem and haw about getting the improvement done. Debating if it's "worth it." But if I hate what's there. It's got to go right then - period. I'm not working every day, and paying a mortgage -- to come home to wall paper or a floor/carpet I hate, or a kitchen I can't stand.
I'm all over the place mentally in deciding whether to spend money on a driveway/walkway/front yard project. It's a want not a need. And I've always had trouble deciding to spend money on wants vs. needs. (Raised by a depression baby mother who never spent money on "wants.")
For me this would be an 8-10k project. 8K for the design I don't like, 10k for the option I really want.
(And in about 3 years the back yard would be about a 15k project. But right now I'd just do the front.)
So....
...what's the most expensive home project you've done that was a want and not a need. The sort of thing you did just because you wanted to.
Did you struggle with deciding to spend the money?
Also, have you every done all the research for a project, and then decided never mind?
And was it the cost/money that made you pull the plug or some other reason you changed your mind.
Thanks.
I agonized over my new wood flooring for 2 years before I bit the bullet. I NEEDED new flooring (old carpet was 26 years old) but I did NOT need $10/sq ft flooring. But nothing else rang my bell, so I pulled the trigger. Have not regretted it for a second.
I agonized over my new wood flooring for 2 years before I bit the bullet. I NEEDED new flooring (old carpet was 26 years old) but I did NOT need $10/sq ft flooring. But nothing else rang my bell, so I pulled the trigger. Have not regretted it for a second.
Isn't it great when you love a choice you've made for your home, or a job you had done and it turned out even better than you thought it might. There's nothing like living in a home where you pretty much love most things about it!
I've hired contractors for three home remodels over the decades.
And I've loved the paint colors I chose, the wood flooring, the carpet, the cabinets, the choice to open a wall and put in French doors....
My home is my sanctuary. And I must love being there and the fixtures and materials in it.
KemBro, you're so right. Any project done in stages -- heck any big project period -- must be thought out. I can't tell you how much I'm amazed that people don't think about what they're doing....and they're spending decent money.
-- Like the coworker who said he wanted to remodel the kitchen, but didn't have the money to do it all...so they put granite countertops on the existing cabinets. He regretting it. And I don't think it was 6 months later when he said they still might do the kitchen. It wan't my place to be too judgmental. But I did ask, "Didn't you just put granite counters on your existing cabinets?" Dejected, he said, "Yeah, I know....we weren't sure so we just did that."
-- Or the neighbor who said she loved gardening. But she never planned what plant/flower/shrub should go where. And her landscaping looked like a hot mess....one bush alone in one spot. A row of other shrubs along a fence line. A butterfly bush here, a hydrangea there, forsythia some place else....
Isn't it great when you love a choice you've made for your home, or a job you had done and it turned out even better than you thought it might. There's nothing like living in a home where you pretty much love most things about it!
I've hired contractors for three home remodels over the decades.
And I've loved the paint colors I chose, the wood flooring, the carpet, the cabinets, the choice to open a wall and put in French doors....
My home is my sanctuary. And I must love being there and the fixtures and materials in it.
My home is my sanctuary. And I must love being there and the fixtures and materials in it.
One million times this. I have to LOVE what I come home to.
Quote:
Originally Posted by selhars
KemBro, you're so right. Any project done in stages -- heck any big project period -- must be thought out. I can't tell you how much I'm amazed that people don't think about what they're doing....and they're spending decent money.
-- Or the neighbor hood said she loved gardening. But she never planned what plant/flower/shrub should go where. And her landscaping looked like a hot mess.
We know we want to re-do the backyard. We disagree politely on how extensively. In the interim we thought about what areas we would NOT include and did some projects there. Like we have 5 or 6 planting beds we know will remain with or without the 'big' project so we cleaned them up a ton, put some nice plants in, and mulched them nicely.
The only rule a wise person should follow: don't fix what is not broken. Therefore, all "wants" except the small decorations projects just need to be eliminated )))
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