2018 Goals & Getting Real With A Budget

It’s a new year and all the Christmas decor is down and packed away, most of the house has been cleaned, closets and drawers are or have been purged, so it’s time to get real with a budget for this year.

There are some things that I really want to do around the house this year – I started off with a huge list of things I wanted to get done and then reality set in. Now I have this down to a couple of things that are realistic, will fit my budget and can be accomplished.

1. Finish the back yard – It is undergoing a complete makeover.

When we bought the house a year ago, it looked like this – – –

We did get the pool in last year and some basic landscaping around it. This side of the yard is coming along –
We still need to get the fence up to hide the pool equipment and add more landscaping.

HOWEVER – Now we need to do something to this side of the yard.

We need some landscaping and some kind of screening for all hubby’s plant collection. Then the shed and some screening for that area too. Most of the pots and things will be going in the side yard behind a fence.

1. A shed for the side yard. This will run about $400 for the size hubby wants.

2. Some sort of screening for the shed. Not sure what that will be yet. cost – ?

Family Room

This is where we spend most of our time.

The furniture from our last house doesn’t translate as well to this room as it did in the previous room. Things that I want to do for this room are –

1. Shutters for the windows. cost – ?

2. New Recliners – cost ?

3. Paint entertainment console.

I do have a new sofa coming soon. (paid for)

Bathroom’s

The master bathroom got a little bit of a makeover for free when the kitchen was being remodeled. New floors, counters, sink, faucet and tile. The one major project left to do is paint the vanity cabinets. These are the same off the shelf builder grade cabinets as we had in the kitchen, but paint makes all the difference in the world.

1. I think I am going to paint these black (or maybe white, I am still debating), at any rate they need to be done.

Upstairs Hall Bathroom

It got new floors at the same time as the master bathroom, but that is all. This needs a whole new makeover. This bathroom needs a new counter, sink, mirror plus a new faucet and an over all new design.

2. I would love to replace the vanity with something that has some drawer storage. That would run around $600 plus labor. The rest is just cosmetic. If that doesn’t fit the budget this year, at least paint for the cabinet.

As you can see, none of these things are inexpensive, so I need to prioritize.

Now here’s where the “fun” and the “challenge” comes in. I took a good look at my bank account over several months and tracked where my money goes. I’ve always thought I was reasonably thrifty – not cheap – but thrifty. It is amazing how $5 here and $20 there adds up.

When I took a good look at how I spend money, I found out that anything $20 or under and I thought of it as petty cash and non-consequential. I was amazed that those little buys and spends could add up to $200 real fast.

Here are a few things I discovered were eating up a ton of money.

1. Groceries – I need to keep it at around $100 a week.

I usually do one big shop each week and only go back if I run out of something, but I don’t plan out meals and I don’t really watch the grocery budget. I like for the pantry and the fridge/freezer to be fully stocked with everything, so then whatever I want to cook, all the ingredients are on hand. I do read the ads, make a list and use the coupons that really apply to what we like to eat. It wastes money to use a coupon and buy something you really don’t like. We eat really well at our house, but I can trim a little here I think. For just the two of us I definitely think a budget of $100 week is more than ample, so I am going to stick to that.

2. Personal care –

I am going to curb some of those trips to the Beauty Salon. Coloring my own hair instead of spending hours in the salon, and I really can go a month between pedicures and just re-polish at home. I do it all the time when “time” is a crunch anyway. Now this should save quite a bit more by itself. Hair color at the salon is around $75 and you can buy everything at Sally’s for under $10. Skipping one pedi also saves about $40.

3. Give myself an allowance of $100 month for crafts and home decor.

(This is where I spend the most – I spend double this and sometimes more – I have to get this under control)

4. Eat out only twice a month.

Even if we don’t go anywhere fancy it is $50 to $60 to eat out. This needs to be a treat and enjoy Pizza or Chinese a couple of times a month at home instead of going out.

5. If I put cash in my wallet and only use it, not the debit card, it is amazing how you think twice about all those misc. things.

This should curb a ton of those little $5 and $20 spends.

These few things will save an average of $500 a month in addition to our regular savings.

This is the same budget I set two years ago and it worked for me, then we started to makeover the last house and sell it and move, When we moved in to this new house it all changed. Major remodeling tends to eat up money in a hurry. Time to get this under control again.

If I can do this, I will definitely pop the champagne cork and celebrate.