The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Giro on July 10, 2017, 03:00:30 PM
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I have been wanting to do some remodeling on our primary residence but I keep second guessing myself. I've been wanting to pull up carpet and put down hardwood, put tile in a barely used sunroom, and put in granite in the kitchen. But, all of these things are cosmetic. Should I wait until the carpet is worn before putting in hardwood? Should I put the other things off until another time?
We are selling our rental property (it's on contract) and now I feel that it's the right time to work on our home but I'm not sure if it should be a priority.
Should I just declutter and clean more and forget about the upgrades? What would MMM do?
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If you can pay in cash and the remodeling will make you happy, do it. If you have to finance the remodel or are just doing it to keep up with the Jones', then don't. Being mustachian isn't about being as cheap as possible at all times, it's about making conscious choices to spend your hard earned money in ways that enhance your life. Personally, I'm a homebody so having a nice home is important to me. I'm currently in the midst of a whole house painting project. In the end I will have spent probably over a $1k in paint/stain/supplies/decorating just because I wanted things to look nicer. So far I have one room done and it looks great. I find myself spending more time in that room because the fresh paint makes the room feel so calm and relaxing. YMMV.
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There's no way anyone can give you a crystal ball into how you and your family will value a remodel.
Ultimately that's something you can answer for yourself and only you can do that.
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Are you planning on living there a lot longer?
I'd put in the sweat equity, if you're so inclined.
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Thank you all.
We do have the money, we plan on staying for a very long time and we would do a lot of the work ourselves.
I guess my hesitance is that it's all just cosmetic and I would be taking out perfectly good countertops and carpet. The home was built in 2009. I just remodeled my office space with gorgeous bamboo flooring and I think that's why I now want new flooring. It's also SOOO easy to clean compared to carpet. My husband installed the bamboo. He's slow, but he did a magnificent job.
The countertops are fine I think I'm just getting tired of them. But would I just get used to the new countertops the same way and it's all just a waste of money? ugh. I just don't know. For now, I'm decluttering and touching up paint here and there where the scuff marks are prominent.
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I don't think cosmetic upgrades are a waste of money if you plan to live there an enjoy them for a long time. Also, it's sometimes hard for home buyers to visualize doing that work themselves, so if you think it needs it, it probably does--and you'll use the upgrades for many years before selling, so will likely be worth it.
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If you can pay in cash and the remodeling will make you happy, do it. If you have to finance the remodel or are just doing it to keep up with the Jones', then don't. Being mustachian isn't about being as cheap as possible at all times, it's about making conscious choices to spend your hard earned money in ways that enhance your life. Personally, I'm a homebody so having a nice home is important to me. I'm currently in the midst of a whole house painting project. In the end I will have spent probably over a $1k in paint/stain/supplies/decorating just because I wanted things to look nicer. So far I have one room done and it looks great. I find myself spending more time in that room because the fresh paint makes the room feel so calm and relaxing. YMMV.
I agree with everything in this post!