So, we discovered in October that my wife is pregnant with our first child! Hip hip hooray! Then we realized that we had to do a few things around the house before our June 2016 due date. Our floors were in terrible condition throughout due to raising two pups and a kitten. We were just waiting until they were mature (now they are) and wouldn't tear things up anymore. Two floors were stripped down to concrete and painted. Main floor was warped around all seams and popping in places (laminate...never again).
So, we decided that new floors would be the first major investment in our house prior to baby #1. This was both exciting and terrifying as this really put a bind in our debt repayment plans.
We were able to scrounge together the cash for the down payment of 50% of $6606.00 (Nov 16th) with a one month time frame of completion to pay for the finished product. At this point we were going to need to place the second half down on our credit card, which we weren't enthused about and the floors had to be done. We woke up yesterday morning to a nice unexpected $2000.00 Christmas bonus from my wifes employment which allowed us to pay the second half of $6606.00 in cash and still make it for the rest of the month :) So, with some luck, we were able to pay cash for $13,212 worth of new floors!
Small win in the grand scheme of things, but a win for us none the less. We've been pushing hard to not use our credit cards and getting them completely paid off. Being able to pay cash for the entire project made us extremely happy. We both smiled and gave each other high fives.
The most important part of this entire situation is that it showed us two things:
1. By working off a budget, we can in fact pay the bills and debt off at the same time.
2. We don't need credit cards at all in our life. If we want something small or large, we have the ability to actually save and pay cash for what we want.
Thanks for letting me share!
