Hi,
I need advice on our money situation:
So we have about 450 extra per month.
Our house needs work: the gutters and the back deck need replacing, along with the bathroom floor.
We have 30,000 in debt, no savings.
I feel overwhelmed and don't know if we should fix the house, or put everything we have into the debt, or start a savings account and pay into that at the same time as paying off the debt. I am trying to find another job that pays better, but in the meantime, what do I do?
Thanks!
Nereo's advice is complete and sufficient IMO. So I'm just going to respond emotionally.
I grew up in a house that was in worse shape than yours is now. My parents made a good home, but they didn't have a "decent" house for most of my childhood. The tiles in the bathroom floor were loose and could be moved about to create new patterns (it was a sad day when Mom glued down every piece of our big puzzle). Similarly, the shower stall was cracked along each grout-line. By the time I was a teenager, those tiles began to fall, one by one. My Dad fixed them back in place with mastic and mortar and life went on. Did I mention the whole room was burnt umber, harvest gold, and burgundy?
My Mom cooked with the same stove 15 years (used when they got it). For many years before its death, the door could only be secured shut with a long wood-clamp. The wallpaper was plaid, and the kitchen floor was carpeted.
My Dad did all the maintenance and improvement himself. It was very slow work and every five years, he re-did something that he had "learned on," like his early drywall mudding. The house was so hopeless when purchased, nothing he did could fail to improve it, so he was completely free and even changed the layout.
Today that same home-owner is very, very wealthy, even after raising 4 successful, thrifty, eccentric children. He owns a gorgeous house. By the time we kids were old enough to respect nice things, my parents were financially secure and so began to build and buy the nice house they had earned.
It would have been hard, especially for Mom. Mom took on a LOT, working outside the house at first at night jobs, so she could care for us in the afternoon, evening, and early morning. She slept during the day. I don't think she commanded high wages for many years. I'm sure she often thought she'd never have anything better than "make-do." But the past and present don't have to make the future.
I admire my parents. I know they provided well. Your kids could have great memories of the "crazy old house." They could know what it is to create wealth, that it is not a glamorous process. (Yes, we felt embarrassed sometimes. We lived in a status-conscious suburb, in a time when the "good brands" first began to splash their logos in big print on shirts, jackets, shoes, and pants. But we had a LOT of friends, so ultimately, those things must not have had much social value).
Never mind your bathroom floor, if it is not rotting out from under. Fix the gutters if they're causing water issues in the basement or roof damage through ice damming. Otherwise stretch your use of every part of the house as long as it works adequately well. In essence, it is shelter and a frame surrounding your family.