Everything must go! No, not everything, but quite a few things are being personalized at the MMM house these days. Since we decided to keep our small pad, we decided to really make it our own. Instead of spending gobs of cash and, subsequently, future wealth on more square footage, a bigger mortgage, and higher taxes, we’re using some money right now to make our home the best it can be. Read how we nearly committed financial suicide just before starting this blog here. Afterall, we plan on living our lives and raising our family here.
The Land Down Under
The only way to give us a little extra breathing room without upsizing our home is to finish our basement. We have a total of 1,300 SF under our feet just wasting away storing our junk. We’ve decided to get rid of the junk and put that space to good use for our family.
The ink is nearly dry on our basement renovation contract! Well, not exactly. We’re still waiting on our builder to get back to us with the updated version after making a few minor adjustments. But, as soon as we have it in hand we are getting this project rolling!
Hint: Look for an upcoming Basement Series to hit Mad Money Monster.
In Addition To The Basement…
As I mentioned in earlier posts, Mr. MMM has a variable and unpredictable salary. It truly is feast or famine in these parts. My salary is enough to cover all of our expenses, including maxing out my 401k and a small amount of savings on top of that. However, we’re not going to blaze a path to early retirement without additional resources coming in from Mr. MMM. Lately, Mr. MMM has been doing really well. We’re utilizing a portion of his income to pay cash for all of our home improvements and the rest towards eliminating debt. So far our improvements have included fresh paint, new bathroom hardware, and updated light fixtures. I really feel like we moved to a new house. It’s amazing how these small changes have made a huge impact on how we feel in our home.
At times I cringe at the amount of money we are spending on finishing the basement and various other improvements, until I remember how we nearly purchased at 3,000+ SF house last year that we really couldn’t afford (another reference to our financial suicide post – it’s really good). And, this is not just money down the drain. Because we are being extremely cautious with how much we are spending to complete the basement, and having it done by a profession with permits, we are increasing our living space…and the value of our home. Cha-ching!
Everything AND The Kitchen Sink
Yes, we are spending some money. No, we don’t feel guilty about it. Why? Because we made a smart financial decision to stay in our small home and we have the available cash to direct toward great design. In an effort to not be completely frivolous, we have decided to keep our current kitchen cabinets and counter tops and upgrade only the sink and faucet for a new, polished look. Check it out. Completely changes the entire space! Oh, and just for the record, I do love granite, concrete, and all the other fancy shmancy choices out there. We’re just choosing to not drop more cash in the kitchen – for now.
What do you value enough to spend money?
Mad Money Cat Looking Handsome
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I’m so looking forward to your series! ML and I are currently saving to gut and redo our kitchen. To be honest I’m suffering from sticker shock!
I know that once it’s done we’ll love our kitchen much more and be better able to use it.
We started out with the idea of just replacing our sink and faucet to update our kitchen since our house was only built a few years ago, it has nice cabinets and counter tops. Even though they’re not expensive, they look good. I don’t know how it happened but we went from just doing the sink and faucet to almost adding granite AND new cabinets! We had quotes upwards of $20k within a matter of weeks. Yikes. Then we realized what our original goal was and followed through. We did splurge on the sink and faucet – but that was still $19k less than what we could’ve spent. But, I totally understand wanting a brand new kitchen, especially if you don’t like the look of your current one. 🙂
Mrs. MMM
Great example of using your money and time on what adds the most value to your life. Improving your living space and getting rid of junk is something we value a lot too! Looking forward to hearing about the remodel!
I can’t wait to read your basement series! I’m planning on doing the same thing … when I’ve paid off my credit card debt, and saved up enough to cover the reno. It’ll be another 3-5 years but I can wait. And the new sink & faucet looks terrific! I’ve been holding off on any kitchen renovations bc someday I want to do a full reno (my kitchen hasn’t been touched since the 70s) … but a sink could easily improve the space, AND would be transferable to the new space as well. You’ve sparked a lot of ideas!
I soooooo envy your double income. Being a single person is great for me in a lot of ways, but money is not one of them. :/
Believe me, I know exactly what it’s like to be a single person with a single income. I was a single parent with my single income for quite a few years. It was so frustrating because I have a high-paying career and I always knew what I should be doing with my money – I just didn’t have enough to go around. I truly am appreciative of that second income. I’ll never take it for granted. On the flip side, I did love being single and I would’ve reached my goals had I stayed that way – it just would’ve take me a bit longer. You’ll get there! You might even meet your second income along the way 😉 Blogging is also a great way to keep up the motivation. Just keep swimming!
Mrs. MMM
Thanks! We love it. I cannot wait to start the basement reno. Still waiting on our contractor to give us the updated estimate. I hate waiting 🙂
Mrs. MMM
When we bought our house, it had the ugliest country blue counters you have ever seen. Now I love them. Permanent sharpie from a child’s masterpiece? I don’t care. Other mysterious stains from random activities? Who cares? It is so liberating. I’ll consider a remodel once the kid is gone!
Ha! I LOVE it! We have also embraced our counter tops. They’re high-definition laminate (Not Granite) but actually look pretty good, since our house was only built a few years ago. I nearly upgraded them to granite until I came to my senses. Sounds like you have some very cool counter tops. 😉
Mrs. MMM
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15 Comments
I’m d
I’m so looking forward to your series! ML and I are currently saving to gut and redo our kitchen. To be honest I’m suffering from sticker shock!
I know that once it’s done we’ll love our kitchen much more and be better able to use it.
We started out with the idea of just replacing our sink and faucet to update our kitchen since our house was only built a few years ago, it has nice cabinets and counter tops. Even though they’re not expensive, they look good. I don’t know how it happened but we went from just doing the sink and faucet to almost adding granite AND new cabinets! We had quotes upwards of $20k within a matter of weeks. Yikes. Then we realized what our original goal was and followed through. We did splurge on the sink and faucet – but that was still $19k less than what we could’ve spent. But, I totally understand wanting a brand new kitchen, especially if you don’t like the look of your current one. 🙂
Mrs. MMM
Great example of using your money and time on what adds the most value to your life. Improving your living space and getting rid of junk is something we value a lot too! Looking forward to hearing about the remodel!
Thanks! We’re enjoying the process. 🙂
Mrs. MMM
I can’t wait to read your basement series! I’m planning on doing the same thing … when I’ve paid off my credit card debt, and saved up enough to cover the reno. It’ll be another 3-5 years but I can wait. And the new sink & faucet looks terrific! I’ve been holding off on any kitchen renovations bc someday I want to do a full reno (my kitchen hasn’t been touched since the 70s) … but a sink could easily improve the space, AND would be transferable to the new space as well. You’ve sparked a lot of ideas!
I soooooo envy your double income. Being a single person is great for me in a lot of ways, but money is not one of them. :/
Believe me, I know exactly what it’s like to be a single person with a single income. I was a single parent with my single income for quite a few years. It was so frustrating because I have a high-paying career and I always knew what I should be doing with my money – I just didn’t have enough to go around. I truly am appreciative of that second income. I’ll never take it for granted. On the flip side, I did love being single and I would’ve reached my goals had I stayed that way – it just would’ve take me a bit longer. You’ll get there! You might even meet your second income along the way 😉 Blogging is also a great way to keep up the motivation. Just keep swimming!
Mrs. MMM
Thanks for the inspiration! 🙂
I love your new sink!
Thanks so much. We love it too!
Sink looks great! Everyone spends quite a bit of time in the kitchen so it is well worth it. Look forward to seeing the basement pics.
Thanks! We love it. I cannot wait to start the basement reno. Still waiting on our contractor to give us the updated estimate. I hate waiting 🙂
Mrs. MMM
When we bought our house, it had the ugliest country blue counters you have ever seen. Now I love them. Permanent sharpie from a child’s masterpiece? I don’t care. Other mysterious stains from random activities? Who cares? It is so liberating. I’ll consider a remodel once the kid is gone!
Ha! I LOVE it! We have also embraced our counter tops. They’re high-definition laminate (Not Granite) but actually look pretty good, since our house was only built a few years ago. I nearly upgraded them to granite until I came to my senses. Sounds like you have some very cool counter tops. 😉
Mrs. MMM