Blow that Dough 2023

[Accidental Retiree]

Sorry. I think you should have bought the Mini 4 Pro before you off loaded the 3.

I like how you think.

 

[Koolau]

My dentist's wife drives the "Y" and he drives a supercharged Jaguar (really!).

And I get free dental floss, a very small tube of toothpaste and a cheap toothbrush after my cleaning visits.

I always get those little packages of "threaders" for dental floss to go under my bridges when I visit the dentists. I can make a package of a dozen or so last until my next cleaning. I give away the cheapo toothbrush.

 

[DrRoy]

Ack. I thought the bathroom redo would be about $15K. It's double that.

That happens all the time.

 

[aja8888]

My husband has had a similar amount of work done.

Once, while visiting a hygienist in Texas, she pointed out to me that DH has the price of a very nice new car in his mouth.

“What did you get?” she asked me.

“A husband with great teeth,” I replied.

Enjoy every one of those teeth, Aja! You earned them.

Fortunately, all that dental work is still in place and working well. The four implants have been solid. If you get old enough, you can outlive your teeth! And no crowns have fallen off (yet).

Hey with two new hips and fresh dental work, I am almost like new again!

 

[aja8888]

Ack. I thought the bathroom redo would be about $15K. It's double that, even after I backed down from my HGTV-inspired wet room vision. I trust this firm- they enclosed a deck in my last house and turned a screened-in back porch into a 3-season room in this house 7 years ago. Their work withstands the test of time. I don't want to hire it out to any old handyman and I don't want to use those nasty pre-fab plastic enclosures. The work has to be done; the shower and tub are almost 30 years old and some of the grouting is moldy despite scrubbing it. I can see a potential buyer taking $30K off their offer for that (although, of course, I have no illusion it will add that much to the sale value).

Well, Dad left me over $200K when he died in 2021. I'd planned on giving it away over 10 years, most to the kids' 529s, some for a family trip to Charleston next year and the rest to charity. I don't think Dad would object to my taking $15K out of the inheritance for home improvement.

Go for the new bathroom! Dad would approve! It's a room you use a few times a day so it's worth it.

 

[athena53]

Go for the new bathroom! Dad would approve! It's a room you use a few times a day so it's worth it.

Yes, he would. I'd told him most of anything I got after he left this earth would go to the grandchildren's 529 accounts and he liked that, too.

I'm feeling much better about the project. I can't wait to see the "your credit rating went down" e-mail after the $6,000 down payment shows up on my credit reports. Will pay in full and get my 2% cash back, of course.

 

[aja8888]

Yes, he would. I'd told him most of anything I got after he left this earth would go to the grandchildren's 529 accounts and he liked that, too.

I'm feeling much better about the project. I can't wait to see the "your credit rating went down" e-mail after the $6,000 down payment shows up on my credit reports. Will pay in full and get my 2% cash back, of course.

Nice! You will love it! My new bathroom is part of my new small house and I am so glad I did a good sized walk in shower (tiled with glass doors).

Plus, a remodeled bathroom will increase the value of your house, so It's not all sunk cost with no return in the future.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Athena, I agree that a new bathroom is something you will enjoy for years and it will add value to your home.

 

[MarieIG]

Ack. I thought the bathroom redo would be about $15K. It's double that, even after I backed down from my HGTV-inspired wet room vision. I trust this firm- they enclosed a deck in my last house and turned a screened-in back porch into a 3-season room in this house 7 years ago. Their work withstands the test of time. I don't want to hire it out to any old handyman and I don't want to use those nasty pre-fab plastic enclosures. The work has to be done; the shower and tub are almost 30 years old and some of the grouting is moldy despite scrubbing it. I can see a potential buyer taking $30K off their offer for that (although, of course, I have no illusion it will add that much to the sale value).

Well, Dad left me over $200K when he died in 2021. I'd planned on giving it away over 10 years, most to the kids' 529s, some for a family trip to Charleston next year and the rest to charity. I don't think Dad would object to my taking $15K out of the inheritance for home improvement.

Dad would not mind!



I have also been "inspired" by some of the HGTV bathrooms, and would love to get a bathroom (expansion and) overhaul, but we don't plan to stay in this house long term and the space is limited, so it doesn't make sense for us at the current location.

 

[RobLJ]

We decided to hike the Great Glen Way, from Ft. William to Iverness for our 40th anniversary in June 2024. DW will be booking it over the next few weeks. It will be the northern complement to the West Highland Way from Loch Loman to Ft. William that we hiked a couple years before COVID. Hope the weather co-operates; last time we did have light rain a couple days--but only light rain. The cost is very reasonable so it almost doesn't qualify as BTD, but we haven't looked at airline prices yet.

 

[braumeister]

We decided to hike the Great Glen Way, from Ft. William to Iverness

That's a bucket list item here, so please give us a full report on your return!

 

[Retire2023]

Well this has been quite the BTD year for us. A truck in the spring, the UTV in October, and today we just pulled the trigger on a new car for me. What a way to start retirement! Next year "should" be much better...I hope!

 

[pb4uski]

+1 but not in a good way. Since May our dishwasher, refrigerator and water heater all failed and needed to be replaced and the clothes washer needed a new pump. Also, we bought a new truck. Big year for spending.

 

[athena53]

+1 but not in a good way. Since May our dishwasher, refrigerator and water heater all failed and needed to be replaced and the clothes washer needed a new pump. Also, we bought a new truck. Big year for spending.

My sympathies. DH and I had a year like that right after I retired. Just before we put our house on the market water was coming up through a basement drain. You know it's bad when they head down there with a jackhammer. $5,000. We bought a new house we loved and knew that the HVAC was 20 years old so we were rolling the dice. Furnace failed in the fall and A/C unit had to be replaced in the summer. We'd negotiated the price down because of windows with condensation between the panes but underestimated what it would actually cost to replace them.

But... that was 8 years ago, DH is gone but I still love the house. Yes, this is the one getting the bathroom facelift.

 

[Koolau]

Ack. I thought the bathroom redo would be about $15K. It's double that, even after I backed down from my HGTV-inspired wet room vision.

Yeah, we spent $25K for one bathroom re-do over 10 years ago. ANYTHING to do with water (bathroom, kitchen, hot tub, pool, etc.) is REALLY expensive. YMMV

 

[Jerry1]

Sorry. I think you should have bought the Mini 4 Pro before you off loaded the 3.

Not a good answer, you are supposed to be convincing me not to get another one.

It had sat in its case for over 3 weeks, after I took arial photos of the house to put on Zillow.

In all seriousness, if you don't think you're going to use it, then you shouldn't buy it. We all go through phases with our hobbies/interests and if this one's over, save the money for the next one.

 

[Chuckanut]

Yeah, we spent $25K for one bathroom re-do over 10 years ago. ANYTHING to do with water (bathroom, kitchen, hot tub, pool, etc.) is REALLY expensive. YMMV

But, you like it? Right? quality of life counts.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

In all seriousness, if you don't think you're going to use it, then you shouldn't buy it. We all go through phases with our hobbies/interests and if this one's over, save the money for the next one.

Sage advice. Although I cannot stop watching videos of the New Mini 4 Pro.

 

[pb4uski]

Yeah, we spent $25K for one bathroom re-do over 10 years ago. ANYTHING to do with water (bathroom, kitchen, hot tub, pool, etc.) is REALLY expensive. YMMV

Especially if you are moving plumbing.

 

[athena53]

But, you like it? Right? Quality of life counts.

I agree. I forgot to mention one more unexpected expense DH and I incurred when we moved. The screened-in back porch had beautiful views of the lake. The firm that had enclosed our deck on our old house 7 years earlier charged something like $10,000. OK, we figured you factor in some reasonable inflation but maybe it would be cheaper since the roof and the rest of the structure was already there? Umm, no, $26,000. And, unlike their previous job, no finish on the floor, just particleboard. I tiled it myself to save a few bucks- definitely not professional-looking but acceptable.

Worth every cent. It was DH's favorite room in the house, mine, too, and the grandchildren love it. Right now I'm sitting in the kitchen with windows facing the porch and can see that I need to refill the bird feeders.

I don't know if it added $26K to the market value but it adds so much to day-to-day living and at the very least it will add a "wow" factor.

 

[Koolau]

But, you like it? Right? quality of life counts.

Yeah, we like it a lot. Good "investment." BUT dang! That's a boat load of money for such a small space that is used relatively little each day. Just hard to wrap our minds around spending. That's like $500/square foot just to rehab an existing area of your house.

 

[Music Lover]

Every time I read a story about a $15k or $25k bathroom I thank my lucky stars that I have some decent DIY skills.

 

[street]

Every time I read a story about a $15k or $25k bathroom I thank my lucky stars that I have some decent DIY skills.

I agree. The thing these days is materials are so expensive but when you add labor which is about the same amount as material, cost get out of hand.

 

[Music Lover]

I agree. The thing these days is materials are so expensive but when you add labor which is about the same amount of material cost get out of hand.

I originally started doing DIY about 40 years ago after I paid a plumber $85 to fix a leak. It took him 45 minutes. At the time that was close to one day of wages for me.

 

[folivier]

We plan to redo our master bath in the next year or two. We never use the jetted tub, it's just wasted space for us. In our house we just moved from we bought it with the inside needing finishing as new construction. We had the builder remove the tub and add a wall of cabinets. Gave us nice storage and more floor space.
We plan to do the same to the condo. It's a couple hundred square feet smaller and some of that is less closet space. So the added cabinets will be nice.
Not sure what that will cost us. My son and I could do the demo then I'd need someone to retile the floor (already have the tile) and build the cabinets.
And when we do that another option is to remove the fiberglass shower and build a slightly larger tile shower. Not sure of that yet. It's only money.