House wish list 2010
Rob and I have some intense savings goals this year. For reference, here was our old savings plan. Since then, we've tightened up the spending plan a bit. We reduced our fun money allowances, canceled our cable TV, we're going out to eat less, and we're not buying things we don't need.
Anyway part of the money we save is being transferred into our emergency savings fund, and another part is going into our "house wish list" fund. Here are some of the big things on the list.
Granite counter tops
We put a lot of thought into the granite. While granite will usually add value to your house, we debated whether or not we'd be over-investing in our little house. We don't plan on being here forever, so we have to make smart and efficient updates that will make us money, not lose us money in the end. Since our house is small, it will likely always serve as a first time homebuyer's house. And looking at the neighborhood, we don't want to invest too much money into a house when the surrounding houses hold a lesser value. This is why we decided NOT to do a complete bathroom reno, but instead will do some smart cosmetic changes (like scrape popcorn walls and paint, clean and seal tile grout, re-caulk the tub, put a new mirror in, and possibly re-glaze the cast iron tub).
Ultimately we decided that granite is a smart choice for an upgrade and should be somewhat affordable since we simply don't have a lot of counter space. It will add the "wow" factor that many buyers look for, and the bonus is that we'll enjoy it for as long as we're living here.
We're a big fan of the uba tubba coloration:
Photo from Google image search
Gorgeous and classy.
Buffet
Next on the list, we'd like to get a buffet for our dining room. Ikea has one that matches our current table set:
This piece is solid wood and sells for $449, which is actually pretty good. This would replace the bookshelf at the end of our dining room:
After we finish the basement, we'll be moving all of our books downstairs to the built-in shelves. So the buffet will fit nicely in this space.
There are also some matching bookcases that I am considered for the other side of the room. If I could, I'd pick up two smaller units to flank each side of the window. Here's a quick (and admittedly kinda bad) Photoshop of what I mean:
More storage is always a good thing. Plus the bookshelves on that side would help balance the room. As a reminder, here's the design plan for the dining room:
Leather sectional
We also have dreams of buying a dark brown leather sectional for our living room. Our old microfiber couch is starting to show its age with some wear and tear. Plus we think it would be comfy and inviting in our basement den.
Something like this:
Those are the big 3 on our 2010 wish list. Of course, if I were to win the lottery (and let me tell you - I've been practicing), I'd also pick up a new front-loading washer and dryer for the laundry room and a new range and refrigerator for the kitchen. It would be nice to have matching appliances at some point.
What's on your wish list for this year? Do you have any tips for saving cash? Lemme know in the comments. It's the right thing to do. You'll get good karma. Trust me.
Previous savings-related posts:
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