As I alluded to in past posts, most of our big-ticket wants and needs this year all need to be paid for in the first six months. Last night I figured out how we might actually be able to do that.

It started when I called the AC people to see if we could do the installation in pieces, and whether that would cost the same in the end as getting all 4 zones installed at once. The lady I talked to said she'd try to negotiate a 15% discount for us if we agreed to get all 4 done at once. That would be a $2K savings off that price!

So I told her I'd consider it, but that we weren't interested in a payment plan so would need at least until May to get the money saved up for it. She's supposed to call today to confirm whether the discount was approved.

Meanwhile, I sat down with our budget projections to see how feasible it would be to get the AC done in May, plus fund our June and July trips, plus pay for NT's shoulder, plus finish the basement bathroom and allot $100 each for our five March birthday celebrations.

This is what I came up with:

2 AC zones would cost $8,400, so 4 zones at $12,000 (the proposed discounted price) is a good deal. Basically, 2 zones would be $4200 each, but 4 zones would be $3000 each.

The needs and wants that would need to be paid for in the first half of the year total about $21,000 (if we count 4-zone AC):
NT's shoulder $3,435
Barcelona airfare ($600) and hotel ($1000) $1,600
College reunion airfare, lodging, spending $1,500
College donation $500
Basement bathroom $1,300
Birthday parties ($100 each) $500
AC $12,013

Last year, AS netted about $40K over the course of the year, so there’s a chance she could net $20K in these first six months.

If I defer 5 Roth contributions (Feb-June) and double up contributions in July-Nov instead, that frees up $6875 in the first 6 months.

Our estimated budget surplus Feb-June is $3975.

That means we potentially would have just under $31K to cover all these expenses (plus whatever else comes up—I can think of a few minor things such as tax prep, kids' dance/swim classes and Valentine’s Day dinner). We might encounter more expenses, but we might also get more windfalls—I haven’t factored in the credit card bonuses for our recent offers, for example.

When I spoke to the AC lady yesterday, it sounded like we could aim for May without making a strict commitment. So if our budget went awry, we could cancel AC installation, or go for just 1 or 2 zones. I would for sure confirm with her that we’d have no obligation if we needed to back out.

Looking at all of that, it seems safe to at least say we’re going to try for the 4-zone AC, and see how the next 5 months pan out.