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Working through the wants list

August 15th, 2016 at 09:29 pm

Our many expenses in the first half of this year (shoulder surgery, trip to Europe, tax bill, dental procedures) meant that we pushed off a lot of nice-to-have or will-need-eventually things. Now we're gradually taking care of things as AS's freelance checks come in and no longer need to be applied to a budget deficit.

First on the list, I set aside $300 for painting the interior of our house, though NT might not buy the paint until the weather cools. Then he and I got new underwear to replace worn-out stuff, and I replaced a broken umbrella. (About $30 for all that.)

Then it was new sneakers for the kids. They wear them out so fast! About $50.

Back-to-school outfit and backpack for AA: about $60.

Work trousers for NT: $30

New laptop for AS: $480

Among all of this I've also managed to send $750 to savings. What we're saving for is up in the air; I just wanted to start trying to accumulate a bigger amount for some of our bigger needs and wants.

Now we're waiting on more freelance checks so we can cross some more wants off our list. I've got a list going on our shared spending tracker roughly organized by urgency of want:

Athletic shoes for me and AS
School supplies for AA (the school sent us a list)
Refreshments for an alumni event I'm hosting
Door handles
Replacement bowl for food processor
Roomba part
Handheld steamer (recommended by snafu & Thriftorama!)
Fridge water/ice filter
Fall swim classes for kids
Work shirt for NT
Add to AA & SLs's mutual funds

We can always move things around, add or take things off, but this helps so when money comes in, everyone understands where it's going. I also hope to put half of net freelance income into savings, but sometimes it'll be less than that. But I'll always put at least a little bit of each check away.

3 Responses to “Working through the wants list”

  1. snafu Says:
    1471317601

    CJ Acknowledge, NMB but I'm so interested in your plan to paint and hope you'll share ideas on product, procedure and decor. We've just finished a long delayed, remove and replace flooring project. As of 9 PM yesterday, we finally had floor installer and all equipment depart, furniture and decor back in place and routine reinstated. At 7 AM it felt wonderful to begin Monday's tasks. Shocked that it took several days longer than anticipated but cost less than budgeted.

  2. ceejay74 Says:
    1471318840

    We haven't painted any rooms in our new home except the living and dining rooms, which are pretty much fully "decorated." We were going to paint some more rooms last winter but between my month-long November illness and NT's months-long shoulder woes in December and January, we just didn't have the motivation.

    Back then, we paid about $100 for a color consultation from a local paint store, and still have the color card. We intend to use several of the suggested colors. Our living and dining rooms are a pale gray; the kitchen will be a sort of wheat yellow (not very yellow on the card but the expert said it will be a bit more so on the walls), and I believe the bedrooms and bathrooms will be a couple shades of light blue or turquoise. (It's been a while since I looked at the card.) And we might use more of the nice gray from the living room in hallways or other rooms; not sure how it will all end up yet.

  3. VS_ozgirl Says:
    1471334086

    It's always a good idea to have a wants list Smile.

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