How to Decide Where to Spend Money on Your Home

ROI, personal tastes, and budgets, baby.

Photo by Nolan Issac on Unsplash

On Monday, I had two plumbers at my house to look at our broken garbage disposal and a sink that wouldn't stop dripping. An hour later, they hadn’t fixed either issue but had managed to break a piece off my water heater—which I hadn’t asked them to inspect. The whole two-hour ordeal ended with nothing fixed and them upselling me on a new water heater, washer, and dryer. As you can imagine, I was less than pleased. 

All of the bathrooms in our home need remodeling. We will need not one but two furnaces in the distant future. We viewed the probable maintenance needs of our 1950s home with eyes wide open, but we still find ourselves surprised by how far away our “dream” remodel is. I’m not sure we’ll ever be able to afford it. But what we’ve learned along the way is you can either be miserable judging the home you have or decide to make peace with it. The latter route allows you to actually appreciate what you have and hone in on what matters to you. Both are impossible to do if you’re chasing someone else's dream house.

Once you figure out how to combine what is affordable with what brings you joy, you’re playing by your own rules and building something you’ll be proud to call home. 

Younger me would have second-guessed the decision to send the plumbers (salespeople) packing. Younger me didn’t have the experience of knowing the business of home repair, what things cost, and that only a very small percent of the population lives in pristine, perfectly maintained, Instagram ready homes. Younger me didn’t know how to focus on what mattered to me and was overwhelmed by the realization that if you want it all, you have to become someone you don’t want to be to get it. 

Today I want to talk about making a plan for your home remodeling projects that includes brutally honest financial planning and a brutally honest look at what matters most to you. Because a lot of us have no idea how to bring those two (often conflicting) things together. 

Photo by Roselyn Tirado on Unsplash

The Financial Side of Creating a Home

There is not enough transparency around the financial side of creating a home. On platforms like mine, we ooh and ahh at before and afters, often without a thought for the cost that went into executing each project. HGTV budget numbers are BOGUS. Don’t believe them. Most first-time homeowners think remodels cost much less than the actual net cost. I want to dive into the education gap of home remodels another time because I have A LOT to say about what it actually costs to create the homes posted by TV networks, interior designers, and influencers. 

Once you know how much it would actually cost to have the exact kitchen on your vision board, you can start the process of turning that inspiration into something attainable and tailored to you. Financial transparency in home projects isn’t meant to crush your dreams (although it can feel that way at times). If you have an open mind and a willingness to use your creativity, the reality of renovation or remodeling costs can help you navigate what is possible for your unique circumstances earlier rather than later.