Goodbye vacation. Hello kitchen

So I bought this new house.

The house needed a little love.  I got what I think was a good deal on it.  I probably didn’t but it’s what I want to think so there.  And it had some issues right off.  First all, it’s 12 years or so old and I doubt it had ever, ever been cleaned.  It certainly did not appear that it ever had.  Filthy.  And frankly, it was pretty hard to tell flaws because it was hard to see beneath the dirt.  So now it’s mostly clean and it still has a few issues.

It mismatched carpet in the bedrooms that needs to be replaced.  And it has tile everywhere else.  So first order of business…new carpet.  They measured 110 yards so there is $3100.  A little higher than I expected but doable.

Next, the paint job is horrible.  Semi-gloss paint throughout most of the house.  Who does that?  One nice red wall.  Everything else, not good.  Once the cabinets were clean they don’t look horrible…where there is a problem is a gouge…but the rest looks pretty good.  They will be good for awhile.  But the rest of the house needs to be painted. 

It needs a storm door and a pocket door going into the laundry room and a new potty in the back bath.  Not too bad.

And the countertops in the kitchen are not horrible but my contractor told me he thought we could do granite countertops all within my budget so I got my hopes up.  And a shiny backsplash, which I love.  So I’m ready to go full speed ahead.

Then the estimate came….under budget…except for the countertops and backsplash and paint throughout the house.  That is another big chunk of change.  So the dilemma begins.  I have some savings that I can use but that is just that …savings and then vacation money.  So what to do…have the kitchen I’ve always dreamed of or keep the $$ in the bank.  The kitchen is the first thing you see when you walk in.  And I love a pretty kitchen.  And the extra $$ is just a bit of savings.  And it will be something I will love for a long time.  And I can’t take the money with me!  And my pension goes into savings and in 4 months it will be replaced.   But it certainly means no cruise this year. 

So my decision seems to be made.  Goodbye vacati