Clik here to view.
New Dishes
One of my annual budget busters is home improvements. In my book, a home improvement can be anything from a new throw blanket to replacing flooring. Thankfully, I no longer have to repair my own floors since I’ve moved back into an apartment (a definite plus), but I still enjoy making small improvements to my living space. One recent improvement was replacing our 12 year old dishes. Over time our set has become fragmented (quite literally with pieces breaking over the years and having to be thrown away.) Mr. LH and I decided it was time to replace the weary set.
Definition: Slush fund (n.) – 1. Money set aside for future bills, 2. Money found floating in a gutter after a snow storm.
Not having budgeted for this expense, I relied on my “slush” fund account that I leave linked to my main bank account. I decided to pop into Kohl’s (I think this is my new favorite store!) and check out their dishware. Instead of opting for a box set, I decided to put together a piece-meal array of dishes and bowls with the help of Mr. LH. We were in luck. The dishes we liked the best were marked down 70%. We mixed and matched a pattern to a few solid colored pieces and walked away with a beautiful 6-piece set including dinner and salad plates and new bowls.
However, I know this won’t be the end of our “home improvements” for the year. If anything, it’s just the beginning. Based on previous year’s figures, I know I spend about 7.5% of my income on this category. I don’t anticipate any other large purchase this year, so I might be able to fudge the number down to 5%. With that being stated, it means I need to save $290 a month to cover any future household item. Wow. Now that I’ve converted that percentage to a dollar amount, that’s sort of high!
As someone who knows I go over my home improvement budget each year, I vow to stay on target with these following methods:
- Wait to purchase a “must needed item.” A lot of times, if I just wait, and wait, I realize I don’t need the item.
- Wait until the item becomes deeply discounted. If it’s a household item I just can’t “live” without, I’ll wait until it goes on sale.
- Allocate $290 each month of my “slush” fund money to the home improvements category. I’m surprised by this amount, but that’s what budgeting is for – surprises and then….corrections.
- Make due with what I have. Instead of purchasing a new item, maybe I can work with what I already have.
Obviously, if I budget for home improvements throughout the year and then end up spending less than what I budgeted for, the additional money can roll over to next year’s fund or be stashed away for retirement – my 2012 / 2013 “to be revised” goal.
How do you budget for home improvements?
