When
Hubby and I were in the market for buying
a home, we ended up doing
things that were very far from the
norm. While Hubby was in the military, we had saved up over $30,000
to use as a down payment on a home. We thought Hubby would get out of
the military, find a job,
and then we would find our dream home. We had made a lot of
plans and were excited to start
seeing them unfold. Then economic crisis happened
and we had to change our plans. Hubby wasn't able to find a job, so
he decided to go back to school full
time and get his degree. We
were living in an apartment and we were going to have to start
tapping into our savings to cover our rent. This is what we thought
was our fate until Hubby had an idea. He said that since we had money
saved up, we should see what we could get in
regards to a
home for only
what we had in our savings account. We decided
to pay cash for our home. We knew that $30,000 wouldn't buy us our
dream home, but it would buy us something to live in and fix up
throughout the years. We went with a Realtor
and told him our plan. Only a few houses were within our very limited
budget. We found a home for less than what we had in cash, which left
us a bit of money to fix it
up. We bought a trailer,
who's previous owners had recently started renovations on. It was
rough, but it was ours. Hubby worked tirelessly on that trailer, day
and night. He put in a kitchen and fixed that rotten flooring
that was in some some of the rooms. It wasn't
perfect, but it was ours. This house would become our little family
project.
I
remember when Hubby first told me of his plan, I was less than
thrilled. This was not what
I had envisioned. Then reality hit and I remembered how thankful I
should be for the situation we were in. When so many around us were
foreclosing
on their homes,
we would be able to pay cash for one and not have any monthly
mortgage payments. That in itself was enough for me to get on board.
I also liked the idea of having a clean canvas to create with. No
matter the current state of your home, don't get discouraged. Through
a bit of creativity and hard work, you can create something
beautiful.
There
were a few things that helped me, as we lived in our fixer upper.
Being content with what we had, being frugal, and being
patient all helped us in fixing up our house without going into debt.
We didn't want to have to pay for renovations years down the road
because we charged them on a credit card. We shopped smart and have
continued to work on our home to make it perfect for us.
Be
Content with What You Have
Being
content is one of the best things we can do for ourselves. Sometimes
we get so focused on where we want to be tomorrow, we forget to enjoy
today. If there are things that you would like to change about your
home, that's fine, but don't let it consume you. Give yourself a
“blessing check”. Have you heard of that before? It is where you
count your many blessings and name them one by one. Doing this, puts
things in focus. No my fixer upper was not absolute bliss, but my
family was together and we were making things work. We
all have been
given so much and I think it is important to take a step back now and
again to see all that we have been given.
I
think it
is also important to be ok with where you are at right now. I have
seen so many
people who are in a hurry to get a bigger and better thing, whether
it be a house, car, you name
it. Be content with what you
have. Don't rush into things, just because you want that immediate
gratification,
Be
Patient
When
you are wanting to redo things in your home, be patient, Rome wasn't
built in a day and your home can't be fixed in a day either. Focus
on the things you can change right
now, rather than the things you can't. If
you think your front door is looking less than fabulous, but don't
have the cash to redo the door, liven it up with a fun new wreath. It
is a little fix that can brighten up a dreary door and have you
feeling better about your surroundings. This is something I learned
as we have
lived in a fixer upper. When we had cabinets without doors, I got
creative and used suspension rods with curtains. When we couldn't
afford that new hardwood floor I wanted, we got creative and painted
our existing flooring. It is those little things that create a homey inviting space. A house does not have be dressed to the nines to become a home. It is the people living within those walls that make it home. Never forget that.
Be
Frugal
When
you are planning to upgrade things in your house, do it with a frugal
mindset. Going into debt to fix our house, was not something we
wanted to do. When we have wanted to fix things in our home, we
figure out how much it will cost to complete the project, plus a little extra for the unexpected, and save up the money. Being able to
pay cash for the upgrades, is a relief. It is no fun to charge an
upgrade and continue paying it off months after the project is done.
Be patient. It will feel even greater if you know you are not still
paying for whatever project you just completed.
There
are a lot of
places where you can find discounted items to fix your home up with.
Thrift stores sell all kinds of home goods that you can use to
decorate your home with. THe majority of our home is decorated with items I made or found at thrift stores. Another place you can go to is The Habitat For Humanity Store. They sell all
kinds of items to help you with your home projects. Hubby has found
fencing, cabinets, tiles, and light fixtures there. Buying used and
saving the difference
really helps keep the cost down on projects around
the house.
When
we first moved into our home, I wanted to paint the hallway, but we
didn't have enough money for paint. I shared this with my family and
it turned out that many of them had paint cans in the garage leftover
from when they painted there own homes. The paint also happened to go
with our color scheme.
Reusing something that someone
else was going to throw away really helped us stay within a limited
budget.
No matter what, give yourself a bit fo grace. Don't try to keep up with those around you. Do what is right for your family and do it on a budget. You will never go wrong when you set a budget, pay cash, and create beautiful on less:)
I hope this gives you a bit of a glimpse into what has helped me as we create our house into a home.
XO Danielle
