I wanted to share a semi-small thing that is a big thing for me. We replaced a window this week. No, we didn't do it ourselves. We hired a window contractor to do the job. This is a big deal to me because this window is in the room where I spend the most time, the master bedroom. This is where I have a writing space, a reading space, a relaxing space, and a sleeping space. The previous window in this room was about 45 years old. Over the years, the house had settled, so the window no longer fit the opening perfectly, leaving tiny gaps where cold air drifted in during winter and hot air came in during summer. In addition, this was a double-paned window whose seal had broken. The air space in between the two panes was filled with condensation, completely obscuring any view. We've been replacing the windows in our home, one at a time, based on how bad each was. This was the second to the last window to be replaced.
A view of the outside is something of importance to me in fall, winter, and spring, when I don't go out as much. With the window replaced, not only does it seem quieter, but also warmer, and, now, it actually has a view! While the view part really mattered the most to me personally, the decision of when this project would be done was not based on aesthetics, but on need, priorities, costs, and dollar return.
There are many expenses that are just a routine part of our budget, such as groceries, insurance, utilities, giving, taxes, and clothing. Then there are the one-time expenses, projects or occurrences that happen sporadically in our lifetime. Some of these are necessary large expenses, like medical and dental expenses or the costs associated with keeping us with reliable transportation. Other expenses are optional. Our livelihood and well-being do not depend on these projects being completed.
In our household, we've had a lot of big bills in the past 6 years, some of which were more urgent than others. To date, we still have several large projects looming on the horizon. So, how do we go about deciding which of these projects get the go-ahead in our budget? We ask ourselves 7 key questions, questions which prompt us to more deeply examine our hopes for each project and conclude whether or not the timing is right. Here they are.
1. Would putting off this project wind up costing us significantly more later on?
This should be my first question that I ask myself, concerning a project with a big expense. However, in my excitement to have something "pretty," I sometimes overlook this one (oops). Asking this question helps us see just how "optional" a project is.
Our leaking roof, for example. The leak is in the attic space over the garage. Right now we have the leak tarped. However, we're well-aware that allowing a roof leak to continue could wind up costing us big time if we wait much longer. This knowledge bumps the roof repair way up on our project list, as it's not really optional at all. My husband's got this one, so I hope the repair will be taken care of this fall.
2. Will we benefit financially by doing this project? And by how much?
So, this is assuming that a project is truly optional. We won't lose additional money by not doing it. But completing this project may positively affect our finances. It isn't enough to say that we will get a small percentage of the cost of a project back. For my household, we feel we need to recoup a large proportion of the improvement cost in order to go ahead with the project, as is. If we won't see that much of a return, then we brainstorm ways to downsize the project -- cheaper vendor, redo only a portion of an item, or do some of the labor ourselves.
For our window replacement, we happen to live in an area where window replacements pay off when it comes to reselling a house. According to HGTV, window replacements in Seattle and a handful of other cities recoup more than the expense of that reno. We expect that our new window will help sell our home one day, especially because this is a master bedroom window (and master bedrooms are significant when it comes to resale of homes). In addition, we also expect to see a reduction in our annual energy costs to heat and cool our house with less heat-transference with this new window.
If you're on the fence about an expensive home renovation, google the payback on your type of project. When you see how much or little you will benefit when you sell your home, how much you want this project may become crystal clear to you.
When it comes to clothing purchases, sometimes the purchase of new clothing has the potential to positively affect ones finances. Suppose, for instance, that you have a job interview coming up. And also suppose that you don't have anything in your closet that is suitable for an interview (this would be the case for a lot of new college graduates whose entire wardrobe for the previous 4 years has consisted of sweatshirts, jeans, and leggings). Buying a moderately-priced interview outfit, then, could be seen as something of an investment in landing a good job.
3. Is what we want actually more than we need? Is there a good alternative that would cost a whole lot less?
I admit it. Sometimes I want that top-of-the-line, premium, ultra-deluxe item, simply because I saw it somewhere else and thought I wanted one, too. I think I've wanted French doors in the master bedroom for almost our entire 30-something year marriage. When we'd been married for about 5 months, we looked into the possibility of buying a starter home. That, of course, didn't work out (silly newlyweds). But one of the homes we looked at had French doors in the master bedroom, leading out onto a rickety-looking, mostly rotted deck. My dreams for French in the master began on that day.
I think I've carried that dream with me in every home in which we've lived. In my mind, it just looked so nice. When I began consulting with a window company this summer, I really had to take a good look at this dream of mine. To replace the window with a French door would have doubled our cost, largely because some substantial work would need to be done to that wall. My want was greater than our need. And there was most definitely a good alternative.
When it comes to cars, I am the first one in our marriage to "fall in love" with something really expensive. It takes a lot of inner-work to talk myself down from those luxury SUVs and to more modest sedans. This brings me to my next question.
4. Would I make sacrifices in other areas to have this one thing?
Buying a luxury SUV, now, could mean less money going into retirement accounts. Do I really want to have less in savings when I'm 70 years old, because I wanted to look a certain way or have a certain prestige when I was 50-something? When you're young, you have your whole life ahead of you to make up for financial mistakes. As you get older, you realize that "make-up time" is more limited. Retirement finances are serious business. There won't be any elves who quietly remake my shoes while I sleep or deposit money into my bank account to cover my expenses. Funding our retirement is wholly on us.
On the other hand, a window replacement that has the likelihood to net us more than we spend really won't incur much in the way of sacrifices in the long run. We did make small sacrifices along the way to save for the new window. And in our planning, we felt that those sacrifices were less significant than having a new window. What did we give up? We gave up eating in restaurants, going to the cinema, travel, new clothing (we still bought clothes, just not new ones), and expensive gifts to each other. Willingness to sacrifice is a clear marker that a project or item is important to us.
5. Is the quality high enough that we won't need to replace this item down the road?
While it's important that we don't overspend, I also think it's important to not significantly underspend. In other words -- don't cheap out.
If you need a new coat for winter, it makes more financial sense to buy a coat that is quality-made and will last for a decade or more, than to buy a cheaply-made garment that will end up in a landfill in just 4 or 5 years. There's a trend in fashion called fast fashion. Fast fashion is clothing designs that move quickly from the catwalk to the neighborhood mall, bringing trends to the everyday consumer quickly and cheaply. These garments are not made to last a decade. By their construction, it's clear the corporation's intent was for the clothing item to be replaced with a new garment by the next season.
Coming back to our window replacement, yes, there were cheaper manufacturer options available. However, we wanted quality construction that would outlast our time in this home in its design and integrity of materials and craftsmanship.
6. Is there a way to repair this item instead of replacing it?
Our "newest" car is a 2004 and has over 150,000 miles on it. Our oldest car was made in 1988. With a good mechanic, I believe that we can keep our newest car running well for several more years. So, although last winter we had thought we'd be replacing one of our cars this past summer, with my husband's job elimination in spring, that prospect went out the window.
In contrast, repairing the air-leak in the double-paned window (to allow us to see through the window again) would have been kind of expensive. And that wouldn't have addressed the issues of the window, itself, as no longer fitting its framing, due to house-settling. In addition, the new and improved window offered more in potential resale value of our home, and a better u-value and/or r-value of the new window, leading to a reduced utility bill and greater comfort for us.
7. Is our fund for this project completed?
When a project is optional, we pay upfront. I wouldn't feel comfortable taking on debt for something that isn't completely necessary. We put aside money every month toward these big projects.
We've known that our furnace will need replacing in the next year or two, so we've been putting aside money for a furnace every month for the last 4 years. The fund for this window project was completed a year ago. With the money in place, we feel comfortable to go ahead with the project.
The answers to all of the above questions, when taken together, led us to think that this particular window replacement was financially worthwhile and should be done at this time. You wouldn't know this about me, but this project is something for which I took a very long time to decide. I try to look at all possibilities before coming to any decisions. I may be overly careful in that way. But it is who I am. And more than anybody else, I have to live with my own mind, thoughts, and doubts.
Now that I have a view out the window, I realize that I need to do something to spruce up that view. And I think I need new curtains, and the walls could use repainting. Now that I think of it, the carpet is really looking shabby. And the bedspread is very dated. And, and, and. Isn't that how it always goes with home improvements? You repaint the walls, then discover you really need new drapes now, too. Anyways, I now have a room with a view.
