by mapgirl on June 9, 2009
My contractor is done. We discussed one more additional improvement and it’s another $110 for it. That brings the total contractor bill to $745.
There was a brief moment of panic with my new dishwasher installation. There was a small leak after installation and it looked like it was coming from inside the machine. But after [...]
by mapgirl on May 21, 2009
The nice thing about having an elastic budget is being able to find cash immediately.
Having the car thrown out of alignment was killing me the other day. I sat looking at my spreadsheets trying to figure out how to make my goals for credit card payoff by the end of the year.
Luckily I just decided [...]
by mapgirl on April 27, 2009
Seriously. I have no idea what to do with my money. I didn’t meet my goals last year. I’m falling on my face with this year’s goals. Since starting this blog I have only paid down about $5K in credit card debt (over 2.5 years).
My boyfriend has asked me to move in. I’m pretty excited [...]
by mapgirl on June 20, 2008
I just paid out $3084.00 to the contractor for my apartment. It’s done. It looks great.
Total cost was $5684.00. Not bad for a DC area bathroom remodel. They’re between $7K-12K for a low-end estimate. But since my bathroom is exceptionally tiny to fit in my studio, I saved some money by ripping out a tile [...]
by mapgirl on June 17, 2008
After a deluge of rain this spring, my windows are still leaking. I tried to tell the HOA about this 2 years ago when we had a crappy representative from the property management firm. However, they’re only taking action on it now.
So now that I’m done the bathroom, I’m going to have to move out [...]
by mapgirl on June 13, 2008
The main part of the construction is finally done. There’s one minor problem to fix, but it still renders my apartment unusable at the moment. (Sort of.)
I asked my contractor to retain my original tub because of an art deco detailing that matches the building’s exterior. I had him reglaze the surface so I could [...]
by mapgirl on May 16, 2008
Usually I give myself a little allowance every week for lunch and general pocket money, about $100-140. I put gas on my debit card to track in Quicken. The allowance covers most of my weekly expenses, including a few dinners or beers. If I know I’m dining out, I’ll budget $140. If not, more like [...]
by mapgirl on May 9, 2008
You know, everyone tells you must add an extra 10% on top of your estimate on any construction project to get the final cost.
Of course, my bathroom remodel is going poorly and it’s sucking up my 10% overage.
There was some concrete under the tile in the bathroom that’s coming down. Unfortunately, to get an even [...]
by mapgirl on April 21, 2008
Contemplating things further, I think I can finance a bathroom remodel. Especially since the estimate I received is under $6K. Add on 10% for overruns, as most places advise, and it’s still slightly under the $6K mark.
Resources available:
1. The insurance company will pay me for the repairs ~$950.
2. My tax refund is ~$1400.
3. My stimulus [...]
by mapgirl on April 18, 2008
Since the ceiling needs repair, I figure I should do the entire bathroom. I thought maybe it would cost $5K, but after talking with a few people, I need to budget closer to $7K. I suppose this is a very salient lesson that everyone needs an emergency fund. Say 3-6 months of take home pay, [...]