Tomorrow, it is Smallsteps' birthday and on Sunday, the seven year itch anniversary for my wife and I, so it is a pretty celebratory weekend. Though my wife and I aren't doing anything more than heading out to dinner for a couple hours together. Prior to that, it will be more renovation tasks, as this week has been too busy at work and the evenings have been taken.
Gotta get moving!
We had a bit of an issue with the dishwasher we ordered, as the post office called about the delivery and said that someone hadn't tied it down in the back of the truck and it had been knocked around. But, the outer box wasn't damaged. Because the box was okay, the company we bought it from won't take it back immediately and replace it, but we have 7 days to test it to return it. Which is "fine", however we won't have a kitchen for another 6 weeks, so if it is damaged, we have to do a full reclamation on warranty for it...
Assholes.
Why can't people just do the job they are paid to do??
Don't we all slip sometimes?
I guess it is about the probabilities and at the moment, since we have so many "moving parts" with the renovation, some percentage of them are always going to go wrong, and because dealing with them takes a lot of extra time, the percentage of what goes wrong and the time spent correcting it is skewed. With the kitchen so far, most of the things have gone according to plan, but the things that haven't, have taken far more time than we budgeted.
Money too.
The difference in material costs from just last year is between 40-60% up, and neither of us have got a payrise anywhere near that. Which means extra time is also taken in order to shop around for deals and alternatives. If we could just buy whatever we wanted without having to worry about the wallet, then things would go much faster and leave more time for other things. But, if we did that, the difference in total cost would likely balloon out by twenty percent or more, which is a fair chunk of change on the price of a kitchen.
It is also why the old dishwasher (it doesn't fit into the new kitchen) lasted 12 minutes on an open marketplace, as many people are looking hard for ways to save money too. I have heard several people who have complained about the prices in op-shops also - not as cheap as they used to be.
Everything is affected by supply and demand.
But, I have also seen plenty of reports and anecdotal evidence that a lot of people are taking the "I don't care" approach to the recession and spending money as if it is going out of fashion. Which ironically, it kind of is, but not as fast as it is going to need to be to save many of these people from some uncomfortable and largely self-inflicted, times ahead.
I wonder how painful it will be for us.
This definitely isn't the "right time" to be doing the kitchen, as there are plenty of investment opportunities out there we could be taking advantage of now, that generates an income later. However, here we are, kitchen stripped, things ready to go. One reason that we continued on is because we have been buying pieces of the kitchen (like most of the appliances) for almost six months already, meaning that we are over the cost hill for the most part and what is to come shouldn't be catastrophic to our budget. Buying early has also meant that we were able to miss some of the largest price inflations, as well as waiting times.
Could be worse - we could be buying a car.
The kitchen is hopefully going to be with us for the next 20 years and hopefully, most of the appliances we bought will survive near that long too, so once this outlay is made, we are aiming to start clawing back into some investments with whatever extra we have. Next year, the plan is "nothing major" but as always, plans may change, because the conditions they are made for don't stay the same either.
I would however like to get into a position where there is more money coming in, than going out again. It seems that it has been a while...
But life keeps on asking for us to spend more.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
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I'll say doing a kitchen project that stands 20 years is an investment, or at least definitely not splurging.
Seems like a pretty big weekend ahead for you and your girls. Happy birthday to the little girl and Happy anniversary to the big girl.
Get them both something lovely...lol
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And at least in the next ten years or so, if we did have to sell, the kitchen will be considered "new enough", so it wouldn't be a detractor from the price.
For Smallsteps, it is a very cheap "smart watch" to count her steps, as that is a thing now for her with her grandma. And just the dinner (+ a new kitchen) for my wife :D
There are always certain things that happen that get out of control and it's very painful when it comes to budget issues as you convey well in your post.
When we have fully carried out risk management and risk opportunities that occur outside our control are things that other people should also think about and anticipate as their obligations because they are related to our rights. We have paid. The case of the dishwasher falling on the delivery of your order turned out to be a double loss for us as consumers. I mean, it's about the precious and expensive time we spend on things that don't really need to happen.
You are absolutely right, anything can happen and change at any time in the future. But, it should not be on something that is the limit of tolerance. Only minor category errors. Don't get into a major mistake.
I'm sure the incident will not disrupt Smallsteps' birthday celebrations and your anniversary with your wife. Hopefully it will go according to your plan and may you always be in blessings.
This is the biggest issue at the moment - the time cost of all of the organisation involved.
It'll be fun tomorrow for her birthday - she is so excited :)
My wife asks me this same thing all the time. I think it is pretty universal these days! Unfortunately!
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It is all too common now - yet still people expect payrises :D
Everytime is always an Avenue to spend, smallsteps birthday, your anniversary,the kitchen and its items, are all going to run by money.
By the way happy birthday to smallsteps,how old will she become tomorrow? And happy anniversary, it not easy to be in marriage for that long so,that alone should be a reason to celebrate.
Since what you are buying now can least almost two decade it worth the spending, because after this you ain't talking about kichen item anymore,you move to the next, which will allow you to structure and plan on other things.
As it is, in every reason to celebrate they is spending, so in every spending they should be reason to celebration, once again happy birthday to smallsteps and happy anniversary to you.
She is six - still a long way to go :)
As said, there is always something more to come, isn't there?
Yes,that life the unseen is always there.
It takes money to make things better. We home in the end it will all be worth it. Yeah, I would love to see more money coming in that going out. I hope we all get there soon.
I would love to one day be in the position where I can live a "normal" (nothing that fancy) life, without having to worry about money at all. I don't need too much.
Happy birthday to your little one :)
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Cheers - should be a nice weekend overall :)
Let's say you will first redd up the house and then celebrate the two special events.
Happy Birthday to Smallsteps and Happy Anniversary!
Spent the last couple hours tearing off the old wall plating - they are glued on!
I don't like wall plating. It is old fashioned.
Yeah it is.
wishing smallsteps a happy birthday 🎈. But life keeps on asking for us to spend more. — wish there was an antidote to this ailment.
Don't listen perhaps :D
Okayy .. cheers
Wow what a double celebration that is set to happen which is awesome. Smallsteps will find the birthday very exciting and fun with friends coming to celebrate with her and also for your anniversary congratulations in advance
For now it is okay - but it also means we can't travel for our anniversary :)
Happy birthday to Small steps in advance!!! Itchy anniversary? Never heard this term before - About to do Google, Congrats tho.
Inflation ain't coming slow:! Just went on a travel journey and the cost was 60-70℅ up and so other materials are as well
I don't care approach is something bad and will get worse in the future
Spending wisely or where is something to difficult and seems like you know how to do it well!
And hopefully ill also learn it tho I'm trying hard on this
True, very well said life keeps on asking to spend more -!!!!
It is an old idea and a Marilyn Monroe movie
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048605/
one scene most know:
Everything is up, but they are actually hiding some of the inflation by only considering some items, not all of them. This means the ones they track are moving., but not as much as the ones they aren't tracking.
Oh nice, will give it a watch!
Sounds like deep pockets. Hopefully things won't go worse in coming time.
i am looking at neighbours and family and I estimate that they are few years away from the poverty line. I am just hoping to create few incomes like hive portfolio for example. Spending is a pain in the back these days.
It is funny, I was just starting to write a post about the poverty line (was looking for an image to start from) and your comment came in. And yes, it is going to require multiple revenue streams for most people to stay afloat. Start early :)
I read this article I ended up smiling happily seeing the heart of a happy man been poured out. Happy anniversary and my prayers for you and your family is that your heart desires which are good come through. Amen.
Have a nice day :)
Thank you 💕💕
The first thing I thought when you talked about the dish washer was that the company would probably not tell you. They usually just put the fault on you and that is common in the US. I hope your dish washer won't have any issues.
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It's interesting to hear your building costs are up that 40-60% over there. In Australia, it's much the same, and trades people also upping prices incredibly! It's made renovating here a very expensive proposition. We did our kitchen/bathroom/laundry during covid and got lucky with the timing. Got a workshop and an ensuite to go, but we'll be certainly waiting until the prices get a bit more realistic. Bloody inflation, eh?
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I remember the opshop prices hiking because I remember someone saying that there was no point and they may as well just go to KMart or Target and buy new for the same price or slightly more. And this was many years back x_x
Hope there isn't a stupid obsolescence built into the appliances -_-