Congratulations! You finally scrimped and saved enough money for kitchen renovations. How exciting! That galley kitchen is being extended, the awful linoleum torn up, laminate countertops thrown in the dump, and outdated appliances replaced with stainless steel. Your dream kitchen is just a few dozen headaches, a few hundred phone calls, and a few thousand dollars away from becoming a reality. And with a little attention to detail and some good advice well-received, you can beat the odds and do all those kitchen renovations within your budget. Here are a few tips for making that happen:
- Find your bottom line and stick to it! Set a budget. Do the math, crunch the numbers, and decide an exact number you want your kitchen renovations to come in under, and then do not let yourself stray from that number. Revisit your budget frequently to see where you are lining up. Once you have set that budget, calculate at least 20% of it to be for the unexpected costs that are sure to pop up. That way, those unexpected things won’t be additional costs but instead things already planned for.
- Prioritize your dream! Make a list with three columns- the “Must Have” column, the “Wouldn’t it Be Nice?” column and the “I Can Live Without it if Funds Run Out” column. As things come up that would tempt you to overspend, see which column those things fall under, and then don’t let yourself move items from column to column.
- Think about the process and plan accordingly! Will you be living in the home while the kitchen renovations are taking place? Will you need to eat out often since the kitchen will be under construction? Think about hotel costs and food costs and include those in the budget. Believe it or not, these can make or break your budget, even after you’ve decided you don’t need the extra wine rack.
