Having trouble spending the money

[happysmileylady]

Due to EIC, with 3 kids now, we got back a sizable refund, despite having essentially $0 withheld.  In addition, DH was in a car accident a week or two ago.  It was a very very minor accident, no mechanical damage to the car, all cosmetic, and DH was not injured in anyway.  It was a taxi that hit him and just this past Friday, they cut us a check directly for the lowest estimate amount we provided, without regard to the fact that the car itself is worth substantially less (it was a total junker clunker before the accident)  So, yay for us!

However, now, after the big bills we had planned to pay with the the tax return, and catching up on the stuff we got a little behind on last year, due to an income snafu that's now fixed, we still have more left over between the two than we had planned for originally, even after we put a good chunk into our baby emergency fund (and our Christmas Club account) 

The thing is, we have a bunch of little and not so little stuff that we could really use-our baby gates are busted and while we have rigged up a work around to still use them, new gates would be nice.  But, because the doorways are larger than average we have to spend more money on them.  Also, we need a water softener.  And DH could really use an external hard drive to back up his work.  He's taking a pretty big risk with no dedicated back up right now.  And, our dishwasher broke last year, we could really use a new one.  Two adults, a teen, a toddler and a 6 month old generate a LOT of dishes.  Not to mention that although we don't intend to repair most of the damage to the car, we will need to replace the door, the dent in it won't let it close properly. 

But, man, I HATE spending money on that sort of crap.  We have plenty to cover it, but it feels so "nickel and dimey" and it ads up fast.  You know, $50+ for gates, $200 for the softener, $100 for the hard drive, $300 for the dishwasher, before you know it, we are almost at $1000!  Even though we have the money to cover the stuff, it's just like "poof!" its there, then it's gone!

Anyone else have this problem?

[Nan411]

Well you need it right? I know that feeling of having to spend a bunch of money on "little stuff" but if it reduces the stress level in your home and makes life more comfortable than it's worth it.

[eirual]

Those sound more like wants than needs to me- I mean, you've made it this far as is, right?

You're right- it would be poof gone. But would those things mean a lot to you and your family? If yes, then go for it. If you'd feel unfulfilled, then think of other options....you could put the money aside in a tax-free savings acct and just take time to decide- maybe you'd be more comfortable keeping it in an EF for other life events that arise?

[GearGirl]

I think you should save as much as you can.  If the baby gates can be rigged but still safe, in the long run the time they are needed is so short it seems like a waste of $.  The back-up drive sounds important, and fixing the car does as well.  As for the dishwasher, can you try craigslist or something?  Maybe you can find one really cheap!  A dishwasher is a great thing to have, and for me it would be worth the expense.  If I were you I would try to put half the $ away, and find a way to squeeze your needs into the rest!

[Dar]

Since it's stuff you don't need right away, I'd put it in the bank and watch for deals or sales. That's what I've been doing with my tax refund. I got a great deal on an external drive at Costco (clearance), and I'm watching for deals on a new laptop (mine has been held together with duct tape since August). If you have the money in the bank you can jump on good deals when you see them...

[happysmileylady]

So, I may have found a dishwasher on CL.  The dishwasher is something that really is a priority, our time is just too much in demand to spend an hour+ a day on dishes (yeah, we really do go through that many.  We have NO plastic or paper plates.  The only other solution would be to rinse/wash as we use it.)  But, the one I found on CL is only $60 and appears to be the same one we had originally in the house.

The softener...I so waffle on this one.  This new dishwasher will be the third one we have gone through in 8 years.  The first one died due to having gotten clogged up with mineral deposits, because of how hard our water is.  (the second one, my teen daughter forced the door closed and broke the sprayer arm totally off. )  And, my mom loves to warn me with stories of our old neighbors, who went on vacation and came home to discover their house flooded because their water heater rusted out the bottom due to the hard water.  It's one of those things that we say we are going to get every year with our tax return, and every year, we find a reason not to get it.  But, like has been said, we have gone so long without it, do we REALLY need it, ya know.

The gates...I dunno.  We could probably get away with just getting one instead of two.  The gates we have are the pressure gates.  MIL isn't physically capable of stepping over it, and struggles with safely closing it.  The one at the steps isn't an issue for her, she doesn't go up the steps when she's over.  But she does need to cross the other one, it's right in front of the bathroom.  And she frequently babysits for us (she's capable of doing so, she just can't lift her legs over the 2.5 ft tall gate.) 

The drive...this one really gets me.  Because it's not essential to DH's work, and the only time we would "miss" it is if something happens, you know.  I think you are right though about putting it aside and waiting for a good clearance or sale.  Or finding one on CL or something.  he doesn't need something big at all, but he should really have these files backed up.  I wonder if he could get by with a flash drive until we can get a good deal.  Or maybe even an SD card or something. 

The car...ironically, this one probably will cost the least.  My dad's a mechanic (aircraft) and builds his own drag race cars.  He knows like EVERYONE in the car world.  I am sure he knows a guy that he can get a cheap (maybe even free) junk yard replacement door, and he and DH can get it put on themselves. 

I dunno.  I am so cheap really that I just hate to spend money on stuff we need, but don't NEED, especially at full price.  But at the same time, it is stuff that wa have been putting off, because of that.  So, I dunno.

[Momsteader]

I agree....if you've lived this long without it...you can probably live longer :)  We do dishes 3-4x a day here. Cook entirely from scratch and rarely (maybe 2x a mo) eat out. I don't have a dishwasher and have no plans to have one. Most of my adult life I've been without one. We all take turns and the kids probably do 70% of them since I do more cooking. A dishwasher is very high on a 'want' and no where near a need. Water softener is again in the 'want' category. Yes, people come home to rusted out water heaters, etc. but usually this is due to poor maintenance. Even with hard water, a water heater should last the minimum amount of time listed on it (6/9/12 years). I live in an area with REALLY hard well water (we filter as it tastes metallic!) and we had a 6 yr water heater that while it was very sedamented when replaced, went for 8 years on a 6 year heater. We just put in a 9 year and expect it should last at least the 9 years.

Sounds like the door would be cheap to fix, and should be done.

I recenty saw an external hard drive back up at Costco for $59.99 on sale. I thought it was a good deal and I am in the market. Check e-Bay or CL for similar or less pricing on a used one. Many people upgrade to a smaller/faster/more aesthetically pleasing one whenever they come out and you an get a used one for almost nothing!  I waited a few more weeks and paid only $15 and $5 shipping from e-Bay for an older/heavier/not as pretty one, but it will work just fine! Depending on the volume of data to back up a flash drive might work and you can get these for less than $10. Or a flash drive might work for now, while you're keeping your eye out for a larger HD.

Gates. I would definitely get one that works well for the door your MIL needs to access if this is a frequent use item. This seems like a safety issue to me and worth getting a good gate. Again, look for sales and CL/yard sales.

Then put everything else into savings!  Door (cheap or free), Hard-drive $10-$60 and gate about $50. You'd be at only 10% of your original $1000 estimate.

[physmom]

Here's my two cents...

I'd get the external hard drive (or at the very least a good memory stick, you can get some for like 8GB+ and they just aren't that expensive).  DH and I both use computers a lot for work and have both had our computers crash at various points (and thankfully at least had the vast majority of files backed up!). 

It sounds like fixing your car door and the gates are pretty necessary too (if MIL is helping you sit the least you can do is make it easier for her to get around the house ). 

If you can find a good deal on craigslist for the disherwasher that sounds like a good idea but, honestly, DH and I have never had one and sometimes have that many dishes to wash in a day and we just spend that time talking about things we need to do.  Also couldn't you have your teen help out with them too?  Especially since she broke one of them... I have many (not so found memories) of washing dishes growing up but it was one thing I had to do to help out around the house. 

We've never owned our own home so I really can't say anything about a water softener.  Do you travel often?  Would it be an issue for you that your house could get flooded like that?  I really know nothing about them. But if you get a dishwasher and you think getting one might make it last longer that really might be something to consider....

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by happysmileylady 

So, I may have found a dishwasher on CL.  The dishwasher is something that really is a priority, our time is just too much in demand to spend an hour+ a day on dishes (yeah, we really do go through that many.  We have NO plastic or paper plates.  The only other solution would be to rinse/wash as we use it.)  But, the one I found on CL is only $60 and appears to be the same one we had originally in the house.

The softener...I so waffle on this one.  This new dishwasher will be the third one we have gone through in 8 years.  The first one died due to having gotten clogged up with mineral deposits, because of how hard our water is. 

The drive...this one really gets me.  Because it's not essential to DH's work, and the only time we would "miss" it is if something happens, you know. 

I dunno.  I am so cheap really that I just hate to spend money on stuff we need, but don't NEED, especially at full price.  But at the same time, it is stuff that wa have been putting off, because of that.  So, I dunno.

Water softeners are very important to the life of your other appliances in an area with hard water. But for the back up, have you considered Carbonite? I think it is about $10 a month.

I think I'd just resign myself that the money must be spent and make sure it's spent well.

[pianojazzgirl]

I think I'd go with the 1 new gate for the bathroom to make MIL's life easier, wait for a sale for the external hard drive and/or see about using a flash drive for now, buy the cheap dishwasher, and get the water softener (based on what you and another pp said about how much it will help extend the life-span of your appliances).