The Day of Reckoning

After all is said and done, I can now sit still and look at the "numbers" part of this renovation equation.

I have played with my finances all morning and I can quite honestly say that no debt was incurred in order to pull off this Renovation of the Year.

There has been a bit of a juggling act as I robbed Peter to pay Paul, then paid Paul back but had to borrow from his cousin Patrick. Then there is that nasty guy (let's call him Percival) who would like his share of the Income Tax dollars and I'm still juggling the numbers to make them work.

I am accustomed to making my dollars stretch. It doesn't seem to matter how much or how little expendable cash I have at the end of the month, I seem to create "scarcity" in my budget. It's just how I roll.

As I dealt with a finite number in my savings account, I fought to stay within the perimeters of my allotted renovation budget. This is a far cry from how I tend to think when I'm using credit to finance my wishes. With "credit", comes a thought process (if you are like me) that sounds a little bit like this: "I already owe $__,___.00, so what's a little more?"

When dealing with credit, it is a slippery slope. There is still a finite amount of dollars available to charge up but when one isn't draining a bank account, it is harder to put the brakes on spending.

Even though our home has sustained a substantial amount of renovating, it still has a long way to go before all of its needs are met. I could borrow money to finish the job but I kiboshed that idea pretty quickly. If I started borrowing funds, I could start overspending far too easily.

Moving our existing furniture back upstairs after the renovation was a little anticlimactic. Even though everything from floor to ceiling was refurbished, our preexisting furnishings took the shine off of everything that was new.

My oldest son walked in, commented that this renovation was long overdue and, without taking a breath, added "Now you need a new table ..."

No. I don't. I have everything I need. The "wants" can come at a later date, after the remaining list of things-to-be-done are complete and paid for.

My extra curricular spending after the renovation was complete consisted of mats for the front and back door entrances and closets; a new white fire alarm; and a new wall phone (our previous one had a few non-working issues).

This doesn't mean my wish list is empty. It means I am restraining the spending until my income taxes and new front door are paid in full. Priorities.

I sat outside with our cats the other morning and found my old "dream folder". I enjoyed crossing many items off my previous wish list, while still dreaming of all that is left to be done.

Dad once told me it is human nature to always want more than you have. You think you "just" want one thing. Then when you attain that goal, you automatically set your sights on the next thing. I think of his words and his wisdom every time I reach a point such as this.

You were so right, Dad. Yes, I am thrilled to have done all we have done!! But now ... I just want to do a little more.

"Keep on dreaming, girl! It is truly the best way to live a life. Keep your eyes set on the future and anything becomes possible."