Values and Construction

I'm torn. As usual, I have dueling values, and I never know which one is going to come out ahead.

I ran a mid-year assessment on our assets (because we really are trying to understand our spending) and I'm not sure how I feel about the results. On one hand, I think it verified what I've thought over the past month, we have fairly normal spending habits, although we only just broke even last month. Perhaps we have even less than normal spending habits... if you take out a few categories. Like the house. And the travel.

We have spent nearly $21,000 on construction this year. We've added a bathroom, replaced another bathroom, added a laundry room, and added a new entryway/mudroom. Realistically, we have another $10,000 to go before the house will "shine", and that's not really counting a real "redo" of the kitchen.

On one hand, this house really needs/needed a lot of work. I grew up with the idea that you keep up your property and improve it to make it the best it can be. I don't like living with water stains on the ceiling, cracked stairs, and holes in the walls. Paint may do wonders, but it's not enough to fix the problems this house has. And we're not all that handy. Well, my husband does the tile, and I paint, but neither of us has any intention of taking on the plumbing or the electrical work.

The thing is, after having spent that much money repairing a house, there's this huge lump in my stomach that says, what else could I have spent that money on. I could have given it to charity, not worked, adopted, or bought a piece of land in the country. Are my priorities alright? Is it okay to spend that much money on a house?!?

One of my friends in New Mexico has a bathroom that's out of date and slightly mildewy, but she's got other things to spend her money on, so it stays the way it is...functional. It's less than it could be (and I would think her remodel wouldn't be too expensive), and somehow I know I just wouldn't be able to leave it alone.

Which leads to the question of whether or not we're in the right house. I said sometime this year that we'll stay one more year here and then we're outta here, but that's easier said than done. The more work you put into a house, the more you want to see the whole thing done. It feels a bit incomplete. Then there's the question of WHERE we would move to. I've been scoping out alternative neighborhoods, and I think I have a good idea of where I might want to live, if we stay in the area, but a few months ago I was pretty ready to pack up and move out west. Finally there's the question about the price our house would sell for. Have we increased its value enough that we would at least break even? Ideally we'd come out ahead, but there's still so much more that would bring down the price.

So perhaps the real question is, at least for now, when to stay when. Can I leave the ceiling in our living room with a stain on it? Can I avoid covering the brick monster floor in the kitchen? Can I leave the stairs unfinished? Can I leave the landing floor parquet? We have old, run down furniture, can I stop wanting a new couch, a new slim TV, a new dining room set? Can I stop wanting anything?