Mommy Math

Living affordably takes some time and know how, but most of the time it is just a little thinking outside of the box. We live a a 2700 sqft home and with 6 people we are always in need of something. Maybe it is filling a space in our home with our style or keeping up with the clothing needs of our children, we are always spending $$$$$.

We definetly believe in the hand-me-downs, with 3 boys it is a must. But sometimes that does not fit our needs. So I do Mommy Math.

Let's say my oldest needs a pair of football cleats. I always look for used first (Once Upon a Child and Craigslist), you can often get brand new things if you are patient. Then I price new (of course with a coupon). Once I figure my cost I shop our home (closets, furniture, nothing is safe) for what I can sell. I then subtract the price of what I get for my items from the cost of what I purchase and that is the total cost.

Example: Stainles Steal Appliances for $1200 but then sold our White Appliances for $1100 total cost $100 (see Kitchen Makeover Post).

More examples below;

 

Twin beds $10 (yes for both) Goodwill spray paint $3

 

Sold $50 on Craigslist



Purchased Blue bunkbeds with Trundle $140
Total cost $90

Gap Jacket $3.50 Once Upon a Child

Sold Swing $17
Total cost free

There are very few times I don't do this so I don't include the cost of the purchase of the old item in the Math. This way I keep saving money and of course EVERYTHING is paid for in CASH!!!

Builder Basic + Personal Style = Our Kitchen

This is what we started with, well not really. We did get new appliances when we moved in 5 years ago. However at the time we did not have the funds for stainless and I was not for mismatched appliances.

So we saved up for the french door bottom freezer refrigerator from the sears scratch and dent store. We then got a over the stove microwave (new). And we then purchased a smooth top range from a friend who was upgrading for $100. We were set for a while.

Then I started spending time in the blogging world. I saw that I did not have to settle for builder basic and that we could easily infuse our style in our home affordably. All I needed "want to", which we had because we laid our own tile floors (that is a different story). So I got to work convincing my husband that painting the oak was not just OK but that painting it black would be Divine. I could not convince him to let me paint them so we hired a contractor to spray the cabinets.

To add to this Kitchen Cinderella story, DH went on an impromptu trip to the Sears scratch and dent store and got a deal he could not pass up, $1200 for the package above, (not pictured is the microwave). There is a slight dent on the left side of the fridge, but who cares. That sealed the deal, black cabinets it was. We then turned right around and sold our old set for $1100. Who passes up $100 appliances (that was a quick lesson in mommy math, more on that later).

 See the finished results below.

Now I need window treatments, hardware, and pendent light above the sink. I will definitely post our finished results.

 So including the appliances we remodeled our kitchen for the grand total of $950. Yes that is including the contractor.  

The molding made a huge difference

I had to get the floating shelves. I will have fun adding accsories or necesities soon.

 I want to paint the chairs black and I still need to recover the chairs

 You can see the wood grain, but I lik e it.