When we bought our current money pit, erm, house, we expected to get pretty good energy efficiency due to it being a concrete and Styrofoam construction method, think adobe style with 1’ thick walls. Yes, 1 foot thick (0.3 m) walls that provide extra wind resistance to over 300 mph (allegedly), better fire ratings, and definitely better insulation properties than a traditional built home. When we replaced our furnace and AC unit last year, we opted for a more efficient system because it costs less to operate, uses less resources to run, and we thought it would go well with the rest of the energy efficiency aspects of the house. What we didn’t realize is that the home was built with the concrete walls because the previous owner was terrified of tornadoes… Um, maybe move out of tornado alley? IDK… Just a thought.
If this was my worst fear, I wouldn’t have moved to “NO-klahoma” image credit: Mike Hollingshead
Beyond that fear, they didn’t care at all about energy efficiency. We’ve been making some efficiency improvements around here and even during these past 2 cold spells, our downstairs has stayed above 62 F WITHOUT the heat coming on all day! This was during a 3 day cold snap with temps around the 30’s F and the latest cold spell with temps of 26 F and 30 mph constant winds with 50 mph gusts. The inside temp finally got down to 62 F by 5pm, but again, this is without the heat coming on ALL DAY! How did we pull this off? By throwing money at it of course!
One year ago we bought a money pit, I mean a house in Oklahoma. We were so excited because we were starting our Fully Funded Lifestyle Change, I was quitting my job, and we were moving to the country! Well, we got the country alright. I sit outside and watch the birds at the bird feeder and in the trees around the backyard. I watch a pair of does come wandering thru the yard in the morning and evenings. They’re around so much the dogs have stopped barking and the doe wanders to the fence to check the dogs out. It’s hilarious! They’ve both figured out that even though their base instincts say “enemy!” they both know the fence keeps them safe. I caught a pygmy rattlesnake, and scared up a 5’ ratsnake that lives in a woodpile on the back corner of the property that I haven’t cleared yet. We have a hawk that likes to fly thru our yard in the afternoons and I saw it actually grab a mouse/vole idk, off the ground one day! It was awesome!
But none of that has cost us any money except for birdfood. It’s the “aaahhhhh” benefit of living out here. So what were we expecting with this house? It’s 16 years old, it had a 2 and 4 yr old AC and furnace respectively, 3 yr old roof that seemed to be in good enough shape. The home inspection report (what a scam industry) was pretty clean and didn’t note anything of significance. We had a home warranty for a year to cover anything major. How did we still manage to spend over $50,000 in the past year? With all of the following fixes and updates.
Man, with school out, there has been so much going on around here. The kids are home full time, so that hinders me doing a lot out in the yard, but we’ve been having a lot of fun hanging out, playing, and hitting up the pool, museums, and zoo so far! However, I have still been able to do yard work, just not as much. Today, I have someone outside cutting down trees for me! First time since we’ve moved I paid someone to cut down some of the 100+ trees I’ve cut down so far. Granted, most are under 6” diameter, but there have been a fair amount of 6”+ trees for sure. When I found out the guy that hauls stuff off charges the same whether they cut the trees or I do, I scheduled him and went and bought flagging tape to mark trees. That leads to today’s topic. When equipment breaks should you replace it with same quality, better quality or lesser quality equipment? I’m talking about my chainsaw, but it applies to anything. My BIL used to tell me he was raised to be “frugal” and even though he knows if he buys the “cheap” version, he’ll have to buy 2-3 of them when they break each time, he still buys the cheap version instead of a pricier quality version. I was struggling with this yesterday when my 25 yr+ old chainsaw died. RIP chainsaw.
Goodbye old friend. Thanks for the work!
Is Bigger Better?
I currently have a 16” chainsaw meaning it can cut 16” deep into a tree. My first question was, do I need 18” or 20” chainsaw? They could be nice having the extra bar/chain to slice thru trees, but is it overkill? I’m 80% of the way done cutting down trees, and haven’t had a problem with the chainsaw I have now. The bonus of the 18” and 20” is a bigger engine and better cutting power. So while mine may have been fine the newer bigger saw wouldn’t get bogged down when dealing with the few big trees I’ve felled and still need to cut down.
Hopefully, they come down better than this one…
With Bigger comes more weight. Do I really want to lug around 12-14 lbs of chainsaw all day? I know my arms get tired after 6-8 hrs of cutting trees, limbs, and hauling and stacking stuff, so how would it be with and extra 2-4 lbs added to it? Maybe just replace with same size is the better option.
I Could Buy Cheaper
I also was bummed when it died (the fuel tank cracked at the corner and isn’t replaceable) because I knew it would be $200-$400 to replace. UNLESS!! I went with a “lesser” brand like Blue Max or Remington or Ryobi, then I could replace it with a bigger bar, engine, and similar weight for $150! So what if I end up buying another one in a year or 2, I should be done with cutting trees by then and would just need it for maintenance, storm cleanup, etc… The big key is how cranky do those things get after a while? I hate finicky yard equipment and it sucks starting the day with a tired arm because it took 60+ pulls to get something started. Ugh, no thanks, I’d pay double for something to start quickly and run well.
The big kicker is that those “lesser” brands have 4 star reviews with over 700 reviews! That swayed me a bit to getting one of those and going the cheap route. Again, I didn’t trust that they wouldn’t be finicky by mid-summer or fall when I get back into the yard more. The biggest complaints were them breaking due to using lesser quality materials, but man, the people that love them, really love them! It’s a lot to think about especially for me who could stand in an aisle for 20 minutes not moving staring at chainsaws debating chainsaw length of life, finicky-ness, reliability, replacement cost, usage, replacement costs for chain, bar, etc… (all more the bigger it is) and more just to make sure I get the best thing for me.
What About Replace with Same
I could also just replace it with the same thing I had been using. It worked well, the engine is big enough, and everything else has been big enough, so why debate it, just get another one. They’re $260 and I already have a replacement blade, sharpener, etc… with files for a 16” and this blade. I wouldn’t have to mess with that. I’m familiar with it, and except for some finicky-ness starting, #asexpected, it worked fine. Actually, it was a bitch to work with. I’m debating why I’d want to replace it with the same thing and not a different brand? Mainly because I think a 20+ yr old Honda doesn’t compare to a 2019 Honda, and am expecting if I got a 2019 chainsaw, it would perform like that, for better or worse. I think replace with same is my best bet financially and for peace of mind.
Should I Upgrade?
What if I upgraded to a better brand, like Stihl where you know you’re getting a reliable workhorse. Those start at $350 and then go up from there… Yipes! I don’t know if that’s overkill for my situation or not. I love my Stihl brushcutter, starts by the 2nd pull each time, and I’ve used it a LOT. Is it worth it for $400? Normally, I’d say hell yeah!! Go big or go home!! Wait, I don’t say that. Anymore… I would like something that reliable and strong, but do I need a Lexus, if a Jetta would do the trick? JMoney, you don’t get to answer. Yeah a Lexus is nice, but is it overkill for my situation? Probably not, but after getting hit with $13k of door and window replacements, $2500 for more brush hauloff and a $5k IRS bill from some stocks not loading into TurboTax correctly 2 years ago… Seriously, it loaded every other stock sold on that same day from that same account, but not that one?! WTF, Turbotax, WTF?! Rant over…
It’s nice to think about and I’d probably not have to buy another one, ever, but I just can’t get myself to pay for that chainsaw right now.
Applicability to Life?
I find myself in this same situation with all sorts of things. I ask myself should I upgrade, stay the same, or cheap out and just get something to work right now? It’s a tough question because it depends on what is getting replaced. Like with our windows, the guy said, ~10% of your home worth is what you should use as a rule of thumb for replacing windows in your house. Spend more and you’re overbuying, spend way less and you know it’ll be cheap and may not be what you want, but in that range of 10% is close to where you want to be.
If only everything had a good rule of thumb for buying. I look at what I’m replacing and go from there. If it’s my phone for instance, I cap it at $300. That limits my decision, and if it’s over $300, I’ll pay out of pocket from my allowance, so I ask myself, is it worth $100, $200, $400? An extra $100 sure if it’s a significant upgrade, but $400, no way… Haven’t found that phone yet.
You have to do the same and ask what is good for you. Is it worth it to upgrade, what about just replacing with the same? Do you need to upgrade? Did you overbuy last time? I try not to overbuy but can get stuck in the trap sometimes.
I find that asking these questions helps when debating replacing something that has died.
Summary
I ended up just replacing with the same for $281 out the door. Although the chain snapped 3 branches in and sliced my leather glove, seriously, it was razor sharp, I’m so bummed… I’m so far happy with it. It made sense for me as I already have an extra chain or 2 that I just swapped out and kept going, I have a file for the blade, and a sharpener, so I don’t have to get anything new for it. That reminds me. I need to finish up the 3 trees I was working on last night.
What about you? Do you have difficulty with these debates when replacing things that break on your end? Am I just overanalyzing things when I buy stuff?
This past week I have had 3 different Heating and Air Conditioning companies at the house explaining to me what is wrong with our AC system and what it would take to correct it or replace it. That’s right, only 6 weeks in and the whole AC/Furnace unit needs major servicing and/or replacement. Thank goodness for the home warranty! Oh wait, it isn’t broken. It was just installed improperly and is undersized for our house. This explains why it can’t keep the house cooler than 83 F when the temperature gets above 94 F outside and why the unit keeps running and running and running. However, since our system isn’t broken (it’s just undersized) according to the home warranty, we’re good!
While a lot of things have changed for the SSC family in the last few months, there are some things that haven’t. We are starting to get our new schedule established, and responsibilities are getting divvied up accordingly. A new plan of attack is being worked up for this Lifestyle so we can make sure we don’t screw things up budget wise. For those that haven’t followed along much on Twitter, here’s a final update before I get down to brass tacks next week discussing all new meaty PF stuff like these topics. “What the F is the budget going to look like? Where is my sense of purpose going to come from when I quit my remote work assignment at the end of October? What is our new plan? We were successful building, working towards and implementing our Lifestyle Change, but now what?! Life moves on and we can’t just sit around watching it go by, so what are we going to start planning for next?” Stay tuned for all these discussions and more! Until then, here’s a final update on where we are.
It’s been a long time since the last post huh?! Don’t worry I’ll be back to regular posting next week catching you up on all the good things that have been going on around our household, but in the meantime enjoy this update about our current real estate transaction. We’re in the midst of negotiations with our Houston house and what a cluster… I’ve gotten worked up over this for all of about 18 hours yesterday before I “let it go”.
You’re welcome if this song gets stuck in your head.
Here’s a quick backstory.
The house didn’t get 1 showing the first 3 months. Lot of competition with new construction, and decent, but not amazing photos didn’t help. Then we got a few showings but it was still slow. When we moved our stuff out 3 weeks ago, we took new pictures and they came out great. We got about 10-12 showings after that and ended up with an offer. We began negotiating a price, then they read the disclosure and saw we treated the house for termites after they got into our front room (formal dining room). This is where the fun began!
Man, this past month has flown by! There has been little fallout at work with them knowing I’m leaving, now if only the home life was as stress-free. There has been so much going on around our house that it has been a madhouse. We have had to keep our current house ready for showings, hosted an open house, closed on our new house, set up moving companies, and more. It has been a whirlwind of activity around here. On the one hand, we feel like we have got things well under control, yet on the other, it feels like we’ve just been hemorrhaging cash. We’ve been doing a good job of keeping things tight, but man, so much little stuff comes up here and there with moving. Here’s a more detailed rundown of how things have been doing with the transition so far.
Man, what a year 2017 was, what a year indeed. We thought it had gone fairly well. Our new Lifestyle Change schedule was amazing, we bought the land to build our house on when we pull the plug in 2019, or 2020, and I got to go to my first ever FinCon! Plus, I got to the end of the year and had extra vacation and thought, “Man, it felt like I’ve already taken a lot of vacation!” There were lots of good feelings all around.
Then we tallied up our total spending for the year, and womp, womp, the rain clouds moved in and shut down our parade. While we had been having a great year from a lifestyle perspective, our spending had been going on a tear, kind of like the stock market.
Our 2017 Spending…
We both sensed it in January when we replaced our dishwasher and it cost an additional $300 in plumbing fixes that were discovered during installation. Mrs. SSC prophetically said, “I hope this isn’t “the year of spending…”” Well, it was. Where did our spending get derailed, how close were we to our FFLC (Fully Funded Lifestyle Change) budget, and how bad was it? Well, it wasn’t pretty that’s for sure.
We live in a master planned community of ~3000 homes and as such, we have a fairly thorough set of HOA covenants. They’re not idiotically written, but they can be a pain at times when you want to do something simple like put in a playset in your backyard. Recently, they sent out their monthly newsletter notifying everyone that they would be “focusing on fences”, as there have been some homes that are staining their fences (not approved – sealing is fine, staining is a no-no) replacing their cedar fences with non-approved woods other than cedar (gasp-the horror!) and have rundown fences that need repair or replacing. We didn’t think anything about it as most of our fence is in good shape. Although Mrs. SSC and I disagree on this, because our views of “good shape” are highly divergent. However, one of our neighbors want to replace their fence and split the cost to replace the side we share with them. Now we’re arguing discussing which one of us is right. Oh brother…
Something funny started happening a few weeks ago – first with a close friend, then again with numerous colleagues… I have been having more and more conversations about financial advisors and investments. Now, you may think this shouldn’t be so funny, I mean, I do blog about personal finance (well, sometimes). But, if you had told Mr. SSC from five years ago that he would be having multiple conversations about finance where he was considered the ‘expert’ of the group – well, younger Mr. SSC would’ve thought you were drunk.
