Feels a little strange thinking about a Summer project, especially given that we still have several feet of snow on the ground. Even though we are still in debt, we are planning for home improvements. Last year Hubs built a 5 x 24 dock. Although I wouldn’t classify it as a need, it was a fun project for Hubs and made for an awesome addition to our property. Our plans for 2019 will focus more on necessities.
First of all, we have a collapsed deck to consider. Until the snow melts and the adjuster can come back out, we can’t plan too much in that area. All we know is that we will need to do something about it and that something will cost money.
The second thing we know needs attention is the roof and porch on our shed. We knew this when we bought the house in 2015, so this isn’t a surprise. Within a few months of taking ownership, we covered the roof with a large tarp to hopefully prevent further damage. The porch, unfortunately, has continued to deteriorate. The steps leading up to the porch are more than just a bit questionable. I’m hoping that we can salvage enough boards from our collapsed deck to fix the shed porch and steps. The roof, however, will need to be replaced – insert money. While I dislike the color (looks out of place in our woodsy area), a paint job can wait.
Knowing that this summer we will have at least two projects, I am looking to save wherever we can. When it comes to buying supplies, we tend to shop at Lowes as they give veterans (go Navy!) a 10% discount. The savings are also usable in conjunction with any sales or rebates they might have at the time. But, this past week I discovered additional savings via gift cards!
The grocery store where I primarily shop is offering a 10% discount on gift cards up to $500 in purchases. They link the savings with their loyalty program, which will then give me $50 to spend in-store on a future in-store purchase. Makes sense to do this since we know we have at least $500 worth of projects. But, again, I made a deal even a little sweeter by using our Discover card which is currently giving 5% back on grocery store purchases. Before you bring out those wet noodles, let me explain.
First of all, I do know the statistic of spending more when you use a credit card. It is for this very reason we only use it on planned /fixed purchases (insurance, our yearly propane, etc.) and Hub’s reimbursable business expenses. Every time he comes home, he has a $140 cab fare and a $30 baggage fee. The same goes when he returns to work. I’m sure some of you will disagree, but we feel we have more protection with a credit card. The last thing I want to deal with is having our bank account hacked. If you’re wondering, I do use cash for any day-to-day spending, including buying gas. So does Hubs. As for these expenses, since we know we have them, 99% of the time I prepay our Discover card to avoid ANY risk of charging it back up. The other 1% are things like car repairs, which I promptly pay once I get home. Meanwhile, I’ll take an additional 5% back from buying these gift cards! While I’m not advocating credit card use, I do believe that with discipline, they can be used responsibly. Without that discipline, I’d be the first one to cut ours up!
I may be opening up a can of worms here by asking, but do you ever use savings like this to fund future projects?
Always when I can. I saved Discover points for MANY years, then bought Lowe’s gift cards at a 10% savings (get $100 card for $90 in points) to replace our convection wall oven. (We bought one that was on sale.) The gift cards come in $100 increments, so I picked the checkout line staffed by the nicest cashier I have ever met. Am sure I made some customers behind me mad as he had to keyboard long numbers from 13 gift cards into the register.
I pay my credit card balance in full every month. Paying interest makes me ill, like flushing money down the toilet, so I do not buy what I cannot afford. Have been fortunate that we have always been able to cover the necessities.
I tried to use credit cards to buy my car so that I could get the points, but the dealer would charge only $2,000 because it didn’t want to pay the associated fees. Oh, yes, I paid cash for my car, which I got a deal on because it was used, even though the original owner had put only 2,500 miles on it. And I was replacing a 20-year-old vehicle, so I had a long time to save.
Those points do add up, even when only using the card for necessities. I’ve been doing the same thing by taking advantage of their 10% savings on gift cards too. As for the other customers being mad, oh well! You saved a lot of money and these customers should take note! lol Great deal on the car!
I will buy GC’s when the grocery store has 4x fuel points. DH can always use the max of 35 gallons per fill up at 1.00 off so big savings. I use Swagbucks points to get 12% off 25.00 GC’s as well
That is a big savings! I completely forgot that Swagbucks offers these deals. I’ll need to revisit!
Around Thanksgiving, CVS does some great gift card deals. I think it was buy $75 and get $25 in ECBS. I buy gift cards for several people so it is always a no brainer.
That is a great deal! An easy way to stretch the budget!
I’ve never seen them offer discounts here on gift cards but would definitely take advantage of that savings!!! While we are concentrating on paying off the last 3 credit cards, we have a T-O-N of projects to get done on the house and are starting this summer as well. First up is a new garage door – we have the original garage door (house was built in 1960) and I think not only does it date the house, but lets in a lot of heat & cold through all the cracks & crevices. The only problem is….I’m ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE they won’t make that size door anymore and we’ll have to end up having it specially made…..that is just how we roll…..After that we need all new floors, the house needs to be painted, the area around the pool is being pushed up from roots so needs to be redone…shall I continue….no, I don’t have enough room to write all that needs to be done!!!! We will just help each other get through the paying off debt while trying to fix up our homes at the same time!!!!
That is a lot of projects! I’m probably not telling you something you don’t already know, but they also sound expensive. 🙁 I do feel that for those of us who are on this journey for the long haul, there are times you do need to work on both debt and home. If you want to go the gift card route, there are sites where they sell them at a discount. Every little bit helps.