When inspiration strikes us, whether that be a new outfit, table lamp, even buying a new home, we get so caught up in the doing, that we can often forget the planning. We like that new pair of shoes at Nordstroms, or a new bed at Pottery Barn, and we forget this one purchase will blow the budget. I am totally to blame for this at times, it has been a challenge over the years to reign in the fuzzy feelings of inspiration. After a good idea strikes, I don’t just jump in with two feet, I do a running cannon ball!

Luckily we learned from the first house, that if you intend to remodel or landscape, it is cheaper to plan it on paper first rather than plunge into the project. We felt under the gun when renovating our first home;

1) Because we were surrounded by ugly (I’m talking purple hallways, popcorn ceilings, you name it, we had it, in that house)

2) It was barely livable (neither bathroom hardly worked, and we were living on swatches of blue outdoor carpet)

We rushed to finish projects and beautify so much that we had drained our savings quite a bit. Add a life crisis into the mix and we were struggling and scared for a time. In the trenches, is where I learned to budget, and put all ideas and expenses down on paper first, before the doing. Even now, as we know a new roof for our current home is a pending expense , we are hunkering down and slowing our roll. We’ll have to be satisfied with small projects and small purchases for awhile. Creativity saves the budget, and putting all the ideas down on paper will pay dividends in the end.