Spending for the future

Boy, I'm good at spending money.  Or perhaps I find it easy to spend money.  Is there a difference?  I think so....you decide.

I've been having issues with the sink in the main bathroom.  It has developed a leak and needs to be replaced.  Initially I thought I'd just replace the sink in both bathrooms (main and ensuite), but after a nearly fruitless search for replacements, grey sinks 20 1/2 inches by 17 inches, at a reasonable price I decided to bite the bullet and have the vanities refaced to match the kitchen.  The newer sinks are smaller so I would have to replace the countertops anyway. 

The kitchen renovation work was done in 2013 when our employment contract was settled and I had received my pay out. I used a third of the pay out for ther renovations, saved the other two thirds in my RSP (retirement savings plan).  The remaining cost of renovations I financed through Home Depot, with no interest for 18 months.  Home Depot is currently running the same promotion and our latest contract was just recently settled. My theory is, why use my own money when I can use someone else's.

It also makes sense to have the work completed by the same company using the same/similar products.  In fact, the guys are here doing the measurements while I type this. (They arrived just after I started this post.)  They'll also replace a couple of doors in the kitchen I damaged.  The material that covers the doors is laminate, which is basically plastic....which doesn't mix well with the steam from a boiling kettle....as I learned the hard way. 

Unfortunately there is a fair amount of work that needs to be done, pre and post.  I have to remove the tile back splash in both bathrooms, something I've never done and which I know can cause damage to the drywall if done improperly.  To do so, I also need to remove the mirrors which are very large.  I suspect my younger brother is going to get a call for help!  The installer will reface the cabinets, replace the doors and hinges, build the counter top, cut the sink hole (according the template I provide) and finish the countertop laminate.  Once their work is done there will be some painting necessary but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.  We've lived here for 7 years, so the bathrooms could use a refresh.

What have I got myself into?  It all seems a bit overwhelming when I think about it, but taken in increments I know I'll get through it. They told me today, they'll schedule the work in late May, early June so that gives me some time to do some research on tile removal (and get it done), as well as purchase new sinks and paint.  I had purchased the door handles when I did the kitchen so that is one small purchase I won't have to make.  Oh, and I have to find a plumber to unhook the plumbing before the work is started and install the sinks and do the hook up when complete.

While I suppose I could have purchased new vanities and had the old ones replaced for a similar cost, however doing the refacing will match the kitchen. I think that will help when the time comes to sell the house in a year or so.  Yes, I'm definitely still planning a move to Vancouver Island when I retire.  

The timing has been pushed back by about a year, with the arrival of Eli, and the circumstances of my daughter's life....currently not working and would be homeless if not for me.  While my son C still lives here as well, he's been saving for a place of his own but won't purchase until he knows where he'll be working.  He did have an interview (for his current job) yesterday.  I know that sounds odd, but it has to do with applicant pools that expire after a certain period of time.  I'm sure he aced it so will be back in the pool for another extended period of time.  With any luck, the incumbents who are currently working in other areas in term positions will be permanently appointed soon - then he can be pulled from the pool permanently as well.  

Anyway, back to me. :)  That isn't all the spending I've done this week.  Yes, I have a cruise booked in January 2019 but one is never enough.  Just before I went on my cruise in February, I found another Norwegian cruise that looked interesting and so I was keeping an eye on it for a price drop.  Well, this week NCL offered certain cruises with Canada at par and this was one of them.  That's at a 30% reduction in price!  

I called my friend K, as the cruise sails from New Orleans and both she and J have wanted to do one from there for some time.  However, neither had been keen on sailing on NCL because of the "freestyle dining".  On other cruise lines, you have an option of traditional dining, which is a set time - usually 6 or 8 p.m. at the same table with the same guests and wait staff throughout the cruise.  With freestyle dining, you either make a reservation or show up at the various dining rooms and wait for an available table.  The guests can ask to share a table, but that works only if someone else is there who wishes to share a table as well.  This doesn't appeal to the two of them.

My fellow cruiser, Sandra gave me the name of the cruise consultant at NCL she's used several times, so we gave Melanie a call to discuss.  We determined that if I booked a solo cabin, J and K can join me and other solos, but if we booked a mini-suite for the three of us, I wouldn't be able to join the solos.  Done deal, I'm booked in a solo and they have a balcony cabin about 30 feet away on the same deck.  It's a win-win, as we'll be able to meet other folks through the solos, plus we'll have space to ourselves as well.  

We're also staying in New Orleans for a few extra days after the cruise.  We all want to wander the French Quarter by day...I don't think we'll do so at night, I want to visit the Cafe du Monde for the beignets, and K wants to visit a couple of the old plantations.  There is also the old St. Louis cemetery and the French market and shopping and....so much more.  I booked my flights today and a hotel for pre-cruise using Expedia and got a decent price, better than had I booked the airfare through Air Canada and the hotel separately.  

I still need to book our post cruise hotel; K just called and we've decided on the general area we want to be in.  They are leaving it up to me because they're packing for their next cruise - a TransPacific from Tokyo to Vancouver - they fly to Tokyo on Tuesday morning.  They also have a Baltic cruise booked for September.  Oh, and after the cruise with me, they are flying to Fort Lauderdale for two back to back cruises.  J's comment to me when we were talking about the New Orleans cruise and I mentioned how long they will be away (Dec 5-Jan 12), it will be winter here in Saskatchewan and it won't be cold in the Caribbean.  Boy, retirement life sounds good to me.

So, yes I'm spending money.  However, I believe it will be money well-spent, both in the return on investment in my home and in the memories to be made.  Plus, I've run the calculator on my back pay and will have a nice sum to tuck away in my retirement savings plan....for future spending.  It's been a long wait for a new contract, but looking at it from my perspective today, it's been worth it.

I'll close this post with a recent photo of Eli.  Here he is "fishing" for cats in the sun room.  He has as much fun as Sheldon does with this game.

  

Cleanliness makes way for fun!

 Another week is rapidly drawing to a close.  More than once, I've asked this question, why do weekends fly by but weeks can seem so long?  Other than the fact the number of days in a week are longer than the weekend....  

I think part of my problem is that I start the weekend with such high hopes  I'm going to accomplish so much around the house...and then I don't.  Oh, I manage to keep the dust bunnies under control and the sticky spots cleaned up but I'm not a good housekeeper and I'm well aware of my tendencies to procrastinate.

My garage is an absolute disaster...it holds a winter's year's worth of accumulation.  (I won't enlarge this photo...it's cringe-worthy!)

What you cannot see is there is lots of storage in the garage, to the left are metal shelves about 8 inches deep and to the right against the opposite wall are large wooden shelves that are a good 18 inches deep.  The previous owner obviously built them and the boxes are various shapes and hold a ton of stuff.

Over the winter I tend to walk into the garage where it's cold and toss whatever I've got to store in the garage onto the pile that hides the workbench.  At least the tires are neatly stacked (behind the strollers).  Oh yeah, I forgot to phone the tire shop this weekend to set up an appointment to change over the tires.

I do have a plan for this pile....I really, really do.  I'm planning to take a week off in May to clear out the garage, and more of the house.  My daughter wants to have a garage sale, so we'll do that for a couple of days and whatever doesn't go will go to the community living group or to the dump.  I don't care, I just want it gone.  That includes the bags of recycling; I've been waiting for one of the neighbourhood kids to show up on a bottle drive - they always do.

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So while my spring cleaning and organizing falls behind, I have been productive in other ways.  

Recently I purchased a brand new dresser for my bedroom.  That's exciting because it's been nearly 20 years since I bought the armoire I've been using.  That piece was on sale at Sears Clearance and one of the doors were cracked in the move from the truck to the house (my b/f at the time and I dropped it).  The drawers no longer slide well and the one door was off kilter and never quite closed properly.

So now I have this.  It feels like a grown up piece of furniture...which is kind of sad when you think I'm 58.  

The reason I bought it was because I had purchased the second television a couple of weeks before.  My esthetician had purchased it for her own bedroom but hadn't measured it properly so it did not fit.  With my daughter living her, at least part time, it made sense to have a second set so we could each watch what we like.  AND I could escape to the privacy of my own bedroom.  

Back to the dresser...I had a table set up with the television but was worried it wouldn't hold up or that the cats might knock it over.  I did a tour of our local furniture stores (what a pain) and found this at Ashley Furniture.  The store is currently under renovation so everything was on sale.  I paid 75% of the normal price and got the store financing for year without interest.  I'm always happy to use someone else's money so will leave my savings in the bank and pay it off over the year.


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While we're on the topic of spending money....I've booked two cruises, one for the fall of 2017 and one for next February.  (See, I told you I was productive).  
I found the September cruise as I was reading a thread on Cruise Critic for solo cruisers.  Princess was offering inside rooms with no single supplement on a New England/Canada cruise out of New York.  That is a rarity for Princess, it's a itinerary I've wanted to do for some time, and the price was definitely right so I jumped at it. 

Since then I've joined a Facebook group of solos who will be on the cruise.  There are about 30 members, some who have travelled together previously and the rest of us who have joined as a result of being invited by the group organizer through the Cruise Critic thread.  It seems like Jeanne is quite the organizer, she's already arranged to a meeting place for Sail-away, set up planning sheets so we can compare excursions, and will use her cabin door to post times for meeting for dinner and other events.  I think she's done this once or twice before!

Our itinerary has us visiting Newport, Rhode Island, Boston, Mass., Bar Harbor, Maine, St. John, N.B. and Halifax, N.S. before returning to New York.  I've never been to any of the U.S. ports but have been doing lots of research.  Still lots of time to decide what I will do during the visits.  

I was able to book a hotel near the airport using Airmiles; as a result I'll pay just $55C for a hotel in New York!  I had American Express points too, so used those "rewards" to book my flight for only $277C return.  It's really going to be a fairly inexpensive trip. 

The second cruise I booked may not be quite as inexpensive.  I booked it last week, after much dithering.  A year ago, I did the Norwegian Escape Eastern Caribbean cruise in a solo cabin and met a wonderful group of women.  Four of them went on the same cruise this year, but I didn't because we were waiting for Eli.  After they returned from their cruise this year, two of them immediately booked the Norwegian Epic Western Caribbean for the same time next year and sent an invite for others to join them.  The pricing was reasonable, and the itinerary was good, plus it provides an opportunity to hang out with great folks again. 

Unfortunately the cost of airfare is currently through the roof getting to Orlando.  I think it is because it is close to the President's weekend in the States and families may be heading for Disneyland/world  Prices may reduce a little closer - generally about five months out in my experience.  I sure hope so!  If I go a few days prior, the cost is somewhat less so I may consider that option and spend a few days in the Port Canaveral area.

I did find a great hotel in Cocoa Beach which is close to Port Canaveral and offers a transportation package to and from the airport and the port at a decent price.  What I might save in airfare I'd probably spend on the hotel but, on the other hand, I'll get to visit the Kennedy Space Museum and other attractions in the area.  Did you know that "I Dream of Jeannie" was filmed in the Cocoa Beach area?  (I didn't....a friend told me).

So while the house and garage may be in disarray, my vacation plans are proceeding nicely.  Maybe sometime I'll get it all together....

Have a great week everyone!