$$ windfall threads

gardenmom5 · February 24, 2016

there have been a couple, which I've mostly stayed off of.

I've decided what I would do should I have such a sum befall me. . . .

. . .

.

....

...

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I'd reaplce my LOATED AND DESPISED dishwasher!!!!

so, there. (I hate that thing. I wanted quiet - and it is very quiet. . . other than that, I have nothing nice to say about it. and many things that aren't nice.)

February 24, 2016

I would replace my loathed family room furniture. 18 years worth of family lovin' is too much to ask, really.

Also, since my van (2002) just tanked today just outside of the city, stranding DH and DS until moments ago, I guess it would not be too much to ask we replace that car. (i told DH I was not driving it until that noise was resolved. Not that I'm happy he got stranded on the beltway, but...seriously glad it was him and not me!)

SparklyUnicorn · February 24, 2016

I'd redo the bathrooms. Ugly, fugly, dysfunctional....blah.

Mimm · February 24, 2016

I would replace my loathed family room furniture. 18 years worth of family lovin' is too much to ask, really.

Also, since my van (2002) just tanked today just outside of the city, stranding DH and DS until moments ago, I guess it would not be too much to ask we replace that car. (i told DH I was not driving it until that noise was resolved. Not that I'm happy he got stranded on the beltway, but...seriously glad it was him and not me!)

It's ALWAYS me in our family so I'm glad it was him on your behalf. Seriously, one time our van was doing a funky thing but it was old and ancient so when my husband was vague and non committal when I brought it up, I thought it was nothing. Then it broke down when I was driving it and he confessed to me later that he had known what was wrong with it and had been expecting it to break down any moment to the point where he was getting nervous every time I called for weeks on end. I mean, seriously, what's wrong with him.

ETA: Didn't mean to turn that into a rant. :)

Edited February 24, 2016 by Mimm

zoobie · February 24, 2016

Boarding preschool and a new kitchen

February 24, 2016

Boarding preschool and a new kitchen

The classic February answer...

medawyn · February 24, 2016

Boarding preschool

Amen

zoobie · February 25, 2016

The classic February answer...

Mine would be year-round.

Annie G · February 25, 2016

I would replace the concrete on the area where we park the cars. Not the driveway- that's fine- but the concrete parking area is totally torn up due to age and weather. We had an estimate- $9000- and we thought that seemed high so we got another estimate. $12,000. I just can't bring myself to spend that kind of hard earned money on concrete. It's not as if I'll get $12,000 worth of enjoyment out of it like I would a renovated bathroom or another car so I'm not sharing with ds.

February 25, 2016

I would replace the concrete on the area where we park the cars. Not the driveway- that's fine- but the concrete parking area is totally torn up due to age and weather. We had an estimate- $9000- and we thought that seemed high so we got another estimate. $12,000. I just can't bring myself to spend that kind of hard earned money on concrete. It's not as if I'll get $12,000 worth of enjoyment out of it like I would a renovated bathroom or another car so I'm not sharing with ds.

I hear ya. We have a long driveway of about a 1/4 mile. For a long time, DH wanted to have it asphalted and I could not bring myself to care to the tune of many thousands of dollars. Ultimately, he made a barter with the asphalt guy so it seemed like we got the driveway paved for free. Now that, I could handle.

BarbecueMom · February 25, 2016

I have the oft-recommended Bosch dishwasher, which is a total POS that deserves the same treatment the copier got in Office Space.

Boarding preschool and a new kitchen

This, exactly. And they go together since DS leaning on drawers to reach in them is why said drawers are crooked or sitting on top of the cabinets and unusable.

Me: "Go play with your own kitchen."

DS2: "But mine doesn't have drawers."

Annie G · February 25, 2016

I hear ya. We have a long driveway of about a 1/4 mile. For a long time, DH wanted to have it asphalted and I could not bring myself to care to the tune of many thousands of dollars. Ultimately, he made a barter with the asphalt guy so it seemed like we got the driveway paved for free. Now that, I could handle.

I read your post about that - probably in the bartering thread. I literally turned green with envy. I told dh about it and suggested he find a way to barter for it. He told me he's an engineer and has no skills. :glare:

The only positive thing about it looking like this is that it really drives my hosta stealing neighbor crazy. We share a driveway and he has to see my cracked parking area every time he goes up and down the driveway. He combats that by telling his guests to park in front of our garage. (Gee, thanks, buddy. How about they park in front of YOUR garage instead???)

momto10blessings · February 25, 2016

I hear ya. We have a long driveway of about a 1/4 mile. For a long time, DH wanted to have it asphalted and I could not bring myself to care to the tune of many thousands of dollars. Ultimately, he made a barter with the asphalt guy so it seemed like we got the driveway paved for free. Now that, I could handle.

Nice! What did he barter for it?

SparklyUnicorn · February 25, 2016

Boarding preschool and a new kitchen

oh and that, but for the slightly older crowd

new floors in the kitchen...kitchen doesn't bug me otherwise

February 25, 2016

Nice! What did he barter for it?

Plumbing work; DH is a Master Plumber.

KarenNC · February 25, 2016

Boarding preschool and a new kitchen

There were definitely times I daydreamed about boarding military preschool.

gardenmom5 · February 25, 2016

I have the oft-recommended Bosch dishwasher, which is a total POS that deserves the same treatment the copier got in Office Space.

This, exactly. And they go together since DS leaning on drawers to reach in them is why said drawers are crooked or sitting on top of the cabinets and unusable.

Me: "Go play with your own kitchen."

DS2: "But mine doesn't have drawers."

<insert high-pitched internal screaming>

which model is that?

oh and that, but for the slightly older crowd

new floors in the kitchen...kitchen doesn't bug me otherwise

I kinda liked my wood - but it wasn't quite right. my dishwasher piddled all over it. my homeowner's insurance paid for my new kitchen floor. and I got the new much despised dishwasher. I also had to get a new fridge because the old one (which was old) didn't like being moved. I'm much happier with it.

maize · February 25, 2016

Can my three year old attend the boarding preschool as well? Until he starts acting more human than monkey?

medawyn · February 25, 2016

Can my three year old attend the boarding preschool as well? Until he starts acting more human than monkey?

My fantasy boarding school actually specializes in ages 2-3.5, so he's welcome there.

Edited February 25, 2016 by HOPE_Academy

LisaKinVA · February 25, 2016

Pay off debt (should be mostly done with that by July anyway).

Get my TEETH! All I need is about $10k for the crowns, and after 18 years, I will finally have TEETH again.

Buy two more "new to us" cars (new and Naples do not go together, a "sporty" car for dh, a Ducato that seats 9 for trips, we can get both for about $15,000, we just bought the Opel to replace DH's dead car)

Set up college accounts for the kids and no longer worry about college funds

Pay off relative's debt (mortgages, college loans).

Gift my parents money to fix their house (they helped us out a LOT).

Travel...pay for my parents to come here, maybe start taking our nieces and nephews on a rotating schedule to come and visit.

Fix up/fund the unofficial animal shelters here (actual shelters are mob-owned and horrible, horrible places...they are no-kill, but it probably would be more humane to euthanize the animals there, very, very sad).

Fund "Mission of Light" (charity for human trafficking here)

Fix up the local camp.

Start a business :)

Depending upon what is left, create a family foundation, endow some scholarships,

One can dream...

Night Elf · February 25, 2016

Fix my asphalt driveway! It's full of cracks and potholes and just looks awful and is terrible to drive over. Unfortunately it's been a low priority as we always seem to have horrid stuff happen to the house. Two months ago we had to have the foundation of our house reinforced with steel beams. That cost a pretty penny!

lynn · February 25, 2016

I'd redo my mom's bathroom. They could use something they could walk in to and not risk the climb over the tub and if any was left over redo their drive way and front stairs.

Baseball mom · February 25, 2016

Can I dream too?

Bathrooms fixed -- functional. Updating is optional

Floors fixed

Storm windows

Several new appliances

Furniture

New to me vehicle

DawnM · February 25, 2016

Goodness, I wouldn't fix a thing, I would just buy NEW!

Cinder · February 25, 2016

Ooh, I would love a new driveway. The ground beneath ours has settled and part of the driveway has sunk down over an inch which caused a couple slabs to crack. I also would love to replace this old crappy carpet with wood flooring. I would visit my mother more often--we're at opposite ends of the country. And I would pay for my nephew to finish his bachelor's degree.

HeWillSoar · February 25, 2016

I hate my fridge! It's a side by side, and I can't fit anything or find anything. I won't be sad the day that thing dies.

shawthorne44 · February 25, 2016

pay off debt. I was out of work for a couple of years before marriage. Debt drives me bonkers.

gardenmom5 · February 25, 2016

I hate my fridge! It's a side by side, and I can't fit anything or find anything. I won't be sad the day that thing dies.

when my dishwasher piddled on my hardwood kitchen floor - destroying it, i had time to look around for dishwashers while the floor was replaced (with quartzite tile - love it.). hate the dishwasher, and it's probably now at the top of my to be replaced list (i'm already looking for a new-to-us car, that's already in the budget). 2ds was like - glad you agree with me on this. it hadn't occured to me before. (i could go out and replace a new dishwasher, so it got pushed to the back of my mind when there are other things to be done.)

my fridge resided in the dining room for the duration. I even thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed it out so it would be nice and clean when it went back. it was older, and we were planning on replacing it - but didn't really have the discretionary money at that time. it was working fine in the dining room. it didn't like being moved, and the freezer stopped working after we put it back in the kitchen. I got a french door (and splurged on counter-depth as I hated how far it stuck out into the kitchen)

making sure you can open drawers with only one door open. I'm happy with my fridge (there have been times I've wished it was bigger, but most of the time I'm glad it isn't) . . . .

Entropymama · February 25, 2016

For all of you who would fix up your homes.. dh and I started watching Property Brothers last night. I don't know where these people live, but they were buying seriously crappy houses for over half a million dollars and fixing them up. By the end of two episodes, we were both feeling pretty great about our mediocre split level with 20-year old finishes.

Dmmetler · February 25, 2016

New floors, new living room furniture, and an animal behaviorist who can get DD's cat to reliably use the litter box! (Actually, that needs to come first....)

February 25, 2016

Dishwasher here too. It's broken again for the fifth time in four years and has been out of commission for almost a month, but the repair people keep putting it off again and again. I'm furious and never doing a consumer grade dishwasher again. Commercial only.

SKL · February 25, 2016

Last year we did a bunch of needed work on our house. I am pretty sure it will be decades before I desire to do any more of that. :P Though I probably need a new bedroom door (I have to slam mine to shut it), and the fridge is kinda falling apart. :/

Now if someone could find me a laptop that won't fail at an inconvenient time, I would wish for that. Other than that, I can't really think of any"thing" I want.

gardenmom5 · February 25, 2016

For all of you who would fix up your homes.. dh and I started watching Property Brothers last night. I don't know where these people live, but they were buying seriously crappy houses for over half a million dollars and fixing them up. By the end of two episodes, we were both feeling pretty great about our mediocre split level with 20-year old finishes.

I adore property brothers. they've done their show in various areas, from eastern canada (toronto?), to british columbia (where they're from - they grew up on a ranch in the rockies. their father was a cowboy.) to texas. - oh I think there were also doing some in the westchester county area.

and where i live in the PNW - you can buy a tear down for half a milion dollars . . . . but, location, location, location.

eta; spelling. even if there was spellcheck on this thing - spellcheck is not your friend when you use a homonym . . . .

they currently share a house in vegas. jonathan is also a magician, and will develop magic tricks for the stage. they tease and raz each other, mercilessly at times, but you can tell they really are very close.

Edited February 25, 2016 by gardenmom5

shawthorne44 · February 25, 2016

For all of you who would fix up your homes.. dh and I started watching Property Brothers last night. I don't know where these people live, but they were buying seriously crappy houses for over half a million dollars and fixing them up. By the end of two episodes, we were both feeling pretty great about our mediocre split level with 20-year old finishes.

Those shows really need to be done on high COL areas for that reason. The remodels that you can do in an neighborhood where a 3/2/2 is 120K would get pretty boring. Whereas those high COL areas they can do some amazing stuff and not raise the final price much over market.

mamiof5 · February 25, 2016

I'd go in a 1-2 month trip to the East coast. NY, Washington DC, New Jersey, Maine...SO MUCH to do!

kubiac · February 25, 2016

Housekeeper

Personal trainer

Personal chef

solascriptura · February 25, 2016

College times 4. Ugh

DawnM · February 25, 2016

College times 4. Ugh

Oh, yeah, there is that too, times 3 anyway.

The job I am trying to get is to help with that.

February 25, 2016

For all of you who would fix up your homes.. dh and I started watching Property Brothers last night. I don't know where these people live, but they were buying seriously crappy houses for over half a million dollars and fixing them up. By the end of two episodes, we were both feeling pretty great about our mediocre split level with 20-year old finishes.

One thing that makes me kinda crazy with that show (and also the Love It/List It show) is when the designers "need" to change something that costs thousands of dollars because it doesn't work perfectly with their design plan otherwise. It's so silly to me. You might have been watching the one that had the cast iron waste stack behind the kitchen bulkhead? Yeah - I would not move that in order to have the cabinets go all the way up. I have a pretty cleverly-designed bulkhead with low-voltage lights so I know there are ways to design around obstacles and still have it appear totally design-intentional. I have seen shows where they changed the location of a staircase, or moved a furnace - many thousands of dollars - to have something appear more open or whatever the goal was. That makes no sense to me.

The Love it/list it lady (Hillary) is worse, though. She is spending every penny and then browbeating the homeowners for more so she can move a fireplace somewhere else or turn a shed into a Day Spa. *rolleyes*

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