If you set a budget or price limit. . .

Do you really stick to it or go over budget for something you really like? We are just about to start renovating a bathroom, and we don't necessarily have a strict budget, but have discussed trying to keep things "reasonable." But, I find that I will set a limit for a particular thing but often wind up going over that amount. For expample, if you decide not to spend more than $300 for a new light fixture, but see one that you love for $360, would you buy it, or "settle" for one you like, but not as much, that is within your original budget? I know that an extra $60 in the scheme of things is not a big deal, but when it keeps happening with every little piece of a project, it can really start to add up. I usually will go for what I really like, but am starting to wonder if its really worth it in the long run?

If you set a budget or price limit. . .

When we first bought our house, we went over budget on everything. Now I stay on budget for everything. You say $60 for the light fixture, but if it is $60 for the light, $60 for the sink faucet, $60 for the tub faucet, $60 for the shower head and $60 for the toilet, you are now $300 over budget. That to me is a lot of money.

If I budget $300, I start by looking at items that are below $100 to see if I can find something. If not, then I move up to less than $150.
You don't have to spend the whole budget and it is quite possible you can find something you like for less.

Message edited 1/24/2014 3:11:13 PM.

If you set a budget or price limit. . .

We didn't set budgets for any of our projects (we did the entire house). But I am cheap so everything was really cheap and I tend not to budge on things.

IMO you can always find something just as nice in the price range.

If you set a budget or price limit. . .

We didnt do budgets either but i will buy what i want within reason. I wont spend $3k on a light fixture i love but when it came to tiles i got what i want. I said i was not accepting something i was not happy with. For our half bath we went the cheap options as we got all tile free etc so we could afford to splurge a bit on our Master Bath. I dont like the tile too much but with a new house we have a lot of expenses so we save where we can. We are onto kitchen now and i will get what i really want and wont settle but again within reason.

Re: If you set a budget or price limit. . .

we are renovating our kitchen and we set a budget and because its such a large project we tried very hard to stick to our budget.

we priced things out before purchasing to help stay on track. in the end, we had some expenses coming in more and less so it balanced out. we were going to go cheap on light fixtures but decided to spend a little more to get ones we love since we saved money on appliances (we realized we could get a side by side refrigerator instead of a french door refrigerator for $600 less so we went that route).

i know for us, if we didnt set a budget and keep track of it we would end up being 5k over bc all the extra $50 purchases add up

id price it all out before making your final decisions/purchases

Re: If you set a budget or price limit. . .

I would never not get something I wanted over a reasonable about of money

If you set a budget or price limit. . .

I prefer to save up for what I really want then to skimp on something that is just ok. Just because you can find something you like for $100 it may not be the same quality of the thing you LOVE for $300.

Re: If you set a budget or price limit. . .

I'm a pretty frugal person so sticking to some sort of budget is pretty important to me.
With one of our bathrooms we splurged on polished nickel faucets and the marble basket weave tile but when it came to the vanity light I could not find anything in polished nickel that I truly loved so i bought an inexpensive light in the right finish. If I ever stumble upon something I truly love that light is fairly simple to replace. Also we had a hard time finding a vanity that looked like what I had in my mind so we had it custom built and hand painted which was actually less expensive.
So overall I try to stay within the total project budget.

If you set a budget or price limit. . .

We stayed within our budget. But our house didn't need much work at all when we bought it so it's hard for me to comment. But if you're going to go broke by getting the more expensive item, it's not worth it to me.

Message edited 1/25/2014 8:11:24 AM.

If you set a budget or price limit. . .

I try to stick to the budget for the project so of I over spend on one item I try to save on another.

Re: If you set a budget or price limit. . .

We plan on starting renos really soon and I absolutely plan on sticking to a budget.

Fortunately, I'm married to a contractor so he knows where to go to get stuff that looks nice but won't break the bank.

We will also put our money towards the stuff that we should put it towards.

Re: If you set a budget or price limit. . .

Re: If you set a budget or price limit. . .

We stuck to the budget for the most part but for fixtures and details, I splurged. For example, I really loved these light from PB and found something similar but cheaper. But they looked cheaper, KWIM. So my DH was actually like, what's $100 more in the grand scheme of things. We'll have this bathroom for another 20 years. Might as well get what you love.