I always get depressed this time of year. So many ads and commercials are telling me how to spend my tax refund. Plenty of them encourage me to spend said refund on my home. I have two problems with this.
One, I’m not getting a refund. These promotions make me feel like the only person who isn’t. I haven’t had a refund since 1988. That was for $12.57 and turned out to be a mistake. I am paying taxes, a lot of taxes, using money that could have gone to buy carpet for my basement.
Advertisers would have you believe everyone is getting this big influx of cash, then running off to Home Depot or Cabo San Lucas. If you’re not getting a refund, you might feel so bad that you still want to run off to Home Depot or Cabo San Lucas, just for some consumptive therapy.
Clever advertisers target people at an opportune moment – after they learn a windfall is coming but before they decide to put it into an IRA. Their motto:
Let your children pay off your Visa. Buy those copper rain gutters today!
The second problem I have with these presumptuous ads is that even if I were getting a refund, I would’t need an advertisement to tell me what to do next on my home – because I have a plan. A home- improvement plan is a great buffer against heavy-handed advertising. It protects you from making reckless purchases simply because a commercial attacked you when you were vulnerable; i.e., you had money but no plan.
Sure, some days I wonder whether the house will ever be finished. In the meantime, if my ship comes in, I’ll know just what to do with the money. I certainly won’t need an ad to help me. But, a refund would be nice.
Marni Jameson is a nationally syndicated columnist who lives in the Denver area. You may contact her through her Web site marnijameson.com.
Spend your refund on this home-improvement plan
Start a “vision bag.” This bag (or box) will hold all the ideas, samples and cost estimates to make your home fabulous. It should be large enough to hold many bulky files, and sturdy enough that it won’t decompose.
Create a file for each room. Include files for transitional spaces, such as the entryway, mudroom, hallway and patio areas. On the inside cover of each file, write a list of the projects and pieces you will need to finish the room. Next to each entry, pencil in a budget number. (The pencil is also key.) In the folder, stash paint swatches, wallpaper and fabric samples, inspirational pages torn from magazines, pictures of window treatments, photos of fixtures and furnishings, and names of contractors and suppliers.
Establish priorities. I use this four-step criteria to determine what’s most important: First, do necessary home repairs to ensure the soundness of the home, such as repairing a leaking roof, or mold or termite damage. Next, do any improvement that adds to the base value of the home, such as upgraded appliances. Then acquire decorative items starting with the most public rooms and ending with the most private, which is why my master may never be done. Finally, ditch all the above criteria if you find exactly what you want at a fire sale.
Every six months, decide which home improvements are next. Dan and I almost never agree: He wants new yard mulch, while I want bathroom wallpaper. But it doesn’t matter. I keep the list, and he forgets.
Save your photos and samples. This not only proves you are making progress, but also creates a handy portfolio. If you’re ever shopping for art or an area rug for that room, you have the room’s colors and design elements in hand.
