Budgets are important, though not something people love to track. Self included. But last year, at the beginning of December, as I was updating our family’s budget, I noticed we had a bad habit of spending whatever we wanted whenever we wanted on house projects and repairs. It wasn’t sustainable. That month, we vowed to set a $200-per-month budget for home repairs, home improvement projects, and decor.
To keep me honest and accountable, I update this post at the end of every month to track spending. I use blog revenue to fund our home improvement budget, so I’m hoping that as this site grows in reach, I’ll be able to expand the budget somewhat. Fingers crossed, especially since we’re saving for some big purchase items like more raised garden beds, wallpaper for the girls’ shared bedroom, and a new living room couch and rug (both are in dire need of replacing…hence why you very rarely see our living room).
Picture above of the weird space at the end of our first-floor bathroom, where our laundry room is about to go, housing a vintage clawfoot tub I found years ago, but have yet to replace the other tub with. It’s one of the few, mostly untouched spaces from when we bought our home more than ten years ago.
Budget Breakdown
December
We kicked off the $200/month budget plan in December, which is a great month to start because home improvement projects are at a standstill during the Christmas season. We knew some bigger things were coming, like the materials to make our laundry room (here’s the plan).
- Saved: $200
- Spent: $0
- Month End Balance: $200
January
This was another month of little to no home improvement projects. Between winter sports for the kids and my work as a ski instructor at full tilt boogie, we didn’t have much, if any, free time. And any free time we had as a family, we spent it at the mountain using up those free ski passes (the best perk of being a ski instructor in Vermont).
- Carried Over: $200
- Saved: $200
- Spent: $0
- Month End Balance: $400
February
Our first month of the year with a home improvement expenditure came in February. And by “home improvement expenditure,” I also mean home decor or other items for our home in general.
This month, I impulsively broke down and bought the girls some sheets and comforters for their beds. In November, we replaced their bunkbed with a pair of twins, but we didn’t have enough twin sheets or blankets in general. I had planned to wait to purchase these items until I worked on their room this spring, but we had reached a def-con 5 situation, using a full-size fitted sheet on one of the beds, which just wasn’t working. So when I found some sheets and comforters on sale during a Target run, I picked them. It cost me $114 total for two sets of sheets and two comforters.
- Carried Over: $400
- Saved: $200
- Spent: $114
- Month End Balance: $486
March
Here we go, our biggest spending month so far. Throughout February and March, Colby has been ever so slowly working on our laundry room project. Mostly doing demo, figuring out an electrical plan, replacing a window, etc. For the most part, he’s been working with materials we already have, but he recently bought some V-groove wood planks, which will cover the walls and the ceiling of both the laundry room and the attached bathroom. Kind of like one of our earlier bathroom renovations upstairs. Photo reference.
We bought just enough wood for the laundry room side of the space because wood is expensive! We’ll likely finish the laundry room section first, then move through the space and plank the bathroom section later. But more on that another day. What’s important is that we spent $180 on wood this month.
I also pre-ordered a trio of garden beds from Birdie’s Beds, specifically the round metal raised garden beds in the 29″ tall size. I talked about these yesterday in my 2026 garden goals post. These are the beds for the kids’ fresh snacking garden. I was waiting for a sale, but every sale that came along didn’t apply to this size. I finally threw in the towel and ordered some as part of their May shipping pre-order. They are pricey, but I’ve been wanting to try some for years now. They were $149 each plus $19.50 for shipping, so a grand total of $466.50 for garden beds.
- Carried Over: $486
- Saved: $200
- Spent: $180 (V-groove planking for bathroom)
- Spent: $466.50 (garden beds)
- Month End Balance: $39.50
Welp, there goes our budget. But on the bright side, we haven’t gone over (yet…I’m sure there will be a yet coming this spring).
Upcoming Projects
There are so many outdoor projects coming up, and likely not enough budget to work on them all. Our biggest priority is finishing the greenhouse. The supplies we need are caulking to glaze the windows, some replacement glass, another load of wood siding, and paint. SO much paint.
We also need paint for the playhouse (we picked out the paint colors in the fall, but still need to test them), add some cattle panel trellises in the garden for expanding vertical gardening capabilities, and build some more wooden raised beds for this year’s potato garden.
Long-term, we’re saving up for a new couch and rug for the living room (estimated at $2,000-$3,000) and wallpaper for the girls’ shared bedroom (estimated at $300-$400). Hence why I’ve been writing so much. There’s a direct link between how much I make from writing on this site vs. our home improvement budget. But for the next two to three months, we’ll likely have only a $200/month budget.
Pssst…Now you tell me, what home improvement projects are you saving for? Are you also team set a budget, or do you wing it? I wish I could wing it, but budgets (and generally speaking, plans in general) give me peace of mind.
