Can anyone help me spend my money? (long)

ahhhitsshannyn

I mentioned it is the boo/yay thread yesterday, but I received a $1600 refund from my property taxes yesterday. They also re-evaluated my projected taxes for next year so my mortgage went down by $100 per month. Needless to say I was jumping for joy for about an hour. Now I am trying to figure out what to do with it. H just bought a big ole' stupid 3D TV so he said it is my turn to do whatever I wanted with this money.

We can save it (blah). We both have very secure jobs and a bit of savings, so it is not imperative that we save it right now.

We can pay my mom. I owe her a big chunk of money from my down payment (we put 20% down). As of right now we can have her comfortably paid off in about a year and a half, if I gave her this money it might cut it down by 2 months or so.

We can go on a cruise. Cruises to Mexico are pretty cheap leaving from here, and we never took a honeymoon. But the problem with that is I have no vacation time and I will get really biitched at if I ask to take unpaid. So if we did do that, we may have to wait until next year.

We can have our front yard landscaped. I have been wanting to do this, and I do not think it would cost more than $1k since we would do most of the work ourselves. But it is coming up for summer and it gets well over 100 where I live, so I would be pretty miserable while working.

We can get new countertops. I REALLY really want new countertops. I am going to get an estimate later this week, but the guy who did my moms countertops charged her $1200 for labor for a much larger kitchen than me. We would have to buy the tiles, sink, and new faucet. So this option will likely take up all of the money plus more.

Or some other bad ass thing that someone suggests.

I am so so confused, and H is no help since he just says "okay, whatever you want." This money is burning a hole in my pocket and I am itching to do something with it! Help!!!

kristeno90

  I would go with the counter tops if you already have something worked out with your mom.

Beachy730

I would go for the countertops if it were me.  

[Deleted User]

I am jealous of you. I would totally put it in the bank, take a vacation or go on a serious shopping spree. I just need a vacation really bad right now.

larzhope

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_can-anyone-spend-money-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:00ba3a0e-489b-4115-9f9c-9e467e054a3dPost:ff0f9219-1474-4ed6-a829-df62d10e94f8">Re: Can anyone help me spend my money? (long)</a>:
[QUOTE]I'd use it to pay down what you owe your mom.  I think I would feel very uncomfortable owing family money and would want to be out from under that ASAP. 
Posted by ILoveMilkDuds[/QUOTE]

yep, this

aragx6

I'd go with the countertops. They'll loo gorgeous, you'll use them all the time and you're adding value to your home.

Whatever you do, don't overthink it. Just enjoy it!

MissKate2011

Ditto Milk Duds.

I would pay back money ASAP if I owed it and I had the chance.

On another note if someone owed me money and instead bought a 3D tv I would be pretty ticked...

annakb8

I pay your mom or get new countertops.

ahhhitsshannyn

I agree with the pay down my mom thing, it just irks me that it might shave 1-2 months off of my loan. It just does not seem worth it to me, 18 months or 16 months, its still a long road.

I would love to go on a vacation but I know my work would give me a shiit storm if I asked.

I am leaning towards the countertops but I am hesitating since H thinks it will cost a lot more. I am a bargain hunter, so I know I can find good deals, but his hesitation makes me worried.

Thanks for the advice ladies!!

Beachy730

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_can-anyone-spend-money-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:00ba3a0e-489b-4115-9f9c-9e467e054a3dPost:57594651-9587-4a8c-8e5c-2b79a8729016">Re: Can anyone help me spend my money? (long)</a>:
[QUOTE]Ditto Milk Duds. I would pay back money ASAP if I owed it and I had the chance. On another note if someone owed me money and instead bought a 3D tv I would be pretty ticked...
Posted by MissKate2011[/QUOTE]

<div>Understandble, but I think it depends on the arrangement with her mom.  If they have a payment plan set up, her mom might not care what else she spends her money on as long as they stick to their timeline.  I can see getting ticked if they aren't paying you, but if you are sticking with an agreement I don't think it's fair to get mad at them for spending the additional money how they want.  </div>

ahhhitsshannyn

Oh trust me, my mom knows. We used a little wedding money for the TV, and the rest H paid for. I bought my house without H, so I owe her the money. She does not expect us to give her everything, just to pay her every month. She is pretty awesome. She was actually the one who suggested the countertops since that is pretty much all I talk about lol.

[Deleted User]

I'd pay my mom. You never know what could happen financially, and there may come a time in the near future when she could really use that extra money. That would be a bigger factor to me than new countertops.

I hate owing family money. I currently owe my grandparents and it's such a huge weight on my shoulders.

emilyinchile

I would pay your mom because I think I would feel uncomfortable owing someone money but spending it on a total splurge, even if we'd agreed on a payment plan.

Otherwise I would do countertops or just save it. You say that you have a bit of savings, but if you don't have at least 3 months I'd probably put it into savings.

noodle_oo

I'd pay your mom too.  You can get new countertops when you have paid back your loan.  I'd much rather be free of owing any money before I started spending it on things that aren't necessities, like a vacation, TV or countertops.  I just think that is more responsible.

Yeah, and while I have no idea about your relationship with your mom, if it was me, I'd be pissed if you took a cruise to Mexico when you had to borrow money from me to have a down payment on your house (which you still need to pay me back).

jenjenaz

i'm a saver, so i'd probably put the money in the bank.....

aragx6

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_can-anyone-spend-money-long?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:00ba3a0e-489b-4115-9f9c-9e467e054a3dPost:4f72efd5-fbd9-465e-8524-e127b182988a">Re: Can anyone help me spend my money? (long)</a>:
[QUOTE] Yeah, and while I have no idea about your relationship with your mom, if it was me, I'd be pissed if you took a cruise to Mexico when you had to borrow money from me to have a down payment on your house (which you still need to pay me back).
Posted by noodle_oo[/QUOTE]

I think people have different relationships with their parents. I know my mom would never accept extra money if we'd agreed on a time frame for paying her back. She'd be like "Uh, no, go on vacatipon. Like now!"

jemmini6

I'd probably pay my mom because I wouldn't want to be a hipocrite.  My sister owed my mom $600 from when they moved (my mom helped pay their first months' rent & security deposit) and then when they got their tax refund, they went and bought brand new iPhones for themselves instead.  Although their situation is a little different, my mom isn't exactly in a position to help them, but she did anyways.  And then they blew that money on something else instead of paying her back when she really needs the money.

Anyways...I hate owing people money so that's normally the first thing I choose to pay off.  Although, if your mom suggested countertops, you might as well go with that since it doesn't seem like she's in a position where she needs that money back right away...

SirJuliusVonHaast

I would save it-- it sounds blah, but it's probably the smartest thing to do if you don't want to pay back your mom faster. If you put it in savings it probably wouldn't take too long to save up a bit more and get the countertops if they cost more than 1600. 

I would probably spend like 200 on a new dress/junk at sephora to treat myself though

kara811

Someone mentioned shopping spree. I would probably do some of that, then pay back my mom or save it towards HM later. 

Shannyn, isn't there something you've been wanting most??? 

MyNameIsNot

I would probably try to pay mom first.  If she turned the money down, then I'd buy the countertops, but try to get her to take that extra $100 each month toward the loan.  

But I'm also the person who pays an extra $100/month on my car because I love the idea of paying it off a few months early.