A Little Breathing Room

BUDGETING
I am so happy that the final house deposit came out of our bank account- it has been like something looming in the distance and it is finally complete!! In 9 more weeks are budget will be accurate again- no more not knowing where we stand.

WEDDING
Now the looming wedding payments remaining. We have paid a decent portion to date but we expect to pay out approximately an additional $11,700 from now until then. We will be getting help with an additional $6140 (my parents are helping by giving us $10,000). So we only expect to cover another $5700 ourselves. The wedding will have set us back a total of about $20,000. We had originally budgeted $15,000! It is absolutely ridiculous- but I keep reminding myself that the average in our area is $30,000 with 25-30 less guests so comparatively we have done phenomenally well. Just wish we had been able to hang onto more of our money :o( (or should I say the bank's money)

HOUSE
We received our interior upgrade package from our builder this week, I have called our mortgage broker to schedule an appointment to see if we have any $$$ to increase our mortgage. We decided that we would only consider structural type changes- things that we cannot do after the house is built, things that are way too difficult or too expensive for us to change. Here is the current list- which could change based on our appointment:

9' Ceilings $6,525.00
Smooth Ceiling $1,011.00
3-piece rough-in $586.00 (bathroom in the basement)
Maple Staircase $2,101.00
Tile upgrade #1 $1,749.00
Angled Tile $1,461.00
TOTAL $13,433.00

This amount would be rolled into our mortgage for an increase of about $40/month.
The only other considerations are a door from the garage- but it says on one sheet it's included on another it's an upgrade?? I have contacted our consultant for clarification. Other than that we will be asking about the basement windows- sometimes they install windows that are so small even a child could not be evacuated in an emergency. That is so important as we plan to put a guest room, tv room and play area (for our yet unborn children) in the basement within the next 5-10 years)