Design Budgets: 3 Tips to Making ‘em Stick

Okay, I think it’s time to bring up that ugly word no one ever wants to talk about…MONEY. That’s right, I’ve said it and now I don’t want to take it back. Ironically, us humans can be quite driven by money but we do everything in our power to avoid discussing it. Is it that we’re all so worried that money is such a clear reflection of who we are, that we feel it an impolite topic? Or we feel bad if we think we don’t have enough of it? I know I’ve fallen into that trap. And, being a residential designer, I know my clients have fallen into that trap too. Something along the lines of, “if I can’t afford that sofa, I must be an idiot, what have I done wrong with my life?” Which nicely translates into, “if I don’t have enough, then I must not be enough.” Not sure about this? Well, how the heck did the line “you’re so money” take off like wild fire? Ouch. It’s like we’ve taken a silly pill and mistaken ourselves for our stuff. Anyway, let’s puts some perspective on all this. Your Home is akin to your second skin — that very personal, dynamic space that protects, nurtures and restores you…if you let it. Home’s very nature is to reflect you back to YOU. If your Life experience ultimately begins with you, then your Home is a reflection of where it all begins.

Being wise = looking like a Foxy Financier

Given that, it’s no wonder we want to nest it up a bit. By all means! To me, this is the the fun part of life. But, since we’re whole people, we also have to account for all the other aspects of our lives, which include being wise stewards of our resources.

So, on that note — here are three tips to being savvy, wise and wonderful while having a budget and makin’ it stick.

• Have One! Yes, I know, I know you’ve heard this before. But, a lot of people don’t know what is it or how to get it. I’ve seen a lot of people move forward on projects with a vague idea of “the highest quality for the least amount possible”. Of course. But, are you expecting your new chair to look and feel comfortable after 10 years? Or, do you feel that your 2 year old will trash it, so it’s not the time to invest in anything that’s not meant to live past her 8th birthday.  This is what I mean. Know what you’re ultimately wanting. Why are you redecorating? Why now? What do you hope to experience more of as a result? Now this is where a lot of people want to zone out and go to sleep — because it confronts us to speak aloud who we are and what it is we truly want. The longer we stay vague about all this, the more we avoid the real stuff - committing to it. Committing to ourselves. Scary, that word commitment. But, don’t be fooled, if we want to live from a place of choice we have to commit. Choose your budget, carve 10% out for contingency and commit to it. It’s called freedom through discipline — it hurts at first, but only like pulling off a band-aid.

• Price It All, Before You Buy It All: This seems so simple, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen clients get caught up in “it’s was on sale, so I just had to get it!…Can we make it work?” Wellll, maybe. But a bargain isn’t a bargain unless you know what you’re costing it against. If you already know that you’re allocating $3,000 toward your sofa, because you’ve selected and priced all of your items, then you’d know if that item is a bargain. But what if you could have gotten your drapes for 1/2 off (because of another sale!) and you could have re-allocated the extra money into upgrading your sofa to something you would have liked better. It just would have been good to know, right? When all of your numbers are in, you can then wisely steward your money accordingly and make a more conscious choice about either adding more funds, delaying a purchase or buying the cheaper chicken. This gets me to my next tip.

• Know Thyself - and love thyself in every way possible. Part of loving yourself is only spending the money you have — and feeling really, really good about it. (ps: I’ve actually done this before, and it felt really really good). So, how much money do you have? What are you comfortable investing? I’ve gotten a bit bolder these days so if my client doesn’t propose a budget at the beginning of a project, I start throwing #’s out: how do you feel about spending $10,000 for a new Bedroom? How about $30,000? Once we’ve taken into account the whole picture; ie: who my clients are (as people, not their pedigree or profession), how they want to live and how much money they’re comfortable investing — a number comes to the surface that feels right.

In the words of the Rev, “Wise commitments do not bind us, they free us. When you make an unconditional commitment to (yourself), the energy of the Universe matches you at the point of your commitment. And grace is always in service to the sincerely committed.” Rev. Michael Beckwith, Author of Spiritual Liberation and Founder of Agape International Spiritual Center of Truth.

Hope this helped,

Happy Investing & Happy Nesting!