For us, our budget is an ever-evolving tool. It provides us a snapshot on any given day on where we stand. For this renovation, we have always planned to sell, which means if we want to earn any profit of it, we have to be more careful than ever with our budgeting. So, at the end of our Dollars and Sense series, let’s chat about how the final numbers stacked up! Did we stick to our budget, blow the budget, change our budget, follow our own advice, was it worth it in the end?!? 

Our Learnings from Budgeting our Charmer in Alexandra

Reflecting on the journey of renovating our Charmer in Alexandra, here are the top lessons we learnt.

Change is Inevitable

No matter how planned and prepared you are for your renovation, there will be change in some form. 

Keeping a budget on track takes careful planning, regular decision making and adjustments as you go. The budget changing isn’t a problem - it’s when those changes accounted or tracked that you may find yourself in trouble.

Make the Big Calls

There comes a time you have to stop discussing and put your plan into action. We worked out where we could add the most value to the property and focused our budget on these areas. Yes we could have done more or less, but we had to define the scope and projects we thought were best. There is no rule book to adding value to a property, everyone places different value on different elements of a home, so back yourself and your plans for your home.

Work as a Team

For us, we have different strengths when it comes to finances. Take each other on the journey. If one of you is not budget minded, make sure they are well informed and you discuss big budget decisions. And if you are a spender - don’t avoid the budget, work within it - find ways to save money in certain areas in order to spend more for elements you really want. Spenders can be an asset to the team!

Time is Money

There is a real trade-off with time and money in renovations. We had to balance how much of the work we did ourselves whilst making sure the renovation did get finished. We worked out what was better to pay tradespeople to free up our time and get finished. 

Enjoy yourself

Renovations don’t have to be stressful 24/7. Enjoy the process and celebrate your achievements. By being planned and prepared, you can remove a lot of worries as you have an idea what is ahead. Keep those before photos close by - reminding yourself of how far you have come and how good it will be when you are finished!

This blog was sponsored by Kiwibank. Whether you're taking your first step or next step on your property journey, Kiwibank's home loan experts are available to help you through the process.

Their Mobile Mortgage Managers can come to your choice of location and their Banking Consultants are available at your local Kiwibank branch. Call 0800 000 654 or visit kiwibank.co.nz/homeloan for more information.