4/19 No Spend Day. Hazzah!
4/20: $31 for fill-up @ $3.67 gal
$12, for cheeseburger lunch with the boys after swim lessons, $28 pizza dinner for the family.

Met with my contractor friend today to talk through finishing my basement office. (I'll post some pics of the before later.)

I'm thinking I might not have much left of my now $4,000 budget once it's done, but you kind of have to spend some cash to do it right the first time to save down the road. So yeah, I think we've decided to fully frame it out, do vapor barrier, insulation and drywall. Then the cost of ceiling panels and flooring.

I also need some significant electrical work, some closet doors for the wall of storage, etc. I am trying to economize where I can. For instance, I am in an architectural salvage auction for 15 feet of shoji screen closet doors, very nice. Current bid is $6. My max is about $60, which would still be a steal. And, I have an IKEA chandelier I can reuse for a light fixture. I need two, but buying one more is only $30, so that saves a bunch.

My plan is also to utilize grocery store gas perks for buying gift cards (4 x fuel points worth 10 cents off a gallon). when buying supplies for this project, so I can at least get a gas discount if I'm going to spend the money anyway, right?

Oh, and while clearing out the room I have found some items I might be able to sell for a little bit of money, to defray some of the costs, namely a fabulous camera that I used to use all the time but no longer do, and my wood clarinet. Haven't played since high school, so probably don't need that, right?