House Painting Finale

It is done.

The house is finally painted.

This morning I walked around with the painter and we took at look at the final job. There are a few touch ups and a couple little projects, but for the most part, it is done. I wrote my last big fat check today.

I asked my painter how long the paint should last. He used Sherwin Williams, which he said has a 15 year guarantee. Now, that is somewhat pro-rated for harsh weather, and it takes into account that you do some regular maintenance, but still, I am pretty pleased with that. One thing he pointed out to me is that if you "spot-prime" meaning you only prime the small patches that need it, the paint will not last as long. That is why he primed the entire house, it uses up more primer, however, it is the proper way to do it on these old houses and should help the paint last. I have to say, that is a load off my mind!

Now, I just have to pay back the loan I got from my mother...

I was sitting with a friend of mine, drinking wine and admiring her new apartment, when we got talking about finances. I mentioned my loan from my mom and how I wanted to pay it back by Christmas. As we were talking, I did the math... $2,700 over the course of 3 months equals... yep, $900 a month! What is it with me and that figure? Nine hundred seems to be the figure for 2009 for me!

I am going to try to take a photo of the house very soon. We've been having quite a bit of rain, so I couldn't really get one this weekend. I am excited to swap out that photo in my profile for one showing the new paint. Of course, the colors haven't changed much, but to me it is a symbol of a remarkable accomplishment. I not only was able to make finances work so I could pay off my car, pay off my credit card debt, pay all my bills on time and make up the difference I needed so the mortgage was taken care of... I also painted my house! Now, I just have this $2,700 loan to take care of and I can start working on the next big thing!



Photo by: Terence J. Sullivan
via flickr