My job may be cut to part-time soon, but I have a new kitchen planned

[Anonymous]

No. How is this even a question??

[Anonymous]

I would not do it if I might need the money. You won’t get the money back, and the only thing you will be cooking more of is red herring.

[Anonymous]

You sound like you’re assuming this would only be a six month problem. I can’t believe you’d actually just give this company six months and then go back, but OP is that your plan?

As to the remodel, of course not!

[Anonymous]

No. I had a similar situation, except I had signed contracts for a renovation and paid a $30K deposit. (Obviously a much bigger project.) I told them we had to hold the start of work because of uncertain finances and I waited a year until things were more stable. I ended up scaling back and doing a smaller project in the end, by the way, because my household income did drop significantly.

[Anonymous]

No, you should not do the kitchen renovation until the instability in your life resolves.

While you think you can plan for your job to turn part-time for six months, what if it is longer? What if business does not pick up in the new location sufficient to support you returning to work part-time. Do you have a plan for making up the money used out of your savings if you need it to support yourself?

If you decided to sell, be aware that unless your kitchen exactly fits the needs of a buyer (someone other than yourself), the normal estimates are that you only get about 55-85% ROI on a renovation. That return is purely based on what it is worth to prospective buyers. The more "unique" you make it (like foot pedal sink switches, double appliances, custom appliances, taste-specific decor, etc), the more likely you will get a lower ROI on your investment. The more generically upgraded you make it, the more likely you will get a higher ROI, provided that you are not renovating beyond the value of the neighborhood. At $35K for the renovation, you look to get about $20-30K of that back on the sale price of the house. Additionally, when the house is sold at a higher price, you will be paying more in commission to the listing realtor (6% which is another $1200-1800). So, are you willing to take that hit on the renovation?

So, you don't know if you will be part-time for 6 months or longer.
You don't know if you will opt to switch jobs due to the part-time status
You don't know if you will stay in the house.
You don't know if you will need that $35K to live off of.

With all of those unknowns, it is pretty foolish to invest $35K in a new kitchen at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, you should not do the kitchen renovation until the instability in your life resolves.

While you think you can plan for your job to turn part-time for six months, what if it is longer? What if business does not pick up in the new location sufficient to support you returning to work part-time. Do you have a plan for making up the money used out of your savings if you need it to support yourself?

If you decided to sell, be aware that unless your kitchen exactly fits the needs of a buyer (someone other than yourself), the normal estimates are that you only get about 55-85% ROI on a renovation. That return is purely based on what it is worth to prospective buyers. The more "unique" you make it (like foot pedal sink switches, double appliances, custom appliances, taste-specific decor, etc), the more likely you will get a lower ROI on your investment. The more generically upgraded you make it, the more likely you will get a higher ROI, provided that you are not renovating beyond the value of the neighborhood. At $35K for the renovation, you look to get about $20-30K of that back on the sale price of the house. Additionally, when the house is sold at a higher price, you will be paying more in commission to the listing realtor (6% which is another $1200-1800). So, are you willing to take that hit on the renovation?

So, you don't know if you will be part-time for 6 months or longer.
You don't know if you will opt to switch jobs due to the part-time status
You don't know if you will stay in the house.
You don't know if you will need that $35K to live off of.

With all of those unknowns, it is pretty foolish to invest $35K in a new kitchen at this point.

Sadly, this makes sense
I know my income wouldn't totally evaporate, I'd just work only at the less-busy satellite location, as I do now
But yes, reality is settling in