You are talking about things being "on borrowed time" and about to go off warranty and on its "death knell," but that doesn't necessarily mean you will need to replace them in the next year or so. I only replace things as they break.

So buy a new mattress and then just build up your home maintenance fund knowing that you will probably have expensive things to do soon enough.

Replace
A/C first start getting estimates now before summer heat wave.
Probably you have to change the furnace at the same time.
Next water heater because you don’t want it to flood.
You can finance it.

Definitely get multiple quotes on A/C. We found a wide variation in the suggestions of replace vs repair and the brands suggested and why.

Is the water heater in a pan with flow to floor drain?
If not and it fails badly that's a flood plus no hot water. Bummer. Days to get in queue for install. We replaced ours proactively.

HVAC failure is bad. Think of no heat now. But is your AC separate? No AC in summer is miserable but not a crisis.

No refrigerator is a total bummer. Again, queue to replace.

Dishwasher great to have, but not disaster.
Stove great to have but get a microwave.

So I would say do orderly replacement now of
Water heater
Refrigerator

AC by June before the rush. Get estimates and in queue before the hot weather.

Washer, dryer, dishwasher

Mattress

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You build up a nest egg to address the breakages as they come?

The air conditioning for us is the really big one, because we still use the old coolant, and we have been told that when our A/C breaks down, we will need to replace all the ducts to be able to use the new coolant. Ouch.

The other appliances are comparatively significantly cheaper. We're considering a mattress from IKEA. Their top of the line is decent.

That is nonsense, so please make sure to get a second opinion from a trust HVAC person before doing this!

+1. You do not need to replace all the ducts! We had to enlarge a return but that was it.

Thanks, I will. I'm sorry, I didn't meant ducts, I meant piping. Apparently the new coolant operates under higher pressure, and our old piping that was enough for the old coolant and its pressure cannot withstand higher pressures. But we will check with several contractors.

Don't replace the fridge, washer or dryer just because they are ten years old. If they're not giving you trouble, keep using them.

The dishwasher is the only one that sounds like it's really starting to die. So I'd plan on replacing that first, but not before it's really needed.

Same with the water heater. What are the "signs of wear"?

I would start putting money aside so that you will be able to afford replacements when they are actually needed, but don't spend that money before you need to.

Don’t replace anything that is currently working, like the water heater. Have someone service your a/c and then get a second opinion.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You build up a nest egg to address the breakages as they come?

The air conditioning for us is the really big one, because we still use the old coolant, and we have been told that when our A/C breaks down, we will need to replace all the ducts to be able to use the new coolant. Ouch.

The other appliances are comparatively significantly cheaper. We're considering a mattress from IKEA. Their top of the line is decent.

That is nonsense, so please make sure to get a second opinion from a trust HVAC person before doing this!

+1. You do not need to replace all the ducts! We had to enlarge a return but that was it.

Our air conditioner was slowly leaking refrigerant for years. The refrigerant had been phased out because it was bad for the ozone layer and thus very expensive to refill. Finally, we replaced the whole hvac gas system with a heat pump. We live an area with mild weather doesn't go into extremes that might make a heat pump impractical.

Anonymous wrote:You build up a nest egg to address the breakages as they come?

The air conditioning for us is the really big one, because we still use the old coolant, and we have been told that when our A/C breaks down, we will need to replace all the ducts to be able to use the new coolant. Ouch.

The other appliances are comparatively significantly cheaper. We're considering a mattress from IKEA. Their top of the line is decent.

That is nonsense, so please make sure to get a second opinion from a trust HVAC person before doing this!

15:35 again. I agree with PP that if you can, it's best to repair your machines. I do not have the physical strength, but luckily my husband is handy and has repaired our washer and dryer multiple times - he looks at Youtube videos and buys spare parts on eBay.

You build up a nest egg to address the breakages as they come?

The air conditioning for us is the really big one, because we still use the old coolant, and we have been told that when our A/C breaks down, we will need to replace all the ducts to be able to use the new coolant. Ouch.

The other appliances are comparatively significantly cheaper. We're considering a mattress from IKEA. Their top of the line is decent.

They usually have good mattress sales for President's Day.

Whatever breaks first, you replace. Ours was the water heater, followed a year later by the air conditioner, and this month the dishwasher. At some point, our 20 year old frig will need to be replaced. Washers and dryers can usually be fixed and replaced separately if necessary. The thing is, they don't make them as well now so we fix if possible with OEM parts. If they no longer make the parts, it's time for a new appliance.

Every year we realize we are on borrowed time with our trusty old air conditioner.

Our water heater has one more year of a 12-year warranty, and it’s already showing signs of wear and we worry it’s also at the end of its life.

Our dishwasher is giving its death knell.

Our fridge, washer, and dryer, were all purchased around the same time, 10 years ago.

We also need a new mattress.

All together, this would be around $15k or more to replace, and that’s being generous. We don’t have that sort of money to just drop all at once, so we need to prioritize.

What would you do first, and what next, so on and so forth?