For once in our lives...we've come into cash!!! £30,000!! AIBU to ask WWYD?

[Stripedmum]

Well it's only gone and happened - we have money! Yippee!

We are now thinking of extending. What would you do with the cash?

We redid our loft conversion with a similar amount of money that was an inheritance. If we hadn't been doing that then we'd have paid off a chunk of our mortgage so we could clear it quicker.

That'd pay off the rest of our mortgage so I'd pay that off and be mortgage free!

Big houses are overrated. More to clean, decorate and maintain! Buy the kids a fabulous gift each and put the rest on your mortgage.

.

We had that sum of money when my husband had an accident at work. It was the first time we had any money too.

We were so careful,paid of some debts, bought a newer car,and a few other things,but gradually it got eaten up by fuel bills etc.

It finally ran out this year (took about 5 years). I really wish we'd paid some of our mortgage off,and paid someone to do our kitchen and bathroom. Now we are back to struggling again,having lost the security of the 'safety net'.

spend it all on plastic surgery

Have now read whole thread and feel like I should point out that our old loft conversion was pushing our house down, and it really did have to be fixed :( I have all the shame now.

Agree with Stoic.

OP, have you had any quotes for the extension? I don't know where you are in the country but I don't think we'd get much change from £30k for any extension where I am.

No quotes as yet.

We have a four bed detached and although that sounds fancy it really isn't - it's really quite small. It's 15 years old.

The 'problem' with extending is the garden ain't huge and ATM it's perfect for the size of the house.

Maybe we should just hold onto our guns and keep it safe! Kids have lived in a lot smaller happily!

Yes; I agree even a small 4 bd detached should be sufficient, safeguard what you have. When they're teenager you'll need an extra sitting room - and they won't need the garden for play.

Oh how lovely, it's so nice to hear good news

I hope you enjoy it, whatever you decide to do - it would be lovely to have a little emergency fund tucked away and you'll never have worry about the window cleaner again!

Thank you Lizzie! I have a feeling that the window cleaner thing won't even be resolved with 30k - we're so disorganised we don't even have a petty cash tin in the house!

Congratulations! Great post from stoic too!

Stripedmum - how do you think the 'giftgivers' will feel about you 'sitting on the money'? Will they be worried it will be frittered away if you don't build an extension/move/whatever concrete thing they can see? Would they, in that case, invest it in your name so they know it's 'safe' until you decide/need it?

I pay my window cleaner online :)

A 4 bed detached with only 2 children. Why on earth do you need more space?

You have no spare money yet you are focussing on spending most of it doing something you don't need but just want.

If you are so skint you can't find an extra £100 I really think you should be looking at sorting yourself out not spending it on holidays and extensions.

Hi miss strawberry - like I said; small house. It's smaller than every single one of our friend's three bed semis.

Gift givers fine with them looking after the money until we decide what it is we'd like to do with it.

Also we weren't considering a holiday!

I am just gobsmacked that a 4 bed house could ever be described as small.

Small was the wrong word to use. Not spacious probably better.

A traditional three bed semi would be a step up the property ladder.

Depends person to person.

I'd probably bank all but £1k towards a deposit for somewhere decent in London. The £1k I'd spend on some new clothes - could do with a couple of new work suits and associated stuff.

That's not really very exciting though.

We inherited £30k two years ago. I was expecting dc2. We did

£2k for stuff round the house
£7k each for each child, for mortgage and for holiday. Then DH got made redundant and we used the holiday money for living expenses. We decided that his grandma (who left us the money) would rather I spent more time at home with the DC than go.back to work when DD was 4 months old and have a holiday

I would put it into mortgage... Make it easier to move up in a few years - wouldn't spend on extension unless really needed the space. It isn't really that much money so wouldn't start splurging on holidays etc. we were in similar circumstances with inheritance and we paid every penny into mortgage - increasing financial security for us as a family.

is it the type of 4 bed that is 2 singles and 2 doubles when at least 1 bedroom is over garage so the square footage of bedroom space is much greater than living space, 4 beds is plenty with 2 children buy maybe you just lack living space I reckon for comfortable living you need 2 reception rooms plus decent kitchen or the equivalent of if open plan I do not think unless you have to a kitchen diner with 1 living room is enough space if you also need space for home office and the kitchen dinner is really not big enough to have a table seating six

can you reconfigure your existing space to make it work better, 2 DC's have 2 smallest rooms to sleep, you have largest the middle room becomes playroom with proviso that it can become guest bedroom with decent blow up bed and later an office/ study would you be better losing garage and parking car on drive and turning garage into playroom/ utility and then using smallest bedroom as office rather than actually building more

you say not paying window cleaner is at least in part disorganisation maybe you should spend a few pounds on money management books/courses etc

Ha ha! We definitely need a 'money organisation' course! We have been doing a LOT better though since DCs came along.

Yes integral garage. Yes more space up than down, which is where we need more. I looked at a house today and it really made me appreciate what we already have though. I don't think I could go through the stress of moving with two young DCs - and although we don't live in by any means an exclusive area it's nice enough and safe. Lots of families.

I'm being swayed to pay off some mortgage now and maybe 2k reconfiguring like you say Sarah. Knocking down kitchen walk to make it a lovely kitchen/diner. Also fancy making garage into a kind of games room. Not a proper conversion that would need planning permission - just a clear space with a bit if Lino down and a ping pong table. And maybe a door through from the kitchen into it. So we're getting the feel of an extension but not actually extending (and eating up precious garden).

I do realise this thread us swiftly becoming a very tedious me talking about my not-so-wondrous living arrangements. I apologise before I get flamed! How indulgent

so maybe new plan

1. 5k as emergency fund
2. 3-5k refiguring downstairs it will cost more than 2K as will probably need reinforced steel joist where you knock wall down
3. £500 decent lockable shed to put stuff presently in garage no point in good lock if a swift kick with a boot would break door
4. £500-£1500 treats if donors happy with this
5. 17-20K reducing mortgage
6. £500 reorganising and buying storage for house think floor to ceiling so you maximise floor space

unfortunately modern houses have been getting smaller ( now almost smallest in europe technically more rooms but still smaller) with less storage space

I think some of these 4 beds like yors are not truly 4 beds as you can not get bed wardrobe and chest of drawers in each room, I've seen show homes like this beautiful double bed nice bedside tables lovely en-suite shower but it's only on looking second time you notice there was no wardrobe at all not free-standing not built in because if you put one in it would not be possible to walk around bed; as you said traditional 1930's semis have more space and probably 3 bed victorian terrace too but that would have no garage or parking