The best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray

[ivanogburn]

As it is said…”The best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray”

We all set out with an idea of a budget we would like to maintain on our projects, but often we stray.

Sometimes not by much, sometimes enough we struggle with weather we should come clean with the overrun to our spouse, and other times so far out in right field that we have no other choice but to fess up and beg for forgiveness! (Or chance your name and head for the border!)

We never mean to overrun, but we never seem to stop spending until it’s too late. If we are lucky, the overrun is not much or is not caught until the project is completed. Therefore, you may be in the doghouse but at least you have your ride.

So time to clear your conscience – what is the biggest overrun you ever made and what happened after the dishes stopped flying?

 

[skull]

me

just me so the wifey part don't count

all mine go over budget, but l pay the bills first and if it takes a while longer to finish a build l just deal with and keep marching slowly till it is finished.

Later

 

[smallfoot]

Lemmesee...3 marriages, 3 divorces, lost half my stuff 3times...too old to rebuild finances now, so it's just me to worry with and I don't care how much I spend anymore...lol!

 

[Sam_Fear]

My pole barn. Gonna cost about 10G more than I wanted it too (but just as much as I honestly thought it would)

My car projects don't have a final $$$ amount, I just limit myself to about $1,500-$2,000/year for all of them. I figure that's about what I save from not having payments and full coverage insurance on something.

 

[roddguy1]

The 66 chevelle my dad and i built. Started with a budget of 25k, ended at 43k. That was a major dog house for my dad......i was already separated. Funny how his wife (not my mother) was quite ok with the 82k insurance payout when it was lost in a fire. Had her hand on the cheque right quick.

 

[AZRodDave]

just me so the wifey part don't count

all mine go over budget, but l pay the bills first and if it takes a while longer to finish a build l just deal with and keep marching slowly till it is finished.

Later

Amen, brother! "No wife, no kids, no problem!"

 

[Bamamav]

I never have a budget, so I can never go over what I don't have, right?
My projects are limited to cash in hand, and stuff I sell for more cash. That way, it's always paid for, and everything else gets paid first. It also means it takes a while sometimes.

 

[forbigpicture]

Hey I'm on wife four, raised four kids ...... WHAT BUDGET....
try to trade and barter as much as possible

 

[kenny c]

on wife #1 and only. been together 24 years, she don't complain. about the projects, she knows I do every thing as inepensive as possible, I try to do as much as I can myself.If Ican't do it I trade, barter or scrounge, She has had 1 new car in her life time and that was in 2004 and I bought a new harley in 2005. all my daily drivers I've bought with over 100,000 miles and drive them til they are done. there is no budget on the rat but only spend extra money on it when I have it.

 

[Willowbilly3]

No wife, no budget. If my bills are paid for the month and I see something I want, I buy it.
Had a really good day yesterday, no bills for a couple weeks so I bought a HF 12,000 winch and wireless remote. And I saw a way cool 19th centry copper chuck wagon coffee pot in an antique store today and bought it, and a pair of Shore Station boat trailer hub caps.

 

[Yankee Transplant]

I have a wife and 2 kids .. wife has never said what I could buy or cant ,,, she never ask's for anything..as far as budget Nope dont got one ...dont have a rat together yet neither.. but when $ comes in little by little I can buy small stuff or build myself It may take a few years to get it , but thats the only way I can for now ..PS Ive got a great wife Oh , and after about 3 years of kinda looking for a strait axle I found one today so little by little im getting there .

 

[Willowbilly3]

I'm sure this wouldn't be every one's cup of tea but this is how it's worked out for me over the last 10-12 years. I started out hitting swap meets. I usually had less than $500 to spend. I would buy enough stuff to get a couple things I needed and sell the rest on ebay for a profit. Sometimes I sold it all. Fast forward to now after honing that into my lifestyle, I am living the dream. I seldom do more than 20 hours of actual work in a week and I get to own tons of cool stuff. I have sheds full of it and just this week rented another building to hold stuff. This year I have taken 4 vacations totaling over a month and will be taking a week to fly to Dallas next month. Most of those trips I also took my daughter. I have no credit cards, no payments and owe nothing. And probably the best part of all is being free. I am the guy who is always available and I am able to do lots of nice things for other people. I raise a big garden and give 90% of it away, I won't take money.
I have enough stuff laying around to build 2-3 cars at any given time.

 

[donsrods]

I was married for 28 years and played the "hide the receipts so she won't find them" and the "Yes, Honey, this part only cost $10 (when it really cost $100) " game, but now I am single and the kids are grown, so this is my time. I retired twice and went back to work to fund my projects, and that is what I spend my money on.

Now, no one complains, except for the cats if I forget to keep their dishes full ! Single life is SO good.

Don

 

[EnglishBob]

Wife,2 kids,college funds to pay and a place in Mexico to keep,
Work 60 + hours a week so my fun has no budget.

 

[earthman]

You the man WB! A true master of the physical plane in my estimation.

 

[earthman]

Yep, nobody but me to answer to yet my problem is not spending enough even tho i still work fulltime and could. I guess with four rats licensed there is always something else to drive when one or two need money put out.

 

[hankthebigdog]

swap, trade, build what I need most of the time. Kids are grown. My wife is ok with the rides as long as I run it by her first. She seems to be the sensible one. She helps me budget to get the stuff I have to buy. It takes a little longer, but the bills are all paid every month, there is always good food on the table, and I have no complaints. Why in the world would I be asking about a blower education if I didn't already have one OK'ed by the misses. [cl

 

[Neverdone]

never give myself a budget. But always work as tight as possible. Might take me longer but its worth it. Somethings I don't cheap on, if its something I really want.

But the funny thing is my wife never says a word about any of it..... [S

Oh well I won't complain!! [cl

 

[Killy_Killerton]

My pole barn. Gonna cost about 10G more than I wanted it too (but just as much as I honestly thought it would)

My car projects don't have a final $$$ amount, I just limit myself to about $1,500-$2,000/year for all of them. I figure that's about what I save from not having payments and full coverage insurance on something.

shop around on craigslist. occaisionally I find barn metal lumber and steel relatively cheep.
I'm not talkign amish barns I'm talking metal buildings.
2 years ago there was (in Iowa) a 60x120 with 14ga wavy verticle sheetpile and arched roof that had the roof collapsed they were selling for $4,000 scrap you remove

sometimes you can find some really nice used trusses from chicken and hog buildings being replaced

 

[Killy_Killerton]

And you don't really need a 12-15 foot cieling do you?

Another thing you can do...
bring in some shipping containers at about $2,000 each arrange them in a U shape and just put a roof and doors on it