I have a MM issue

[lindyanne]

I would do the deck. We had no real usable outdoor space for the first three years in our house and it sucked. We did a large project so it wasn't something we could easily just do one part of. One year isn't going to totally derail you and it sounds like you're in a great position.

[Deleted]

Since you are SAH, do you have any retirement contributions for 2012?

My only issue would be that the 401k is only in his name, so you have none for the year.

[rikki]

Could you fund one or fund them both at a lower level?

[Deleted]

Deck!

[heygrey]

I'd be more inclined to go towards the deck, even if its not the most mm choice.

[dr.girlfriend]

Fund the IRAs. Ideally in a while you won't be eligible. If you really need that money, you can pull it out, but hopefully you won't and it'll grow tax-free. The deck does not seem urgent.

[dexteroni]

I would wait to make the final decision until you know your tax situation, since it will make a difference. If you're eligible for a Roth, I would be inclined to fund it this year, since you most likely won't qualify in the coming years. And if you get a larger than expected refund, see if it's possible to still do the deck, even if it means you can't quite max out your Roths.

[Deleted]

IRA, ESP bc you don't work.

But I also wouldn't have taken a loan from my 401k to pay for a house in cash either.

[SJ]

Jan 10, 2013 23:04:14 GMT -5 dr.girlfriend said:

Fund the IRAs. Ideally in a while you won't be eligible. If you really need that money, you can pull it out, but hopefully you won't and it'll grow tax-free. The deck does not seem urgent.

I totally agree.

[Deleted]

Jan 10, 2013 23:01:43 GMT -5 heygrey said:

I'd be more inclined to go towards the deck, even if its not the most mm choice.

+1

We're currently going through a renovation and I totally get the desire to just get through it and get it done. It's a lot of upheaval.

[theintended]

Fund the IRA and take out a small home equity loan or a HELOC for the deck. You get to do both and, given interest rates, you'll still come out ahead.

[dexteroni]

Another thought: Can you afford to fund only your IRA and do the deck? Since your DH has a 401(k), he will still have some retirement contributions for the year if you don't fund the IRA, but you won't.

[hesitantbride]

Please post the finished pics of your kitchen reno either here or on D&R! I would love to see what you ended up with.

[raangoli]

Jan 11, 2013 8:27:16 GMT -5 theintended said:

Fund the IRA and take out a small home equity loan or a HELOC for the deck. You get to do both and, given interest rates, you'll still come out ahead.

This seems like a reasonable solution.

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2013 8:27:16 GMT -5 theintended said:

Fund the IRA and take out a small home equity loan or a HELOC for the deck. You get to do both and, given interest rates, you'll still come out ahead.

:Y:

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2013 8:53:40 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

Another thought: Can you afford to fund only your IRA and do the deck? Since your DH has a 401(k), he will still have some retirement contributions for the year if you don't fund the IRA, but you won't.

This is a good idea.

[lys]

I would fully fund YOUR Roth IRA and adjust your budget to come up with the balance needed to pay for your deck. You have a good 6-8 months toreplace that 5K . Since you SAH and are not contributing to a 401K, your IRA is more important.

[bunch]

Jan 11, 2013 9:32:45 GMT -5 lys said:

I would fully fund YOUR Roth IRA and adjust your budget to come up with the balance needed to pay for your deck. You have a good 6-8 months toreplace that 5K . Since you SAH and are not contributing to a 401K, your IRA is more important.

this is what I'd do.

[gt7301b]

I'd also fund your IRA, even if it means pushing the deck back a few months.

[cjeanette]

Fund the IRA.

[mrssandro]

Deck. I say live a little...

[FWP]

Fund at least your IRA. You've gotten a lot of ideas for how that may be possible without sacrificing your reno, but I think it's far more important to do that than making a deck.

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2013 11:35:55 GMT -5 @gypsy said:

I keep waiting for you to say this house saga was a huge mistake and not worth the stress.

Aren't they almost done? When it's in the past and you're happy with the result, you aren't going to care too much about what it took to get there, are you? You just move on to the next thing.

[dexteroni]

Jan 11, 2013 11:35:55 GMT -5 @gypsy said:

I keep waiting for you to say this house saga was a huge mistake and not worth the stress.

OK, Debbie D. lol. Where does that even come from? Domer knew up front that this project was going to be huge and take a long time. They don't, and won't, have a mortgage payment, and the 401(k) loan they took to pay for it all will be paid off this summer. And there haven't been any "oh shit" complications, at least none that I've read about here. I would say that's a pretty successful gut reno.