There’s nothing like walking into your home and feeling like you’re really HOME, with your environment reflecting your own tastes, offering beauty and comfort. That is definitely worth (frugally) spending money on.

By the way, I’ve found that even more important than the furnishings are: 1) having the right wall colors, 2) having the right balance for you between decorative “stuff” and clean, clear areas, and 3) finding the right floor and wall arrangements.

Upscale furniture stores like Ethan Allen offer in-home consultations. The one I had offered a suggestion for how to arrange my awkwardly shaped living room that has made all the difference. I felt guilty that in the end, I went for much more frugal options for the actual furniture purchases, but although their furniture was lovely, I couldn’t justify the expense.

Good luck and have fun!

In the past, things (presumably) didn’t work out as planned; and left you in a position where money was wasted on an unrealized asset (ie, the non-existent bachelor’s or the repossessed home). Your fears may be grounded in a desire to avoid that type of experience again. While having money won’t prevent things from going wrong; not having money to deal with life’s unexpected complications is harder than having it.

I might suggest that your emergency fund is inadequate for your current situation. With you as the only breadwinner currently, your monthly household income is entirely dependent on your job. Your emergency fund would last about 3 months*, which may be insufficient for you to find a new job. If your husband were to go back to work in a case like that, you risk losing the deferment status on the loans, which would increase your monthly costs. You don’t mention how stable your job/industry is, or whether you plan on having kids, or a host of other factors which would influence the appropriate size of your emergency fund.

You could put the money into a savings account and earmark it as your emergency fund for the time being. When your husband graduates and finds a job, and you are a two-income household, you may decide that a different level of e-fund is appropriate (less likely for both incomes to go at once if in different industries, but if you do have kids/house/whatever you may want more). If you find that your emergency fund is bigger than you need, you can always apply that money to the student loan debt, but the reverse isn’t true.

Whatever you decide to do, please don’t pay off the student loan while in deferment, if it’s subsidized (which it sounds like it is). Put the money into a savings account, and allow it to earn you interest, however paltry. About a month before the loan leaves deferment, apply it all to the loan balance. Over 30 months (estimated based on reported 4 semesters plus 6mos grace before repayment, in savings at 0.85%), you would amass $22748.73; including almost $250 in interest. That would be enough to pay off the loan in full.

*I’m excluding her Roth money because 1) I’m also a financial conservative/worrywart and view Roth money as a backup e-fund, not a primary one; and 2) it still represents a sizable portion of their retirement assets, and I have a concern about their retirement projections re: social security; mentioned above.

I’d get a second opinion on the wall issue.

This is one of the best and most practical responses I have ever read. Great advice!

@9 Do you have 6 months emergency fund? If so, then it’s probably OK to buy a couch!

Donna Friendman at MSN money or her own web site are good to read. She was in your exact situation and she recently had an article on how to let go and spend more now that she has money. her divorce left her emotionally screwed up. Which I assume is true of most divorces.

Save up the money for either the new home or the remodel. Then sell.

Q4 Stephanie : I’d put your extra savings in a Roth IRA for now. You can pull the contributions out in an emergency without penalty, or you can use it for a home downpayment, or you can just leave it for retirement. You’re in a lowish tax bracket so a Roth can make sense. Side Note : I’d make sure you fill out the financial aid application, you might be surprised and be eligible for grants (probably not but doesn’t hurt to try). Also make sure to take advantage of tax breaks for your tuition, the lifetime learning credit will give you back 20% of that tuition bill.

Q7 Jenna : Since you both work and have health insurance it may make sense to consider different combinations of health insurance. For example you could take a low deductible plan with an HSA and your husband could get a straight PPO. An HSA may be useful to stash extra money tax free that can be used for future medical bills. But HSAs come with high deductible plans only so that may not be a good choice if theres ongoing bills like medications. I’d also make sure you both take advantage of group disability and life insurance options between your employeers. It will be smart for you both to have good insurance coverage in your situation, but lets hope you dont need it.

Q9 Ginny : Fear about the economy in general shouldn’t dictate your personal life too far. Your finances depend on your situation. Is your employer in bad shape? Most hospitals aren’t hurting. Whats the worst case scenario in your personal life? If you lost your job abruptly could you make do until retirement? You’re in your 50′s so you’re not far from retirement and you have a pension and retirement savings so you’re fairly safe at that point.