Jon Bon’s Money

            I will be moving this weekend, and I am actually looking foreword to it. You’re probably thinking that I am crazy, who actually wants to move? Well I usually don’t, but this time is a little different.

            First of all, I am moving to a very fun but very expensive part of town. It puts me in walking distance to tons of bars, restaurants, and entertainment. Second, it is right on a park and only five miles to work.

            Now moving to this area is very expensive, and I could live for much less somewhere else, or even buy something for the amount I am paying in rent. This is not the best personal finance decision that I have ever made. At the same time it is only for a year paying expensive rent, versus thirty years of expensive mortgage if I choose to purchase a place.

            Moving can be surprisingly cheap and easy if you plan ahead just a little.

                        1. Pack Ahead – This might seem like a no-brainier to most of you, but I have made the mistake of not doing it. See if you can’t get boxes from work for free.

                        2. Simplify – If you have not touched some of your belongings since the last time you moved drop it off in the trash, goodwill, or post it on Craig’s list.

                        2. Rent a Truck – They are pretty reasonable for what you get, don’t try to move in your SUV, or try to rent a small trailer. The trips back and forth will kill you. Also check into the rates, they are cheaper during the week and in the middle of the month.

                        3. Don’t buy/rent the extras – Handcarts, bungee cords, blankets, boxes, lifting straps etc. — in my experience they are all a waste and not really worth it.

                        4. Don’t use U-Haul – I have used them and they are a hot mess every Saturday. You will get there and wait an hour minimum, and you might not even have a truck reserved. I have gotten tucks with well over 200k miles on them.

                        5. Good help – Make sure you get a buddy or two to help. It is the equivalent of ‘going all the way’ among guys, but you will be literally screwed without them.

Other than that good luck

             I spent last weekend refinishing a coffee table that I had gotten free from a co-worker (insert shout out to Kerry here). I had just spent a grand on a decent sectional and was not thrilled about spending several hundred more on a coffee table. I asked around at work and someone had one that they were willing to give me for free.

            I brought it home on a Friday and set up my laptop on it and ate a sandwich. It was an immediate improvement from eating off of one of my dining room chairs. (As you can probably tell by that last statement, I am not married.) On seeing it I starting thinking about refinishing the table itself. I had never done it before and figured it would be a good project to try my hand at.

            So I bought a little medium grade sandpaper and sanded the finish off a corner to see what the wood looked like. It’s a solid wood table, and I figured sanding it would be a lot more fun then stripping it. I mentioned this to Elie and she let me know that I was getting power tools for my birthday (badass!) and could give me the power sander early.

            So now we are cooking. I spent about $25 at the hardware store on extra sandpaper, cheesecloth, finishing stain, brushes, and steel wool.

            I busted out the power sander and went to work grinding down the old beat up stain and varnish. It was fun work and it went pretty quickly on the flat surfaces at least. On the round table legs I probably spend more time on 1/10 the surface area then the whole table top. But I finished them as well with the help of Elie.

            I was able to put two coats of stain on the table top and one on the legs and underside because I am lazy. I gave it about a day to all dry, took it home and put it together.

            I think that it looks really good for my 1^st attempt at finishing a piece of furniture, and it was free to boot! Not  a bad way at all to spend two Saturdays while listening to the Reds lose on the radio (they suck!)

The finished product with my extensive remote collection

            This was a project that took me longer then I anticipated, was decently inexpensive, and lots of fun. I think I will hit up the garage sales this summer to see if I can find end tables that I could refinish and stain to match my sweet coffee table.

            I guess the moral of the story is that new wood furniture is a bust. You can easily find an old beat up table at a garage sale, thrift store, or just by asking around like I did. Finishing it is relatively easy even for a novice, and requires a few tools, and about $30 bucks. I think the cost would go way down for the second piece of furniture because I already have most of the supplies. It has been a pleasant surprise to see how it turned out, and the pride that I took in working on it.