My Negotiation Deal

Since moving to our new abode - we've not been in the mood for renovations besides painting the boys bedrooms. Reno burn out I guess from tackling such a big project at our old house. The upcoming holiday season has been the perfect excuse to make a few changes which will freshen it up, as well as make it more of a home. Our home.

DH insisted that he did not want to do anymore large painting projects. i.e. the hallway and main floor  which also have some height in areas. This meant we were in the market for a painter. I scooped up some business cards while getting paint for N's room last month at the local paint store. I had 3 quotes and ended up negotiating $400 off an original quote and $700 less than the highest quote I received. How's that for a deal? I've never been good at negotiating - DH is worse. I always feel like by negotiating on price I am devaluing someone's hard work. Reading this post just prior to going through this ordeal gave me an extra boost of confidence to negotiate a deal that would also prioritize my own needs - thanks Kelsey!

It starts:

In light of my recent post on frugality and trade offs, we did compromise since we were paying to hire a painter and opted for low-VOC paint for half the price of the $80/gallon VOC-free even after tinting natural paint we used for the bedrooms.

But DH didn't get away scot-free! I managed to talk him into doing a budget bathroom reno. The birds ($10) are a favourite as is the "laugh"($6) as sometimes in the midst of all the chaos of two children, laughter is indeed what saves us.

And finally, we always battle over who gets to drink their coffee from this ceramic travel mug on weekend mornings. Thankfully today I have no competition!