Can I rant back? Ripped out the kitchen and bathroom of our 1912 home down to studs. Then found large sewer leak in at least two places. Found out neighbors' sewer line runs under house right next to ours, perhaps WITH ours. One week later found asbestos INSIDE ductwork to accompany that on the outside. SIGH... Thank you, feel better now. Good luck!!!

Ummm - sorry. Didn't mean to highjack or compare. Just trying to commiserate - very frustrated and kitchen/bathroomless at the moment.

UGH! UGH! UGH! I hear you...it's almost like a force becomes unleashed~ like a wind to blow all kitchen money to the four corners of the earth to anyone or thing that may need it!

I will also join this rant with a roof replacement that down scaled my remodel and then had it come in much more $$$ than originally estimated! =(

On the upside it is making my buying choices easier!

Empathy here (broken main water line, downed treelike things). It's very frustrating. The good news is that it happened when you could balance your finances and handle it. All the best with getting it sorted out.

That stinks. I know how exciting it can be to start a project and how deflating it can be when it looks like it might not happen the way you've planned and pictured it.

Life does happen though, and you will still find a way to get a kitchen that you love. Feel free to ask about cheaper options or what compromises other people would make if they had to. It might help you still get a great result without sacrificing too much to the unexpected bill gods.

Ugh - sorry. Things like that always come up when you aren't planning for them.

My sister demo'd her kitchen and her husband got laid off a week later. The timing couldn't have been worse. They had to get a line of credit on their house.

Good luck w/everything!

Sympathy aplenty here. No empathy yet, knock on wood.

I've done enough remodels that I can guarantee you that if you start one and do not expect suprises or the unexpected, then you are living in a fantasy. Every remodel I have done or have heard about has had at least one bump in the road that wasn't in the plan.
In fact a friend of mine just got done with a remodel and he was complaining about all the extra work it took. I gave him an incredulous look and told him he knew better than to think it would go as planned. He agreed, but protested, "I didn't think it would be this much!" I just laughed. Sometimes you have to, cause crying won't help!

At least we all know we're not alone! One thing that didn't help is that my husband isn't working at the moment. He got the opportunity last year to go back to school to become a teacher, which I whole heartedly encouraged him to take. He was so unhappy in his job that there was no question it was the right thing to do. So I knew going into the reno that finances were a risk. Hes done in July though and can start working again in September. Our plan is to just get the kitchen functional, and slowly do the work as we have the money. It should only tack on a couple extra months, so its not the end of the world!

Don't give up hope! Before you dip into your line of credit, do what you can to rethink your purchases and to shop around for better deals. A $400 faucet might last you 30 years, but a $100 lookalike will probably serve you at least 10 years (25% of the price for more than 25% of the lifespan). Even if this is your forever house, that extra $300 in the bank will earn a lot more interest than it will sitting on your counter. I know your budget was limited to begin with, but your newer limitations can help you to think creatively and end up with an even better kitchen when you're done! We have more time than money, so we DIY every chance we get, which saves untold amounts of money. Come back often with updates! Bargain-hunting is probably my favorite hobby, so I'd love to help!

that extra $300 in the bank will earn a lot more interest than it will sitting on your counter

Not much more.

At the current rates banks are paying on savings accounts, you can probably find more in your sofa cushions. I just opened my children's savings account statements. They each got a penny this past month on their $1200 balances... Yes, .05%.

Course I guess you could buy 1 share of AAPL. Well, almost.

Yes, I realize interest rates are in the toilet. But as far as I know, faucets have always earned exactly 0.0% interest. Bank rates always have the potential to rise. All that's beside the point anyway. When your budget is small and shrinking, it's perhaps less important to worry about getting something that's heirloom quality than it is to get something serviceable and proportionately less money. I'm not saying that you should go out and buy the cheapest things you can find, but even decent quality midline appliances, sinks, fixtures, lights, etc. will cost substantially less than a lot of brands that get mentioned a lot on the KF. Most people won't stay in their homes long enough for even those less expensive items to go bad, so it probably won't be worth it for them to splurge on an $800 faucet or $2000 sink or $8000 fridge or whatever. I'm not saying you shouldn't get top-of-the-line if you can afford it or that you should treat everything as if it's disposable, just that it's reasonable to spend less even if the longevity of the product is less. At this time in our lives (we're in our mid-twenties with a baby and another on the way, living in a whole-house renovation), it's more important to spend less money now on things that are relatively easy to replace later. We are willing to invest more money upfront in things of greater permanence (structure, systems, floors). Priorities will vary greatly from one person's renovation to the next, but it sounds like the OP is needing to save on costs now rather than later.