Archives for September 2019

Renovating Our Little Studio Apartment Kitchen

09.19.2019 by Lisa // Leave a Comment

After a year of living in my little studio apartment on my own, my now husband moved in with me. My 470-square foot apartment was the perfect size for me, but surprisingly, even with the addition of another person, we were able to find pockets of storage and space for his things (albeit his minimalistic ways helped). We did need to make some areas of the apartment a bit more organized and efficient, though, because in a small space, things can get cluttered and messy fairly quickly.

One of the big changes we embarked on was a renovation of the kitchen. It was a tiny 8 x 12 room, with little countertop space, insufficient storage, and overall, was just very dated.

I had set a budget of $10k for the renovation. I know for many, this may not seem like a small amount, but my budget really was fairly shoestring for a renovation that (1) included new appliances, (2) was fully contracted out (3) took my kitchen down to the studs.

To keep to a $10k budget, I had to make some strategic decisions, some of which I would still make and others that I would not.

Cabinets – Yes!
I chose Ikea cabinets (the old Akurum line, now replaced by Sektion), which I would definitely do again. They have held up well, offered great storage, and were very reasonably priced, especially when combined with Ikea’s twice-a-year kitchen promotion.

Appliances – Yes!
In some respects, having a small kitchen meant that my appliances had to be smaller, which generally cost less money. Although if you calculate the cost on a per square foot basis, it is probably a bit more premium than the standard 30-inch oven or a standard fridge. I ended up finding reasonably priced ranges at AJ Madison; the company also matches pricing if you find the specific model for less elsewhere. I purchased this slide-in option, a much more modern and attractive stove than the one that came with the apartment. I also found a slim counterdepth refrigerator that didn’t break the bank. A counterdepth fridge was key given that it wouldn’t stick out into my already tight kitchen. I would definitely choose to purchase both again.

Flooring – NO
I ended up using really inexpensive stick-on vinyl tiles – while I liked how they looked, they were not designed to last, at least not when it comes to accident-and-mistake-prone cooks in the kitchen. Within months, I had created a nice little divot in one of the tiles from placing a hot oven rack directly on the floor, which effectively melted down the plastic. While the tile is easily replaceable, it is also easily destroyed.

Contractor – Yes!
The contractor selection was the hardest part. I interviewed 6 contractors and finally found one who I felt like could work with me, my budget, and my personality, through Sweeten, a contractor matching service that had just recently started up. Sweeten has since blossomed into a very robust platform for renovations that have minimum budgets of at least $15k, but as a new start up, they were willing to work with my substantially smaller budget of ~$5k. My contractor took up the largest part of my budget, but looking back, he was actually relatively affordable. Given that I was renovating a coop apartment, I needed to make sure my contractor was licensed and that the renovation adhered to the alteration agreement established by my building’s board. He met both requirements and delivered my updated kitchen on-time and on-budget. The roster of contractors available have changed since I renovated my kitchen, but I would certainly use Sweeten again.

Countertops – Yes!
I ultimately went with quartz countertops, which was hands down the best decision I could have made. I originally wanted to skimp out on countertops and either do a laminate or a butcher block top from Ikea, which are really budget-friendly options. However, my contractor convinced me to try his fabricator, who could give me wholesale pricing. Also, while the per square foot cost of quartz was expensive, I didn’t really need to buy that much footage given the size of my little kitchen. I loved the countertops for its low maintenance, sheen, and durability. Quartz remains my favorite countertop material to this day.

Backsplash – Maybe…
Similar to my countertops, I decided to splurge a bit on the backsplash given I didn’t have that much area to cover. I ended up going with clear glass mosaic sheets at about $10 per square foot. They are sparkly and look great in photos, but the backsplash is still a bit of a toss-up for me. I’m certainly not unhappy with them but I think I would have been equally satisfied with something that cost less, like subway tile. In return, I could have allocated my budget more equally between my backsplash and flooring materials.

In the end, I exceeded my $10K budget by a bit, but only because I ended up adding some out-of-scope items, such as additional storage in the bathroom. Our investment allowed for greater function in the most important space in our apartment and made our day-to-day lives more effortless and organized. It was also mentally uplifting to see the new kitchen everyday – it added joy to our lives. And with some luck, it will be a good return if / when we decide to sell the apartment – kitchens ultimately do sell homes!

You can also read more about my renovation in this 2-part series on the Sweeten blog.

See our full studio apartment tour here.

Photo: Sweeten

What Business School Does and Does Not Teach You

09.17.2019 by Lisa // Leave a Comment

Business school holds a special place in my heart. However, that doesn’t mean that it didn’t have its shortcomings. Reflecting back, I suppose I was a bit naïve going into business school. There are things that I thought I would learn but didn’t and a few things I have taken away from my two years of schooling that I didn’t necessarily expect.

Things You Don’t Actually Learn in Business School

Personal finance / Money management. Getting an MBA doesn’t mean that you know how to manage your own money or someone else’s. Personal finance isn’t taught as an academic subject, although even the best business school students would benefit from it, since so many of us graduate with substantial amounts of school debt and many of us start careers with significantly larger salaries than our pre-business school jobs. However, we learn few practical skills about how to actually manage this debt and how to properly allocate our increased income following graduation. In fact, I fall into the camp of one of those who struggled to pay my debt for many years, despite finally hitting the coveted 6-figure salary. It turns out that returning to life in NYC with a business degree didn’t make me financially-savvy. I was lucky enough to graduate college without debt and thus was not used to managing it. I didn’t prioritize my debt and that was a mistake. It was a hard lesson to learn and my poor money management in those initial years continues to take a financial toll. Beyond debt management, there are also so many other relevant topics, like income taxes and general strategies on investing, budgeting, and savings that seem to be purposefully omitted from the business school curriculum. Over time, I became significantly more financially savvy, but it’s certainly not attributable to business school. To be fair, is it something I would have paid money to learn in business school? Probably not. And personal finance is definitely not something you need a PhD to teach.

How to start a business. Here’s a story. One of my classmates went to business school knowing that he wanted to start a business. He came from a retail merchandising background and knew he ultimately wanted to sell some kind of tangible product. By the end of our first year, he already had a plan. He casually started to recruit interested folks (including myself) to help out on various tasks so that he could do a trial run over the summer. While the rest of us (mostly) went on to do standard corporate internships, he started making the rounds at various food fairs. By the end of the summer, he had a proven concept and he formally submitted his request for academic leave. He never did finish business school, but he did successfully start a chain of grilled cheese mall kiosks in New England. Does one need business school to learn how to start a business? Not at all. Maybe it’s a fun (albeit expensive) stop along the way, but certainly not a requirement by any means.

Presentation skills. You would think business school would offer a formal class on how to present. Nope. We had an evening elective on communication skills that a few of us opted to take, but I would say no more than 5% of my entire business school class actually attended. Presentation skills were developed informally in certain classes, though – surprisingly, my corporate finance class required us to make frequent presentations on the case studies we analyzed. However, while such classes gave us the opportunity to present, and perhaps to overcome the fear of public speaking, there was no focus on presentation skills improvement. A formal class would have provided critique and development on style, delivery, posture, cadence, etc – things that people don’t get much practice or feedback on in regular day-to-day life.

What Business School Does Teach You

Networking. Networking was pervasive in business school. Again, there was no formal instruction, but through sheer repeated interaction with peers, professors, and various professionals in many different fields and industries, I would say we all saw improvement in our ability to network. I think what we learned, consciously or not, was how to be interesting and more importantly, how to be interested in people. We probably also learned to develop a somewhat thicker skin – not everyone is going to like you or be interested in you. Being snubbed – in varying degrees – happened frequently enough given the number of people we met that it was something many of us got used to and some even tolerant of. My experience has helped me be more comfortable in professional and personal settings where I don’t know people. I don’t like being in that situation, but it’s something I have been exposed to and can emotionally and mentally handle and navigate.

Negotiation. A formal class that I truly found both useful and fun. Sure, it was academic in nature, but the theory was applied in practice. We had a 3-hour negotiation class once a week and each class included a case that we prepped for and then actively negotiated in small groups. It may seem obvious, but I learned that effective negotiation requires preparation, math, and the assessment of alternatives. My most successful negotiation was the one in which I had adequately prepared by mapping out the financial impact of my options, so that I could make changes and decisions as I engaged with my negotiation partner. Negotiation class also taught me that there are few negotiations that are zero-sum and that most can be modified into opportunities where there is mutual gain and value creation – what academics (as originated by Harvard Business School) call integrative bargaining. Formal negotiation training was a highlight of business school for many of us, and the skills I learned continue to be applicable in both personal and professional settings.

Opportunity Cost. Although I understood opportunity cost, it wasn’t until business school that I truly appreciated the impact and consequences of opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is essentially the economic value of what is lost from choosing a specific path. I wholeheartedly chose to go to business school full-time and consequently, I chose not to work. I missed out on two years of salary, growth in my salary, growth in investments I would have made from my salary, and career advancement. On top of that, my choice of business school cost money. At the simplest level, without going into too much math and omitting less quantifiable costs like career advancement, my two years of salary was equivalent to $170k. Coincidentally, business school cost approximately that much, and that excludes any interest associated with that debt, which is substantial. Opportunity cost was a real lesson in business school.

Combining Finances

09.10.2019 by Lisa // Leave a Comment

When my husband and I got married, we talked through our personal finances and our philosophy around managing money. Money is such a contentious topic and can be the cause of marital problems – it was something I wanted to avoid, because I had witnessed first-hand the impact it can have on relationships, including my own parents. I was open and honest about my less-than-stellar record of saving money. However, I was also motivated to make a big change, because I knew that our marriage could only work if we were aligned in our approach to money.

One of the first things we tackled was how we would be managing our money. While dating, our personal finances were distinctly separate. We each had our own banking accounts and credit cards. We would sometimes treat each other for meals, and sometimes we would split. There was no real hard line for how each one of us spent our money. When we became engaged, we decided we would combine our finances, while also maintaining some independence. We set up joint savings and checking accounts and applied for a common credit card. We agreed on a set amount we would each send to our joint accounts every month, which we automated for every two weeks. All of our common expenses, including mortgage payments, utilities, and other bills, were paid out of our common checking account. We often used our shared credit card for food and entertainment costs. Broadly speaking, we generally contribute an equal amount to our joint accounts.

Anything outside of those common funds are personal – my husband and I continue to maintain separate savings and checking accounts, along with personal credit cards. We individually cover our own personal expenses, including lunches, clothing, and our school loan payments. If we need to make a large purchase, we talk to each other about it, although most of our large purchases are family expenses that we generally pay for from our joint account. I sometimes use my personal card for shared items, but I’m not too fussed about it – I don’t want to fall victim to nickel-and-dime accounting.

We also separately contribute to our own investment and retirement accounts. While we have made some joint investments in the past, those have been minimal, primarily because my job actually limits me from making single-stock purchases. To be honest, I don’t inquire about my husband’s personal finances much, nor does he with mine. It’s not because we don’t care or that it’s none of the other’s business; it’s more that we were individuals before we were married, and perhaps maintaining a bit of financial independence is like maintaining a sense of self. Ultimately, our lives are fully intertwined and we share nearly everything, but having a little bit of self-sufficiency, especially from a financial perspective, doesn’t hurt anyone.

Thoughts?

Photo: Steven Wu Photography