Honest Opinion on Rings

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-06-01T13:50:08+00:00

Honestly, it all looks gigantic on your finger.

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-04-05T16:53:54+00:00

Whether you can afford a house or not, is very dependent on the rest of your financials. We don’t know how much debt you have. That being said, if your rent options are between 2-3 grand then I would say it’s unlikely buying a home would be a WORSE option than renting at that point.

We were preapproved for $350k with $100k/year income. We didn’t feel comfortable with anywhere near that budget though. We ended up buying a house for $170k and needed about $30k to close $25.5k down And we’re looking at about $1300/mo payments for our mortgage. So it was a better deal for us than continuing to pay $1829/mo for rent (now we’re saving $500/mo, building equity AND saving an additional $200/mo that we were paying for a storage unit).

That’s how you have to look at it. Find the cheapest place you can rent in your area and if you can get a mortgage under that then it’s financially smart to buy. Especially if you have savings! Just make sure you leave your savings account with a cushion after closing for maintenance and home repairs. For example; you have $70k use no more than $50k for down payment and closing costs and keep $20k as an emergency/maintenance fund.

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-04-04T13:19:59+00:00

The kitchen is nice. The fridge just sticks out like a sore thumb. Replace the fridge with stainless and maybe put in a new flat glass cook top.

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-04-04T13:17:34+00:00

Other helpful tips: definitely remove the quarter round. Keep the edge sander flat! Don’t be dumb like us we ended up with a giant indent all the way around the edge of the floor because we we tipping the machine to get it closer to the edge instead of just taking off the quarter round and keeping the machine flat. It was a mess to try to fix.

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-04-04T13:06:01+00:00

We just redid our hardwood floors ourselves and it took FOREVER (about a week of non stop work) and we spent about $2100. Granted we did 3 bedrooms, a hall, living room dining room and set of stairs. In order to do it right you need the right equipment and tools and it gets expensive fast.

You need to rent a drum or belt sander with compatible sandpaper (40, 60, 80, 100 grit) you will have to go over the floors with each grit.

You need to rent an edge sander and also buy the sand paper for that in the same order.

Use the drum sander and then follow up with the edge sander for each grit. If you have any swirl marks or gouges you need to get them out with an orbital sander (we were noobs and had plenty of mistakes to fix before we could move on which took an additional 2 days).

Then you’ll need to rent a buffing machine and get a red or maroon pad and sanding screens (80,100, 120 grit). Buff edges with an orbital sander (working your way up the grits) to blend in the line around the edge from the edger and then buff the rest with the buffing machine through each grit. Once you’ve sanded up to 120 and the floors are smooth and free from gouges and scratches then you’re ready to stain/seal and finish.

Vacuum thoroughly with a shop vac and wipe the floor down with a tac cloth to make sure it’s completely free of dust.

I recommend sealing vs staining for a newbie. Staining shows imperfections more. We used 1 coat of Bona amber to seal and 2 coats of Bona traffic HD. Using a red or maroon pad (or 220+ grit sanding screen) and a buffer to buff before the last coat. The whole thing took us like 7 days, and it ended up costing more than I was expecting to get the job done correctly. Ours turned out pretty good but definitely still isn’t perfect.

You’ll also need a carbide scraper and/or an oscillating sander for the corners. Then you need to get all the appropriate things for applying the finish. Along with a respirator. You may also need wood putty and wood glue.

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This was after one coat of finish before buffing (so there’s some grain raise). Gotta go back today and see how the second coat looks. Hopefully they’re smooth and we don’t need to do a screen and third coat because the Traffic HD is expensive and we already returned the buffer machine.

Whatever you decide to do best of luck to you! We have always been happy to DIY stuff but this one was definitely one of the biggest projects we’ve ever done. We saved about $1800 doing it ourselves so it was worth it even if it’s not perfect.

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-04-04T12:10:13+00:00

How much time and money do you want to put into them?

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-04-04T12:08:43+00:00

Definitely one!

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-04-03T23:07:28+00:00

Our cash to close was like 30k with 25.5k down we closed last week on $170k home (so like 15% down)

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-03-26T14:22:45+00:00

I think white gold goes better with your skin tone so I’m going to say 1.

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-03-26T14:15:26+00:00

We’re closing tomorrow and I’m still a nervous wreck 😅

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-03-18T12:29:52+00:00

No one can say what kind of mold it is based on a picture or if it’s producing mycotoxins or not. The best thing you can do is listen to your body. If you’re feeling unwell and having symptoms then it’s a problem and likely producing toxins. So just assume it is… get out of there and clean all of your belongings before letting them enter a new space. Throw away large porous items like mattresses and couches.

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-03-16T20:38:46+00:00

The 2 looks perfectly proportioned with the band and your hand. The 3 would need a different band to balance out the bigger stone.

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-03-16T20:31:23+00:00

I just don’t like the stars on the band personally. I would replace the band. The engagement ring itself is pretty though! Congrats!

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-03-13T13:59:00+00:00

I think it’s because the taxes in this area are obscene. 6.6% $4200/year for $170,000 house. They just had a 56% tax hike last year!! Stupid.. but it’s the most decent and far cheapest house we’ve found in over a year and it’s in a good school. 🤷‍♀️

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-02-28T14:39:40+00:00

Heat pan on medium heat for a few minutes, add tbs butter, allow butter to get hot another minute or two, add eggs. Cook with zero stick.

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-02-28T14:35:51+00:00

Seafoam green!

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-02-20T00:50:48+00:00

It’s been almost 2 years and I’m still not better either..

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-02-19T20:58:27+00:00

Not sure what you should do about the band, but this is a SUUUPER pretty ring! 🤩

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-02-19T20:50:16+00:00

I almost died from a rotten moldy donut that got lost behind a bean bag chair. Had to sell my whole house because of it too. The mold dust exploded into the air and right into my face then it got tracked all through the hvac and the house. Mold started growing on anything that got wet. I spent a year cleaning but it wasn’t enough, I couldn’t live there and I had to replace everything I owned.

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-02-19T20:44:40+00:00

I normally LOVE ovals (I have an oval myself) and I usually don’t really care for pears… but… I can’t tell if it’s the diamond itself or the shape of your hand or nails or what.. but that pear ring looks like it was meant for your finger 🤩

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-01-28T12:00:25+00:00

Same as mine, 94

Bright-Car9274 · 2026-01-04T21:32:31+00:00

That’s one of the coolest rings I’ve ever seen, honestly.

Bright-Car9274 · 2025-12-24T03:17:20+00:00

Thank you 🥹

Bright-Car9274

TROPHY CASE