Tag: Save

How to Save Energy in the Summer

Most people expect higher energy costs in the summer. We crank up the air conditioning to get out of the sun; the kids are home from school and spend all day on their electronics; and, when you finally convince them to play outside, you find yourself washing extra loads of bathing suits, beach towels, and muddy clothes. The warm weather comes with a price. But, with a little preparation, you can manage your energy use wisely and cut down on your bill. We’ve shared 7 tips below that will help you use less energy in the summer and save you valuable money on your utilities.

1. Wash with Cold or Warm Water

 Avoid using hot water whenever possible. Because 90% of the energy used by your washing machine goes toward heating the water, doing your laundry on either the cold or the warm cycle will save you a tremendous amount of electricity. When you’re done, take advantage of the warm weather and dry your clothes outside instead of putting them through the dryer. You’ll both save energy and avoid raising the temperature of your home with heat-generating appliances.

(Hint: the same logic applies to dishes as well. Use cold water and let them air dry instead of running them through the drying cycle.)

2. Be Smart with Your Thermostat

It feels good to blast the AC after getting home from a workout, time spent outside, or just a generally sweltering summer day. But it probably won’t feel so good later when you see that your utility bills have skyrocketed. Keep in mind that for every degree you raise your thermostat above 72º, you save up to 3% of your cooling expenses. Try setting your thermostat to 78º, or as high as your comfort allows.

When you’re away from home, set the temperature even higher or, if it’s not too hot, turn it off altogether so you don’t waste air conditioning on an empty house. If you install a smart or programmable thermostat, you won’t have to go through the trouble of manually changing the temperature each time you leave. These thermostats will automatically adjust your home’s climate control while you’re away.

3. Keep Your Home Easy & Breezy

Another easy way to cut down on cooling costs is by using fans. Ceiling fans are great for cooling an entire room, and many homes already come equipped so there’s no purchase necessary. Even if you don’t have one, portable fans are inexpensive and readily available at any home goods or big-box store. A good fan will allow you to raise your thermostat 4º while maintaining the same level of comfort. If you don’t mind the light breeze, go ahead and lower the temperature on your AC because fans can be very effective.

4. Consider LED Lighting

After you’ve blocked out the sun, you might find yourself turning on more lights than you normally do. Be careful which lights you choose, though, because incandescent bulbs actually turn 90% of the energy they use into heat. Consider replacing your incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs, which operate at a lower wattage and produce only half as much heat. LED bulbs also use 75% less energy and last 50 times longer than traditional bulbs, saving you money on electricity and replacement costs.

5. Use the Barbeque

Trying to cook in a hot, steamy kitchen can be unbearable, especially when it’s hot and steamy outside as well. Kitchens are full of heat-producing appliances: ovens and stoves can raise your kitchen’s temperature up to 10º. To save yourself the sweat (and the higher utility bills), try using the microwave whenever possible since it uses just one-third the energy that an oven does and produces only a fraction of the heat. Another great way to take the heat out of the kitchen is to cook outdoors. Pop some burgers on the grill or invite some friends over for a barbecue. You can enjoy the great weather while you avoid raising the temperature in your home.

6. Keep Track of Your Electronics

When you place heat-generating devices such as lamps or TVs near air-conditioning thermostats, you can trick them into thinking the room is hotter than it really is. Your thermostat will sense the heat from these devices and spend extra energy trying to cool the house down. Be mindful of where your thermostats are and try to keep electronics away from them. Devices like computers, curling irons, hair dryers, stereos, and televisions heat up your house as well, so make sure they’re turned off when they’re not being used.

7. Keep the Sun Out and the Cool Air In 

The summer sun is great for tanning, great for your mood, and great for beaches, picnics, and sunsets. However, it’s not so great if you want to keep your house cool. Sunlight coming through your windows will heat up your home, causing you to spend more on air conditioning. Try drawing the blinds during the hottest parts of the day, especially if your windows are facing south. You can open your windows again at night when it gets cool; this will allow you to turn off your air conditioning. Just don’t forget to close them again in the morning to trap in the cool air.

Also, if you’re planning to invest in landscaping, keep in mind that trees provide great natural shade. Strategically placed shrubs, trees, and vines can block sunlight from your windows, roof, and walls, saving you $100 – $250 per year in cooling costs.

How to Save Money as a Homeowner

Your house gives you so much: security, pride, shelter. With all that on the line, it’s easy to assume the costs of keeping it up just are what they are. But wait. There are plenty of expenses you probably make to keep your home in good order that are simply a waste.

Here’s how to save money each month without putting a dime of home value at risk.

#1 Cut Back on Laundry Detergent

Never mind the barely visible measurement lines in the cap: You typically only need a tablespoon of detergent. And, clothes actually get cleaner when you use less, because there’s no soap residue left behind.

#2 Clean Your Light Bulbs

What? Who does that? Well, smart people. A dirty bulb emits 30% less light than a clean one. Dust off both the bulb and fixture, and you might be able to cut back on the number or brightness of lights in each room without noticing any difference.

#3 Keep Your Fridge Full

Solid items snuggled together retain the cold better than air and help keep each other cold — requiring less energy overall. Leaving town for awhile and fridge is empty? Fill voids in the fridge or freezer with water bottles.

#4 Switch Your Bulbs to LEDs

By replacing just five of your most-used incandescent bulbs with uber-efficient light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, you could save $75 a year on your energy bill.

And LEDs last 15-20 times longer than incandescents, so you won’t have to replace them nearly as often.

#5 Cut Scouring Pads In Half

Most clean-ups don’t require a full one.

#6 Use Power Strips

Appliances like coffee makers, TVs, and computers continue to suck power even when they’re off — which can cost you $100 a year. And did you know the AC adapter for your laptop keeps drawing power even if the laptop isn’t plugged in? Stop this slow money burn by connecting them to an easy-to-switch-off power strip.

#7 Use a Toaster Oven When Possible

Toaster ovens use 50% to 70% less energy than a full-size oven.

#8 Set Your Water Heater to 120 Degrees

Hot water heaters often come with a factory setting that’s higher than you need. You’ll cool your water heating costs by 3% to 5% every time you lower the temperature setting by 10 degrees.

#9 Insulate Your Water Heater

For $30 or less, an insulating jacket or blanket can shave 7% to 16% off your water heating costs for the year. Just make sure to follow the manufacturer’s directions to avoid creating a fire hazard.

#10 Use the Right Dryer Cycle

If you’re using a high-heat setting for each load, you could be using more energy than you need. Almost all fabrics can be dried with a lower heat setting, such as the permanent press setting. It uses less energy and has the added bonus of extending the life of your fabrics. Save the higher heat for items such as sheets and towels.

#11 Use Homemade Cleaners

Many commercial products rely on baking soda or vinegar for their cleaning power, so why not make your own? Most homemade cleaners cost less than $1.

#12 Ditch Disposable Sweeper and Mop Head

Stop throwing money away every time you clean! Refill your Swiffer Sweeper with microfiber cloths. Just cut to size and use them dry for dusting or with a little water and floor cleaner for mopping. Or switch to a microfiber mop with a washable head.

#13 Stop Buying Dryer Sheets

Another easy swap? Give up your dryer-sheet habit (about $7 for 240 loads) in favor of wool dryer balls (about $10 for six, which last more than 500 loads each). Of course, depending on your laundry preferences, you can always just go without either.

#14 Wash Clothes in Cold Water

Just switching from hot to warm water will cut every load’s energy use in half, and you’ll reap even more savings taking the temp down to cold. And don’t worry: Your clothes will get just as clean from cold water, thanks to the efficiency of today’s detergents (except in the case of sickness; you’ll want hot water and bleach then).

#15 Don’t Rinse Dishes

Two minutes of rinsing with the faucet on full-power will consume 5 gallons of water — the same amount efficient dishwashers use during an entire cycle. Shocking, right? And it’s an unnecessary step, since most newer models are equipped to remove even stubborn food debris. Just be sure to clean the dishwasher trap regularly to keep your dishwasher running efficiently.

#16 Keep a Pitcher of Water in the Fridge

You won’t have to waste time and money running the faucet, waiting for it to get cold enough for a refreshing sip.

#17 Set a Timer for the Shower

The average American takes an eight-minute shower and uses about 17 gallons of water. It’s easy to linger, so set a timer for five minutes. Or try this more entertaining idea: Time your shower to a song or podcast segment.

#18 Install Low-Flow Fixtures

In addition to water-conserving practices, low-flow showerheads, which cost less than $10, and other fixtures can drop your water use in the shower by 43%.

#19 Water Grass in the Morning to Save on Your Water Bill

Turning the sprinkler on midday is kinda like watering the air — especially when the mercury soars. Lose less to evaporation by watering during cooler hours (but avoid overnight watering, when too-slow evaporation can invite fungus growth).

#20 Hack a Water-Hogging Toilet

If you don’t have a water-conserving toilet, there are water-saving retrofitting kits that could yield about $110 in savings every year. Or place a half-gallon milk jug filled with water into the tank — in the corner and away from the flapper and ball-cock assembly. Every time you flush, you’ll save.

#21 Close Closet Doors

Each closet and pantry may hold a paltry amount of square footage, but you’re still heating and cooling it. Add up all the storage space, and you’ve got the equivalent of a small room. Shut the doors to keep the conditioned air out.

#22 Program the Thermostat

Program your thermostat to turn the heat down by 3 to 5 degrees when you’re not home and at night, and set it to bump the temperature up by the same amount when the A/C is cranking. You’ll save $10 to $20 a month and never feel the difference.

#23 Don’t Crank the Thermostat Up or Down Too Far

Varying the setting by 10 or more degrees when you’re gone for work or over the weekend is overkill. Your HVAC system will have to work overtime to get back to the ideal temperature, erasing your savings.

#24 Use Fans Year-Round

Ceiling fans can reduce your summer cooling costs and even reduce winter heating bills — but only if used correctly. Flip the switch on the base to make the blades rotate counterclockwise for a cooling effect or clockwise to help distribute heat in the winter. And in the warmer months, an attic or whole-house fan can suck hot air out and help distribute cooler air so you can give the A/C a little break.

#25 Caulk or Weatherstrip Around Doors and Windows

Caulk may not have the charisma of something like solar panels, but using it to seal air leaks around doors and windows will deliver immediate savings rather than a 14-year payback. You’ll spend $3 to $30 and save 10% to 20% on energy bills.

For gaps between moving parts that can’t be caulked, add weatherstripping.

#26 Add Insulation

This is a bigger weatherizing project than caulking or weatherstripping, but it could yield more than $500 in yearly savings. While your home should be properly insulated from the roof down to the foundation, prioritize the attic, under floors above unheated spaces, around walls in a heated basement and in exterior walls.

#27 Plant Shade Trees

Block the summer sun to lower cooling costs. Planting one shade tree on the west side and one on the east side of your home can shield your home from the sun during the summer months (but avoid south-side trees, which block winter sun). By the time they’re 15 years old, these two trees can reduce your energy bill by 22% , while adding value to your home.

 

#28 Cool with a Cross Breeze

On a breezy day, open a window on the side of your house that’s receiving the breeze, then open another on the opposite side of the house. Make sure the window on the receiving side is open a little less than the exhaust side to accelerate the breeze. You can also use a fan if there’s no breeze outside.

#29 Check Your Mortgage’s PMI

If your mortgage was for more than 80% of your home’s purchase price, you could be paying more than $50 a month, and as much as $1,000 a year, for private mortgage insurance (PMI). So as soon as you have at least 20% equity in your home, contact your lender to terminate the policy — they aren’t necessarily required to notify you when you reach that threshold.

Another option for ditching PMI? If your credit score or debt load has improved since securing your mortgage, look into refinancing with more favorable terms.

#30 Check Your Home Insurance for Savings

Your homeowners insurance should change as your life changes. Buying an automatic generator or installing security alarms could reduce your premium by 5% or more.

Bundling your home and auto coverage could save even more — up to 20% off both policies. But the point is to compare and do a price check to see if you can save.

Surveys have found you could be paying a lot more than what another insurer would charge for the same coverage. So you could save by going with a new company, or by using their quote to bargain with your current provider.

#31 Borrow Tools Instead of Buying

How often are you going to use that $600 demolition hammer once you remove your bathroom tile? Not so much? Rent it from a home-improvement store for a fraction of the cost. Be sure to do the math for each tool and project though; sometimes the rental price is high enough to justify buying it.

Or join a tool lending library or cooperative to borrow tools for free or much less than retail stores.

#32 Cut Back on Paper Towels

Two rolls of paper towels a week add up to about $182 every year! Instead, try machine-washable cotton shop towels. They clean up messes just as fast and cost less than $2 for five. Save paper towels for messes that need to go straight into the trash, like oil and grease.

#33 Stop Buying Plants for Curb Appeal Every Year

A pop of color in your landscaping perks up your curb appeal. But instead of wasting household funds on short-lived annuals, invest in perennials that will keep giving for years to come.

#34 Make Your Yard Drought-Tolerant for Long-Term Savings

Save $100 or more yearly by replacing water-hogging plants and grass with drought-tolerant and native species, and beds of rock or gravel. You’ll save time on maintenance, too.

#35 Use Curtains as Insulation

Another way to practice energy-saving passive heating and cooling? Open curtains on sunny windows in the winter and close them up in the summer.

How to Save Money for a House

Buying your first house is the pinnacle of adulthood. But as you’re probably well aware, the road to home ownership isn’t exactly easy to navigate. Unless you’re completely debt-free and disciplined enough to live below your means to save money, buying your first home in the near future can seem more like a fantasy than an actual possibility. In fact, a 2017 Zillow survey of 13,000 adults found that only 39% of millennials are able to make the standard down payment on a home, and just one in five can pay the bare minimum to secure a home loan. Yeah, it’s tough out there.

The good news is that buying a house doesn’t have to be something you only wish you could do. You can definitely make it a reality. But it may require you to make a bit of an adjustment. Fortunately, experts shared some sneaky ways you can save money for a house — and the timing’s perfect, since April is Financial Literacy Month.

What you need to know before you even think about buying your first house

When you’re looking to buy your first home, it is crucial to understand how to save money. As Dottie Herman, finance expert and CEO of Douglas Elliman, one of the largest real estate companies in the United States, tells us,

But before you even begin your search, Herman says it’s in your best interest to meet with a qualified mortgage lender. They’ll be able to help guide you through the process of qualifying and buying a home. Most importantly, constantly check your credit score. The higher the score, the better interest rate you will receive.

“For most people, buying a home is an exciting time. But it can also be a very long process that may seem like a financial hurdle that requires short-term sacrifices for long-term success,” Herman says. “By following a few smart and savvy ways to lower your expenses, you will be able to save enough money to purchase that dream home in less time than you think. In the end, it all comes down to discipline, desire, and you.”

So how can you save up for a house without making it seem like such a huge sacrifice?

Sneaky ways to save up for a house

1. Use cash as much as possible

Using cash may seem like such a hassle, but Adam Jusko, founder and CEO of ProudMoney.com, tells us it can save you a lot of money down the line.

“Many studies show that people spend more when paying with credit cards, so use cash instead,” Jusko says. “You’ll not only spend less on food and other items, but taking away the convenience of using credit means you simply won’t buy frivolous impulse purchases.”

According to him, the pain of going to the ATM to get cash will have a way of slowing down your spending. Just think, when you only have $10 in your wallet and no credit cards, you start to think of ways to prevent that money from being spent.

2. Split your paycheck into two separate accounts

This may not seem like a sneaky way to save at first, since you know you’re doing it. But if you have direct deposit, have your paycheck deposited into two accounts.

“I have my employer put the bulk of my paycheck into my everyday checking account, and then I have a specific amount from each paycheck that automatically goes into a savings account at another bank that I rarely use,” Jennifer Beeston, VP of mortgage lending at Guaranteed Rate Mortgage, tells us. “When it comes to saving, out of sight, out of mind can be very powerful.”

3. Skip online shopping every other month

Online shopping is the number one way people “mindlessly spend” money these days, Beeston says. Just think about your own online shopping habits. Are your purchases typically impulse buys, or do you mostly buy things you actually need? According to Beston, the nature of online shopping makes it difficult to truly understand or feel the cost of purchases.

That’s why she suggests banning online shopping every other month. Do a digital detox on your wallet. “This is a great way to save extra money,” she says. Just try it one month and see how much you end up saving. If it’s a lot, you might be more motivated to make it a regular thing.

4. Be flexible with your grocery list

When you’re trying to save money, flexibility is key. For example, if you really like Heinz Ketchup but there’s a sale on the generic store brand, go with the generic store brand.

Same goes for meals you’re trying to make. “When you see a sale, try to swap out a meal you’d planned to make with a cheaper meal using the discounted food,” Jusko says. This allows you to be a little creative, and can save you a bit of money at the same time.

“What are little things you can do to constantly remind yourself of the goal so you keep doing the right thing? No matter how frugal you are, there is one thing you are buying that you could leave at the store,” he says. “Make a game of figuring out how you could replace that item with things you already have at home or how to simply live without it.”

5. Make a calendar of things you’re not going to do

Most of us like to plan events on our calendar, but more often than not, those events mean spending money. Instead, Jusko suggests making a calendar of what you could do, but won’t. For instance, put down, “Not having dinner with Kim and Sam at that new restaurant on Friday.” Then, calculate how much money you saved by not doing those things.

“This may sound corny, but one of the hardest things about saving money is filling the time that would normally be spent on entertainment,” he says. “Being silly about the process by making it a game is key to making it happen.”

6. Buy a French press

If you’re a coffee lover, you probably know your daily drink of choice can seriously add up. You can even check your bank or credit card statements to see just how much you’re spending. But there is a way to save money without having to forego your caffeine addiction altogether.

“Instead of going to Starbucks in the morning and then again for your afternoon pick-me-up, go to Starbucks or another coffee specialty shop and buy the coffee grounds to make make your drink at home,” JJ Choi, an agent at real estate brokerage firm Triplemint, tells us. “A French press is an easy alternative vs. a big expensive machine. Coffee will net out to less than a dollar per drink compared to the $8 to $10 daily expense.”

Saving money to buy a house may take work and a lot of discipline, but if it’s something you really want, you can definitely do it.

7. Lock money away in a certificate deposit (CD) account

A CD is a savings account with a fixed interest rate and fixed date of withdrawal. Essentially, these are savings accounts with a catch. “A lot of people can save money, but they can’t avoid the temptation of spending the money when it’s sitting there,” Holden Lewis, home financing expert, tells us.

“You can buy a certificate of deposit for six or 12 months, and there’s a penalty for withdrawing the money early. That can help you keep your hands off it.” It’s definitely a good option if you’re known to tap into your savings account every now and then.

How to Organize Your Home

There’s no right way to organize your home. Whatever strategy you choose just has to work with your lifestyle, habits, and tastes. But there are a few tried-and-true strategies that can enhance the effectiveness of any system. From being aware of clutter hot spots to identifying red flags that your organizing method isn’t working, we learned some smart approaches to getting organized from the pros so you can save the time, money, and stress that come with living in a den of disorder.

1. Take a step back.

Often clutter becomes such a fixture, you look right past it. For a new perspective, imagine you’re a guest in your own home. Take note of things a visitor would notice that you’ve been ignoring, like the paper pile that has claimed the corner of the kitchen counter for months or the blankets strewn all over the couch. Then, refresh the room back to its original state by eliminating what’s making it appear disorganized. Still not seeing the junk? Snapping a picture of the room will force you to view your space through a different lens.

2. Make it easier to put things away.

“It always surprises me how difficult people make organizing for themselves,” says Kate Brown, certified professional organizer and owner of Impact Organizing LLC. Her suggestion: “Make everything a one-handed operation.” For example, don’t hide your laundry basket in the back of the closet. Instead, use an open bin that you can throw your clothes into from across the room. “And avoid lids at almost all costs,” she urges. Using open containers for things you use often like toiletries and cooking supplies makes it easier to put them away. This advice even applies to garbage cans. Brown recommends investing in one with a lever you can step on to pop the lid open. “The fewer steps, the better the organizing system,” she says.

3. Arrange items according to how frequently they’re used

Keep the items you use every day in plain sight—or at least at eye level. “The things you use daily should be the easiest to get to,” says Lowell. “While the things you use once in a while should require a step stool.” This is where high shelving comes in handy. “Things you use only once a year should require a ladder,” he adds. (Think attics or out-of-reach shelving in a garage.) Not only will this storage system make it easier for you to find the things you use often, but the items you don’t use regularly will stay organized until you need them.

4. Don’t buy storage containers until you’ve purged.

“When people want to get organized, the first thing they usually do is run out and buy storage supplies,” says Julie Isaacs, a professional organizer and founder of Uncluttered Home. “But that’s actually backwards.” The point, she explains, is to evaluate why you have so much stuff to begin with—not find new ways to house your junk. “You won’t have any idea of what you really need in terms of containers or shelving until you’ve purged.” While deciding what to keep and what to toss, always remember the “80/20 rule.” “It’s the theory that most of us only use 20 percent of what we have. That’s a good starting point to realizing you are surrounded by a lot of things you probably don’t need,” Isaacs says. Plus, not only will slimming down your stuff save you money on storage supplies, but it’ll save you the headache of going through excess items in an emergency or last-minute situation.

5. Eliminate clutter hot spots

Flat surfaces like your dining room table, entryway table and kitchen counters tend to accumulate piles faster than any other spot in the house, explains Isaacs, who advises clients to make clearing all flat surfaces part of their nightly routine—right along with washing their face and brushing their teeth. But if that doesn’t work, her last-ditch trick is to physically block any surface that has become a clutter haven. “For instance, if you put a flower arrangement in the middle of the dining room table and set it with placemats, you’re sending the message that the space is no longer a dumping zone,” Isaacs says.

6. Don’t treat drawers like catch-alls.

“There isn’t a drawer in your house that should not have container organizers in them,” says interior decorator Christopher Lowell, author of Seven Layers of Organization. They can be any material you want—wood, wire mesh or clear plastic—and are available at most home goods stores. “This allows you to separate the drawers into defined areas for specific things verses throwing everything into one big space,” says Lowell. For the bedroom, store everyday items—like underwear and socks—in top drawers, workout clothes in the second or third drawers and pants in the bottom drawers. In the bathroom, keep cotton swabs and other daily use items on the counter within arm’s reach, and tools you use occasionally under the cabinet. “With the things you only use now and then separated out and away from the things you need every day, those daily essentials will be better organized and easier to get to,” Lowell says.

7. Store a discard bag in the closet.

“I keep a shopping bag with a handle in the front of my closet. Every time I try on a piece of clothing and then take if off again because it’s unflattering, doesn’t fit, is pulled, stained or out of style, I put it in the bag,” Brown says. “If you’ve taken the piece of clothing off for any reason other than that it’s dirty or doesn’t match, that means it’s not right and will probably never be,” she says. When the bag is full, Isaacs explains, donate the clothes or trade them with a friend at a swap party.

8. Be picky about items in your home

Think carefully about what you allow into your home. Consider your needs before accepting hand-me-downs or agreeing to store a friend’s kayak for the off-season. If shoes aren’t your size, skip ’em. If you do have space to hang on to something temporarily, set a pickup date so your basement doesn’t become a free storage unit.

9. Sort smartly

When you’re ready to roll up your sleeves and take on an organizing project, follow these steps to restore (and keep!) order: First, do it in one shot. Set up a staging area, like the dining table, then empty whatever you’re organizing so you can spot doubles, giveaways, and must-saves fast. Then use organizers like clear containers and baskets without lids so you can quickly access what’s left of your pared-down collection. Lastly, label everything—even if you think you’ll remember, mark boxes and bins with easy-to-read descriptions so there’s no second-guessing later on.

10. Set limits for everything.

Assign things like memorabilia and craft supplies to a single shelf or bin, then let the designated area’s size dictate how much you keep.

11. Use your calendar

Give yourself real motivation to finally hang those family photos by planning to host a dinner party. Or try creating a deadline for the DIY project sitting in your basement. If the date comes and goes, donate the piece and any materials and move on.

12. Learn to make quick decisions.

Trying to determine what can stay and what should go? If at least one of the following statements is true about an item, then it’s a keeper:

I’ve used it within the last year. That’s enough time to have gone through all four seasons and special occasions. If you still aren’t sure, put the item in a “Donate Later” box, seal it and mark it with the date of one year from now. If you haven’t opened it by then, drop off the box at Goodwill without peeking inside.

I need it or I love it. If you don’t, there’s no real reason to hang on to it. Resolve to fill your space only with things that really work, give you pleasure or celebrate your family. Remember that you can’t appreciate what you have if it’s hiding in a dark corner of a closet. You should frame or display what you deem worth holding on to.

It fits into the life I want to live. If something supports you and your future goals (think exercise equipment or a book about starting a business), it can stay. If it’s a painful reminder of the past (think clothes that don’t fit anymore or items that belonged to an ex), let it go.

13. Look for signs that tell your system isn’t working.

If a room still somehow looks messy after you’ve cleaned, it’s time to improve your organizational system, which, according to Brown, should allow you to tidy up in 15 minutes or less. Once you’ve pulled out what you don’t need—to either throw away or donate—the next step is to group things together based on use or occasion and store them in open containers. 

Homeowner Tricks: Save Money on Mortgage Payments

Whether you’re new to homeownership or have been making mortgage payments for years, it never hurts to find ways to slash your costs. Here are three tips that can help you save thousands.

1. Pay your mortgage every two weeks instead of once a month

The typical 30-year loan comes with 360 payments, or 12 payments per year. But if you take your monthly payment, divide it in two, and pay that amount every two weeks, you’ll wind up making the equivalent of one extra monthly payment each year while saving yourself a huge chunk of interest in the process. And that single extra payment won’t hurt much, unlike a big lump-sum payment, especially if you work your new payment schedule into your monthly budget.

Say you’re looking at a 30-year, $200,000 mortgage at 4%, which would normally translate into 360 monthly payments of about $955 each, or roughly $11,460 a year. If you were to switch to a biweekly payment schedule, you’d pay $477 every other week, or roughly $12,400 a year. But in doing so, you’d actually save yourself over $23,000 in interest over the life of your loan.

2. Refinance to a shorter term

One drawback of refinancing a mortgage is that it often resets the clock on your repayment schedule, which can not only cost you more money than necessary in interest, but drag out the repayment process so that you’re less likely to have shaken your housing debt by the time you retire. For example, say you’ve been making payments on a 30-year loan for five years, and then you refinance to another 30-year loan at a more favorable rate. While you’ll lower your monthly payments, you’ll also be five years older when you finally get that mortgage paid off.

On the other hand, if you refinance to a shorter term (say, from a 30-year loan to a 15-year loan) to take advantage of a more favorable rate, you’ll save money on interest and avoid extending the amount of time you’re saddled with mortgage debt. Of course, this strategy only works if you can actually afford a larger monthly payment. (Remember, while you’ll benefit from a lower interest rate, your actual payment will still be higher if you switch from a 30-year loan to a 15-year mortgage.) But if your earnings have increased substantially since you first signed your loan, and you have room in your budget for higher monthly payments, you’ll come out ahead in the long run.

Homeownership is an expensive prospect, so it pays to take steps to lower your costs. These tricks will help you spend less on your mortgage and keep more of your money where it belongs — in your pocket.

3. Accelerate a 30-year loan when you can’t afford a 15-year term

One major advantage to getting a 15-year mortgage, as opposed to a 30-year loan, is that you’ll generally be eligible for a much lower interest rate. For example, last week, 30-year fixed mortgage rates averaged 3.97%, while 15-year fixed rates averaged 3.23%. The downside, however, is that because you’ll be paying off your loan in half the time, despite the lower interest rate, your individual monthly payments will be considerably higher.

If you’re looking to benefit from some of the interest savings of a 15-year loan but are afraid to commit to a more sizable monthly payment, a good solution is to get a 30-year loan and simply pay it off faster. You can accomplish this by doubling your monthly mortgage payment when you have extra cash available or by making extra lump-sum payments toward your mortgage as you’re able.

Say you have a 30-year, $200,000 fixed mortgage at 4% interest, and you use a performance bonus you receive at work to make a $5,000 payment toward your mortgage during the second year of your loan. That move alone will save you close to $10,000 in interest and shave more than a year off the life of your loan.

If you want to attempt to pay off your mortgage early, just make sure your loan doesn’t come with prepayment penalties. Otherwise, you’ll be charged a fee for the privilege of wiping out your mortgage debt sooner.

Save Money on Homeowners Insurance

The price you pay for your homeowners insurance can vary by hundreds of dollars, depending on the size of your house and your insurance company. From shopping around to making home improvements, here are some ways to save money while you adequately protect your home and assets.

Stay with the same insurer

If you’ve been insured with the same company for a number of years, you may receive a discount for being a long-term policyholder. But to ensure you are getting a good deal, periodically shop around to compare your premium with the prices of policies from other insurers.

Do not confuse what you paid for your house with rebuilding costs

Your homeowners policy is based on the cost to rebuild your home, not its real estate value. While your house may be at risk from theft, windstorm, fire and the other perils, the land it sits on is not, so don’t include its value in deciding how much homeowners insurance to buy. If you do, you’ll pay a higher premium than you should.

Don’t skimp—but do shop around

Having homeowners insurance is undoubtedly an expense—but it is also your protection against potential disaster and financial ruin. Homeowners policy prices vary from company to company, so do some comparison shopping and get the best deal you can.

  • Get quotes from at least three companies.
  • Contact the state insurance department to find out whether they make available consumer complaint ratios by company. If they do, check into the insurers you’re considering doing business with.
  • Check the financial health of prospective insurance companies by using ratings from independent rating agencies and consulting consumer magazines for reviews.
  • Don’t shop price alone. Remember, you’ll be dealing with this company in the event of an accident or other emergency. When you need to file a claim you’ll want an insurer that provides good customer service, so test that while you’re shopping, and choose a company whose representatives take the time to address your questions and concerns.
  • For price quotes, call companies directly or access information on the Internet. Your state insurance department may also provide comparisons of prices charged by major insurers.
  • Ask friends and relatives for recommendations for insurers and then do your due diligence.

Raise your deductible

A deductible is the amount of money that you are responsible for paying toward an insured loss. The higher your deductible, the more money you can save on your premium, so if you can pay above the minimum $500 or $1,000 deductible, for example, you may reduce the cost of your homeowners policy.

If you live in a disaster-prone area, your insurance policy may have a separate deductible for damage from major disasters, so be sure you take this into account when considering whether to raise your standard homeowners deductible.

Make your home more disaster resistant

If you live in a disaster prone area, you will have more insurance options to choose from if you take certain preparedness steps— for example, installing storm shutters and shatterproof glass or reinforcing your roof. Older homes can be retrofitted to make them better able to withstand earthquakes. Consider modernizing your heating, plumbing and electrical systems to reduce the risk of fire and water damage. These precautions may prevent excessive damage and the related work and stress involved in rebuilding.

Ask about discounts for home security devices

Most insurers provide discounts for security devices such as smoke detectors, burglar and fire alarm systems or dead-bolt locks. As some of these measures aren’t cheap and not every system qualifies for a discount, consult your insurance professional for recommendations.

Seek out other discounts

Types and levels of discounts vary from company to company and state to state. Ask your insurance professional about discounts that are available to you—for example, if you’re 55 years old and retired, or you modernize your plumbing or electrical systems, you may be qualify for a price break.

Look into group coverage

Does your employer administer a group insurance program? Check to see if a homeowners policy is available. In addition, professional, alumni and business groups may offer an insurance package at a reduced price. Whatever the offer, do your homework to make sure it is a better deal than you can find elsewhere.

Buy your home and auto policies from the same insurer

Many companies that sell homeowners insurance also sell auto insurance and umbrella liability policies. If you buy two or more insurance policies from the same provider, you may be able to reduce your premium. To be sure you’re getting the best price, make certain any combined price from one insurer is lower than buying the coverages separately from different companies.

Review the value of your possessions and your policy limits annually

Review your home inventory and any upgrades to your house or condo. Make sure your homeowners or renters policy covers any major purchases or additions to your home and also check that you’re not spending money for coverage you don’t need. For example, if your five-year-old fur coat is no longer worth the $5,000 you paid for it, you’ll want to reduce or cancel your floater and pocket the difference.

Another great way to save money on your homeowners policy is to take into account the cost of insurance while you’re shopping for a house and before you buy. These home buyers’ insurance guidelines provide tips on the locations, types of construction and other factors that will help keep down the cost of your coverage.

Being a Homeowner: Smart Tips

Few things are more exciting than making the leap from being a renter to being a first-time homeowner. Getting swept up in all the excitement is a wonderful feeling, but some first-time homeowners lose their heads and make mistakes that can jeopardize everything they’ve worked so hard to earn. Following a series of practical steps early in the homeowning experience can save new owners time, money, and effort later down the road.

Get Properly Insured

Your mortgage lender requires you not only to purchase homeowners insurance but also to purchase enough to fully replace the property in the event of a total loss. But that’s not the only insurance coverage you need as a homeowner. If you share your home with anyone who relies on your income to pay the mortgage, you’ll need life insurance with that person named as a beneficiary so that they won’t lose the house if you die unexpectedly. Similarly, you’ll want to have disability-income insurance to replace your income if you become so disabled that you can’t work.

Also, once you own a home, you have more to lose in the event of a lawsuit, so you’ll want to make sure you have excellent car insurance coverage. If you are self-employed as a sole proprietor, you may want to consider forming a corporation for the greater legal protection of your assets.

You may also want to purchase an umbrella policy that picks up where your other policies leave off. If you are found at fault in a car accident with a judgment of $1 million against you and your car insurance only covers the first $250,000, an umbrella policy can pick up the rest of the slack. These policies are usually issued in units of one million.

Get Help With Your Tax Return 

Even if you hate the thought of spending money on an accountant when you normally do your tax returns yourself, and even if you’re already feeling broke from buying that house, hiring an accountant to make sure you complete your return correctly and maximize your refund is a good idea. Homeownership significantly changes most people’s tax situations and the deductions they are eligible to claim.

Just getting your taxes professionally done for one year can give you a template to use in future years if you want to continue doing your taxes yourself.

Don’t Overspend to Personalize

You’ve just handed over a large portion of your life savings for a down payment, closing costs and moving expenses. Money is tight for most first-time homeowners. Not only are their savings depleted, but their monthly expenses are also often higher as well, thanks to the new expenses that come with home ownership, such as water and trash bills, and extra insurance.

Everyone wants to personalize a new home and upgrade what may have been temporary apartment furniture for something nicer, but don’t go on a massive spending spree to improve everything all at once. Just as important as getting your first home is staying in it, and as nice as solid maple kitchen cabinets might be, they aren’t worth jeopardizing your new status as a homeowner. Give yourself time to adjust to the expenses of home ownership and rebuild your savings – the cabinets will still be waiting for you when you can more comfortably afford them.

Don’t Ignore Important Maintenance

One of the new expenses that accompany home ownership is making repairs. There’s no landlord to call if your roof is leaking or your toilet is clogged. To look at the positive side, there’s also no rent increase notice taped to your door on a random Friday afternoon. While you should exercise restraint in purchasing the nonessentials, you shouldn’t neglect any problem that puts you in danger or could get worse over time. Delay can turn a relatively small problem into a much larger and costlier one.

Keep Receipts for Improvements

When you sell your home, you can use these costs to increase your home’s basis, which can help you to maximize your tax-free earnings on the sale of your home. In 2008, you could have earned up to $250,000 tax-free from the sale of your home if it was your primary residence and you had lived there for at least two of five years before you sold it.

This deduction assumes that you owned the home alone—if you owned it jointly with a spouse, you could each have gotten the $250,000 exemption.

Let’s say you purchased your home for $150,000 and were able to sell it for $450,000. You’ve also made $20,000 in home improvements over the years you’ve lived in the home. If you haven’t saved your receipts, your basis in the home, or the amount you originally paid for your investment, is $150,000. You take your $250,000 exemption on the proceeds and are left with $50,000 of taxable income on the sale of your home. However, if you saved all $20,000 of your receipts, your basis would be $170,000 and you would only pay taxes on $30,000. That’s a huge saving. In this case, it would be $5,000 if your marginal tax rate is 25%.

Hire Qualified Contractors

Don’t try to save money by making improvements and repairs yourself that you aren’t qualified to make. This may seem to contradict the first point slightly, but it really doesn’t. Your home is both the place where you live and an investment. It deserves the same level of care and attention you would give to anything else you value highly.

There’s nothing wrong with painting the walls yourself, but if there’s no wiring for an electric opener in your garage, don’t cut a hole in the wall and start playing with copper wiring. Hiring professionals to do work you don’t know how to do is the best way to keep your home in top condition and avoid injuring—or even killing—yourself. Also, be sure to check with the local building authority and pull any necessary permits to complete the work.

Repairs vs. Improvements

Unfortunately, not all home expenses are treated equally for the purpose of determining your home’s basis. The IRS considers repairs to be part and parcel of home ownership—something that preserves the home’s original value but does not enhance its value.

This may not always seem true. For example, if you bought a foreclosure and had to fix a lot of broken stuff, the home is obviously worth more after you fix those items, but the IRS doesn’t care—you did get a discount on the purchase price because of those unmade repairs, after all. It’s only improvements, like replacing the roof or adding central air conditioning, which will help decrease your future tax bill when you sell your home.

For gray areas (like remodeling your bathroom because you had to bust open the wall to repair some old, failed plumbing), consult IRS Publication 530 and/or your accountant. And on a non-tax-related note, don’t trick yourself into thinking it’s OK to spend money on something because it’s a necessary “repair” when in truth it’s really a fun improvement. That isn’t good for your finances.

The Bottom Line

With the great freedom of owning your own home comes great responsibilities. You must manage your finances well enough to keep the home and maintain the home’s condition well enough to protect your investment and keep your family safe. Don’t let the excitement of being a new homeowner lead you to bad decisions or oversights that jeopardize your financial or physical security.

How to Easily Save Money as a New Homeowner

Just bought a home? Here are 4 money saving every new homeowner should know: from spring maintenance items to DIY home improvements.

Keep an eye on that spending! Whether you’re a homeowner for the first time or you’ve just moved into a larger home, there is a strong tendency to overspend at the outset. Here are some tips to help you avoid this common pitfall of new homeownership.

1. Get down and dirty with DIY

Speaking of decorating, here’s some golden advice for new homeowners: The possibilities are endless — and much less costly — if you’re willing to do a little bit of the hard work yourself. DIY home improvement projects such as painting and switching out hardware can make a huge difference in the look and feel of your new home without sending you spiraling into debt.

Note: Don’t spend time and money on projects that you aren’t qualified to do. Doing a project incorrectly can end up costing you quite a bit more time and money to fix. Play it safe. Stick to fairly simple projects until you get a better grasp of your home improvement skillset.

2. Get the boring stuff out of the way first

You’ve just shelled out for a down payment, closing costs and moving expenses. Your savings account is pretty drained, right? So what would be the worst thing that could happen right now to your home? A costly and unexpected issue — especially one that could have been avoided with some simple maintenance. Unfortunately, it’s not up to a landlord to handle these issues now.

Sure, your home inspector took a thorough look at the house before you purchased it, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make your own rounds. Before you even consider picking out that new sectional or king-size bed, perform some new homeowner maintenance, including getting a head start on simple spring maintenance items. Then, make sure your budget stays protected by taking advantage of a home warranty — the rest-easy solution to those inevitable system and appliance breakdowns.

Bonus Tip: Was your new home vacant for a while before you moved in? Were some appliances missing, causing you to have to install new ones? Since you’re officially living there now, take a minute to ensure everything is hooked up and functioning correctly throughout the house. Any strange noises or smells? Water leaks? Have them checked out by a professional right away!

3. Get comfortable

Ask yourself: What absolutely must be done now, and what can wait? As exciting as this new lifestyle is, it will take some getting used to. Think about all the new expenses you have now, versus before. And the fact that you didn’t just want to get into the new house — you plan on staying there for a while. The best way to ensure that is to be smart with your money and take your time making this new place your home. Upgrading your master bathroom can wait until you’ve saved up for it. And adding on that deck doesn’t have to be something you do this year. Simply ensure you’re comfortable in your new home. The extra projects will happen. The new items will come. And they’ll be that much more exciting when you can easily afford them.

4. Get thrifty with your décor

Now that you’ve gotten the boring stuff out of the way, it’s time to get excited about adding your personal touch to the home. But how can you do that when your funds are running low? Open your mind to the idea that not everything has to be brand new — just new to you. Have your in-laws been talking about switching out their dining room chandelier? Tell them you’ll take it off their hands! Have your friends been talking about getting together for a group garage sale when the weather gets warmer? See if you can get a sneak peek of the items that they’re wanting to part with. And don’t hesitate to take advantage of all those resale groups online. You can find some incredible items in excellent condition at a fraction of the retail cost. No one will ever know the difference!

Amazing Money-Saving Tips For Every Homeowner

Owning a home doesn’t need to be as costly as it does. We all know that if you own a home, all of the costs from the mortgage, utilities, maintenance, and upkeep add up and are expensive.

Just to make your life easier, I’ve made one fascinating collection of amazing and useful energy saving tips that will save you money.

Besides that all of these tips are free or cheap. They won’t cost you a lot, but they will make a big difference. Most of them don’t take a lot of time, and you don’t have to be a home-improvement expert.

Here are 15 of the best energy saving tips that will make your energy bills shrink.

1. Repair leaky ductwork

Over time the joints and seals in ductwork can dry out and deteriorate due to temperature fluctuations in crawl spaces, basements, and attics.

Hire a HVAC service tech to check out the ductwork.

If you are a do-it-yourselfer, use a flashlight and shine the beam on the ducts where they connect to other ducts or registers. What you are looking for are areas where there isn’t any dust – a sure sign there is a leak in the area.

You can also do the incense test while the system is running too. Move the incense around each duct joint looking for air movement.

To repair the system yourself check out youtube by searching for ‘how to patch ductwork’.

Savings: 3%–10% on heating and cooling bills per year
Cost: $30 and up, depending on if you do it yourself or have your system serviced
Time: 60 minutes

2. Replace air filters

Replace your HVAC filters at least every 6 months, preferably every 3. Clogged, dirty filters block airflow and reduce your system’s efficiency. In the worst case scenario, a wrongly sized filter or dirty filter can cause your system to burn out, requiring replacement.

Savings: 5% – 15% / year on energy
Cost: $5-$30
Time: 10 minutes

3. Give your air conditioner some fresh air

Have you ever tried running really fast with a rag over your mouth? I haven’t either, but that’s what most people are expecting their AC units to do.

Many AC units are surrounded by shrubbery that can restrict the airflow needed to make the systems run optimally. Take a few minutes today or this weekend and look around your AC’s outdoor unit:

  • Provide at least 1’ of clearance all around the units.
  • Trim any bushes that are touching the units
  • Remove any leaves and dirt around the unit
  • Remove any other obstructions like that rotting pingpong table leaning up against it
  • If there is significant mud or dirt inside the unit have it professionally serviced

Savings: $20 / year
Cost: FREE
Time: 20 minutes

4. Block out the sun

All of those windows in your home are the largest source of heat flowing inside during hot summer days.

Closing the blinds and/or curtains blocks the sun from coming inside in the first place and will help prevent it from heating up, reducing the need for the AC to cool it down. Blocking the sun is especially important on the western and southern facing windows that receive the most direct sunlight.

Savings: $15-$35 / year
Cost: FREE
Time: none

5. Shower power

Do you take a hot shower in the summer steaming up the bathroom mirrors? If so you’re adding heat back into your home that needs to cool.

Take a quicker shower. And take a warm shower instead of a burning hot one. Using less hot water will also save energy.

Savings: $50 / year
Cost: FREE
Time: 10 minutes

6. Automate your thermostat or use a post-it note

In my first home, I would manually turn up the thermostat as I walked out the door to work, and I would manually adjust it down when I came home in the evening.

Last year I replaced all of the thermostats in my house with the Nest learning thermostat. It learns your schedule to keep your home comfortable when you are home. Nests’ are pricey, but according to the Nest website:

I wish I had known about this before buying mine. Oh well, my mistake for you to learn. Check with your utility provider to see what might be available in your area.

If you can’t get a free or discounted smart thermostat from your utility provider, you can go the manual route like I used to. Go get a sticky note, and put it on the door you take to leave your home. Write a reminder to change the thermostat as you walk out the door. Simple and free.

Savings: $173 year (average for a programmed thermostat)
Cost: $0 – $250 per thermostat
Time: Varies

7. Hang out your laundry

Yeah, I don’t do this either. It takes too long.  In the summer, it’s too hot out.

For a long time, I used a clothes rack but now I have an even more ingenious way to dry my clothes.

I bought a bunch of plastic hangers to hang up ALL of my shirts, shorts, and pants. Now that I have to hang my clothes up anyway, I just pull them out of the washing machine and put them up on the hangers to dry. Boom! I’m just skipping the drying part because they dry in my closet – for free.

For the things I don’t hang up (socks) I’ve got a drying rack. It takes up very little space.

Savings: $80 – $250 / year depending on household size
Cost: $30 for hangers or racks
Time: Varies by method

8. Grilled to perfection

In the summer consider cooking primarily using the microwave, crockpot, or grilling outside to avoid heating up your home with the oven and stove.

Savings: At least a few bucks and your kitchen won’t be as hot.
Cost: FREE
Time: None

9. Fix leaky windows

If you have a 1/64 inch gap around a single window – which is REALLY TINY – it is the equivalent of a 3.27 square inch hole in your wall – which is REALLY BIG.

If you have a 1/32 inch gap around a single window, it is the equivalent of a 6.5 square inch hole in your wall. That’s big enough to put your fist through!

If you have ten windows in your house, that’s a lot of big holes that are draining your wallet year after year.

To determine if your windows are leaky close all your windows, doors, and the flue damper in your chimney if you have a fireplace. Use a stick of incense and move it around each window to see if there is air flow. If there is, you’ve got a leak!

Weatherstripping is an easy and cost-effective way to save money on energy costs and improve comfort by reducing drafts.  It’s something any homeowner can do. Peel-and-stick weatherstripping is easy and useful for sealing drafts:

  1. Remove any dirt and grease from the window jambs or sash.
  2. Dry the areas with a rag.
  3. Cut the weatherstrip to the right length
  4. Peel off the back
  5. Press the sticky part to the surface.

Now check your windows from the outside

  1. Inspect for any cracked or damaged caulking around the windows where the casing meets the house, and around the window frame.
  2. Scrape and clean away any damaged caulking
  3. Apply a fresh bead of paintable acrylic latex to reseal the window.

Savings: 10%–20% of your heating and cooling costs per year
Cost: $30-$50
Time: 2–3 hours

10. Child proof your outlets – even if you don’t have kids

My first home which was built in 1999 had this next problem. The inside outlets located on the exterior walls were like mini vacuums when it came to transferring air from the inside to the outside.

If you have an older home or a poorly constructed home you’ve probably got the same problem.

Electrical outlet boxes typically don’t have any insulation behind them, creating what is basically a hole in your wall. On a windy day take some incense or a match and put it in front of an outlet (one without a plug in it of course) and see if you can see air movement. In my situation I noticed this during the winter when I felt a cold breeze coming through the outlets.

The simple solution? Install socket sealers to improve energy efficiency. All you have to do is remove your outlet cover with a screwdriver, put on the outlet sealer, and put the cover back on. Easy!

The second step is to put in those plastic child-proof outlet plugs.

Savings: 2% of heating and cooling costs per year
Cost: $8.51 for outlet sealers, $2.49 for outlet plugs
Time: 20 minutes

11. Get a heating and cooling service contract

My neighbors A/C unit ran him $8,000 to replace. I had to replace one after getting married for $3,000. Hire a professional HVAC maintenance company to ready your AC unit for the summer and your furnace for the winter. There is no better way to insure this investment, and you they usually give you discounts on parts if anything breaks. This is one of the very few maintenance contracts I recommend people to buy.

Savings A lot if your HVAC unit crashes and burns
Cost: $250-$400 per year
Time: Just a phone call

12. Use fans

A ceiling fan can make your room feel up to 7 degrees cooler. Fans will allow you to turn your AC up a couple extra degrees, saving even more money.

Savings: $35-$53 / year
Cost: FREE (assuming you have ceiling fans)
Time: none

13. Insulate leaky kitchen and bathroom sinks

If you have a sink, toilet, cable or phone line in an external wall, chances are they are uninsulated around behind the wall. Warm and cool air is escaping from these exterior openings.

This one is a bit trickier to determine if you have an air leak. You can use a thermal leak detector to determine if there is a temperature difference by comparing the area near the hole and then the hole itself. If there is a big difference you might want to fix that leak.

Or if you don’t want to spend the money on a thermal imager you can do what I do as soon as I move into a new house. Buy some expanding foam insulation and spray it into every crevice I can find in my exterior walls.

I use Great Stuff. Around the bathroom sinks in your house spray where the sink drain goes into the wall.  Also where the water lines came out.

I used about 2 cans for my house that was built in 2009.

Savings: Up to 17% of your energy bills per year
Cost: $10.13 and up depending on how many cans you use
Time: 30 minutes

14. A bright idea?

LED lighting runs cooler than incandescent bulbs. Only about 10% to 15% of the electricity that incandescent lights consume results in light.  The rest is turned into heat, and that heat needs to be cooled by your AC system.

Last year I made the switch to LED lights – but not all of the lights in my house, and that’s key for saving money. Check out ‘Are LEDs worth it?’

I use Cree LED light bulbs in my house.  I found them to have the most natural lighting (I tried four different brands).

Don’t forget to factor in the cost of the bulbs!

Savings: Varies on usage
Cost: $9 – $20 / bulb
Time: 2 minutes / bulb

15. Remove gaps under your doors

There is probably a hole under your door and you don’t even know it.

Most homeowners don’t even think about the bottom of their doors, and instead focus on the sides and top. But the bottom of the door sees just as much action each day as the sides and top, and it’s got that rubber gasket which is prone to deteriorating faster because it has more exposure to dirt and moisture.

You can use the incense test on this area of your home too. Run it near the bottom of any exterior doors on a windy day to see if there is air movement.

To fix you’ll need to replace your door sweep. Take pictures and measurements of your existing door sweep before heading to the home improvement store.

If it’s a nice day just take your existing one off and bring it with you so you can match up the size perfectly. They are pretty easy to replace. I’m not Mr. Fix-It and even I managed to do it.

Savings: Up to 11% of outside air is blocked
Cost: $10-$20
Time: 30 minutes per door

16. Insulate the hole in your attic

You have insulation between your exterior walls.  Yet what separates from your conditioned home and the attic is usually a ½” piece of plywood – otherwise known as the attic stairs (or hatch).

Plywood isn’t a good insulator.

If you have a hatch:

  • Add a gasket around the opening.
  • Attach some rigid foam insulation to the top of the hatch

If you have a pull down attic staircase:

Get an attic tent that has a zipper to seal it up.

Savings: Up to 30% on your energy bills per year
Cost: $20 (hatch) – $158 (stairs)
Time: Beats me, I had someone install mine as part of an energy audit

How to Easily Maintain Your Home

Buying a home is exciting and scary. Home maintenance doesn’t have to be hard. Learn what tools you need, how to find the circuit breaker or to shut off the water.

Maintenance Tips for First Time Homeowners

Owning your first house is exciting! You can build a killer deck or paint the walls purple on a whim. When it comes to renovations and personalizing your new home, however, you may find yourself stuck trying to figure out where to begin. The solution to this quandary is quite simple. Before you fire up the cordless drill or contemplate knocking down walls, you’ll want to take care of a few preventative home maintenance tasks first. Home maintenance can be daunting for new homeowners if you’re used to calling a landlord to come fix your problems. But stick to this list of maintenance tips for new homeowners to make sure your bases are covered.

Call 811 Before You Dig

Whether you’re planting shrubs or building a new fence, you need to be sure you won’t hit any utilities when you break ground. Call 811, the national dig-safely hotline. They’ll send the utility companies out to mark the locations of underground pipes, wires and cables. Not only will you avoid expensive repairs and neighborhood-wide cable outages with 811’s help, but you’ll also ensure that any work you do on your property will be conducted under much safer conditions.

Hire A Professional To Trim Your Trees

Remove dead branches or limbs that could fall on your roof or overhead power lines. This is also a great opportunity to check the integrity of your gutters, soffits, eaves and roof vents. Because huge limbs can break and fall unpredictably, leave tree trimming to the pros.

Find Your Circuit Breaker Box

While you’re searching your closets, basement, garage and front and back yards for your main water shut off valve, be on the lookout for your circuit breaker box. Once you’ve identified it, determine which fuses control the electricity in various areas of your house and label them accordingly.

Check Your Attic Insulation

If your attic inspection reveals that the tops of your floor joists are visible, then your home is insufficiently insulated. The recommended amount of insulation for most attics is about 10 to 14 inches of material, depending on the type of insulation used. The attic is the easiest place to add insulation to improve your home’s energy efficiency. A well-insulated house can save you up to 30 percent on your energy bills, increase your property value and keep your family a lot more comfortable.

Locate Your Main Water Shut Off Valve

Gallons of water rushing out of a burst pipe can wreak havoc on your drywall, flooring and belongings. In fact, non-weather-related water damage is the second most common homeowner’s insurance claim, according to one company’s claims history. So you need to be able to cut off the flow of water into your home quickly in case of an emergency.

Find your water shut off valve. This is where the water main enters your house. It’s often — but not always — located near a street or alleyway. Next, be sure you know how to close it. You may need to purchase a special tool, such as a crescent wrench or “curb stop key”, both to access and actually turn the valve.

Check Your Foundation

If rain and melting snow drench the soil around the base of your home, pressure can build up and inflict structural damage on your foundation. Worse, if a leak springs and water comes into direct contact with your home’s foundation, it can expand any existing cracks and cause expensive problems. To prevent the weakening of your foundation, be sure the ground around your foundation slopes away from your house at least 6 inches over 10 feet. Be sure your gutters are clean and draining properly. Finally, caulk any small cracks in your foundation walls before they have a chance to becomes big deals.

Proceed Cautiously When Drilling Into Walls

Plumbing pipes, ductwork, wires and cables are hidden in most homes. Before you power up your drill, use a battery-operated stud sensor to detect studs, cables, ducts and the other vital veins and arteries running just beneath the surface of your walls. Since stud sensors aren’t always 100% accurate, avoid damage by drilling only 1 and one-fourth inches deep – just enough to clear the drywall and plaster but miss most wiring and pipes.

 

By following these first-time homeowner tips, you can protect your investment. You can increase that level of protection, and help reduce major costs associated with repairs and replacements in your home.