Getting your finances in order is a pain. Getting your finances in order and still managing to put some money in the bank can feel like the impossible dream. It’s time to stop dealing in impracticalities and impossibilities and take the first steps toward getting your finances back in line-budgeting your DIY projects and shopping for home insurance quotes online.
First and foremost, let’s take a good look at your home. If you’ve considered making home improvements, now is the time-as long as you do it in small bites. Divide your projects into long term and short term, and get to work. For the purposes of this article, long term projects will include the more financially expensive as well as time consuming projects as well. That means that while it might not take very long to install your shiny new Jacuzzi tub, the drain on your finances lands it quite firmly under the heading of “long term”.
Long term projects can be a big out-of-pocket expense, but it can also save you money on your heating and cooling costs and your premiums when you’re shopping for home insurance quotes online. A short term project, like checking your insulation and plugging outside holes, usually won’t affect your premium but will do wonders to lower your electric bill and lengthen the life of your house. Whether it’s painting, re-carpeting, or going green with new, UV and shatter resistant windows, get it done. Any project, even just making a garden, will require some expense, but every project will keep you from losing bigger bucks. Your home projects should:
· help you maintain or increase the value of your home
· help you lower your monthly utility bills
· lower the numbers you get when you go shopping around for home insurance quotes online.
Installing a pink flamingo manger scene might be fun, but it’s more of a decoration than a ‘home improvement’ when you look at it from the perspective of the list above. Stay focused!
We’ve talked a lot about reducing your overhead, but when was the last time you took a really good look at your bills? Make that change! Get that tune up! Upgrade to a more energy-efficient model. Buy those sun shades or anti-lock brakes! Every little bit helps.
Now that the rest of your bills are flowing smoothly, capitalize on those upgrades by going shopping for home insurance quotes online. It’s amazing what can have a huge impact on your premiums, especially when you make competition work for you by shopping online. A single upgrade to your home’s security can save you 10% or more in the blink of an eye.
So stop procrastinating. Isn’t it time you put control of your finances back where it belongs?
