Posts Tagged ‘Time And Money’

Saving Your Home’s Energy

January 17th, 2010



Do you dread looking at your electric or gas bill every month seeing numbers that are larger and larger each time you see it? Do you wish there was something you could do about this dreaded monthly bill? Well, there is and it is easy to remedy. You just have to check your home to make sure that it is the most energy and cost efficient that it can possibly be.

It might be shocking to you that most people do not even know that because of lack of efficiency they are loosing 25 % or more of the energy used in their home.

Did you know that there are some common every day things that you can do to save energy and money around your home. Doing it yourself can save you both time and money that you might invest in someone else’s promises to save you money. I don’t know about you, but I trust myself more than someone else’s empty promise any day. All it takes is a few calculations, some common sense and you can be on the road to savings and increasing your home’s use of energy.

Some of these steps include:

1. Calculating your energy cost. Do you know how much fuel your home is taking to run and how much that cost you? You need to know this before you can determine if you can lower those costs.

2. What will it cost you to save. What things must you put into practice in order to save on your energy monthly? This is where you have to determine the balance.

3. Determine your largest needs. Some practices will save you far greater in the future than others. You must first determine your area of largest need and go from there.

4. Developing new habits. Many of us have habits that cost us energy every day. We must realize those bad habits and begin putting new habits in place in order to save energy, time and money.

These are only a few of the ways that you can begin to save money on your energy bill and have a more cost efficient home. There are many more ways to save and you will love how easy those savings come to you.

By: Cara Mirabella

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Home Improvement – A Picture Is Worth A Thousand or More Dollars

December 14th, 2009



Have you ever had the experience of working with a contractor on a remodeling or building project and been disappointed with the result. Many people have.

But this problem is avoidable.

One of the most important things to know about contractors is that they are usually visual/spatial thinkers. They are good at interpreting drawings, but not great at interpreting verbal data. But think. How good are you at listening? It’s too imprecise and open to interpretation.

You can talk to someone all day long, but they may not get what you want them to do.

I once refaced a kitchen over a weekend. A cabinetmaker made my doors without ever setting foot in the kitchen. We measured and drew out every door and run of cabinetry. He worked from our picture and the work was perfect. Everything went in exactly as we hoped and planned. I never even met him but he did a great job.

What made it work was the picture. Talking to him would not have worked nearly as well. The pictures really were worth a thousand words and saved us big time and money. He knew exactly what I wanted and had a convenient diagram to help him with all of the details.

So quit talking and start measuring and drawing. Great thinking and planning for a job will save you time and money before any work begins. Once you have the plan on paper don’t change ANYTHING. Little changes you make delay the work and cost you more money. Planning and deciding things before work starts is important in controlling costs.

Oh, if you’re doing some work yourself even if it’s only buying new furniture, draw yourself a picture. That way you know the maximum furniture size for the space. You might even consider taping the layout to the floor. It’s a great visual tool.

So just decide, DRAW A PICTURE, and don’t second-guess yourself. It will work a lot better. If you can’t draw find someone who can. Lots of people can do it. It’s more about measurements and less about art. A quadrille pad of paper can help. It has grid lines that can help you make a scale drawing. You’ll find it helps you get what you want and control the costs.

By: George R Stone

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Which Home Improvements Pay Off (and Which Ones Don’t)

November 2nd, 2009



There are two main reasons people take on home improvement projects: for their own pleasure and in hopes of increasing the resale value of their homes. As long as you spend time and money for the first reason, you’ll be okay. It’s when you start thinking more about the second reason that you may be in for a disappointment. Even if improvements add value to your home, few recoup the money they cost. For example, a swimming pool, which costs tens of thousands of dollars to install, adds little to no resale value to a home. People are turned off by the maintenance aspect, and parents with small children will worry about safety issues.

So, what improvements do add enough value that you’ll come close to making back what you spend? It’s the highly visible improvements that will help most. Unfortunately, the less visible ones don’t impress. Replacing the roof or furnace, while they may need doing, won’t convince a home buyer to pay more. Likewise, new energy-efficient doors and windows are not likely to recoup the cost of installation (However, if you are going to continue living in your home for the next few years, $1,000 spent on insulation and caulking existing windows and doors can help you save on your energy bills).

The biggest home improvement you can do to impress homebuyers (and make them want to pay more) is one of the cheapest. Paint. As long as you pick colors that will appeal to a wide audience–and you do it right before you list (before it has time to get mucked up)–you’ll increase appeal. Likewise crown molding is relatively inexpensive to install but adds the wow factor to otherwise regular rooms.

So, what else is worth doing? You may have heard that kitchens and bathrooms are what sell a house, and this is true, but don’t think you have to spend tens of thousands on a whole-room remodel. Getting rid of outdated wallpaper or paint will help tremendously. Also sand and paint/stain old cabinet doors to make them look new. Switch out the dated cabinet hardware for something stylish and modern.

Any time you can take dead space (i.e. an attic or basement) and turn it into functional space (i.e. bedroom, office, media room), you stand a good chance of recouping much of the money you invest in the project (85% of the cost returned at resale is the national average).

If your house only has one bathroom, you can recoup about 90% of the cost by adding a second. (Adding a third gets you back less).

Landscaping can also improve curb appeal and salability of a home, but don’t spend thousands on hiring a professional (it won’t increase the value anywhere near that much). Tackle landscaping projects you can do yourself instead.

Keep this advice in mind before you open your pocketbook to hire contracts and buy materials for massive remodeling projects. If you’re going to spend a lot, make sure it’s–first and foremost–for you and your family, with resale of the house a distant second consideration.

By: TC Thorn

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