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We bought our home in April 2014 and since then we haven’t really done a lot to it. Between buying the house and having Erin we managed to re-do two bedrooms completely and some work to the garden but that’s it. We unfortunately came into financial difficulty for various reasons and have spent a few years now budgeting every penny and money being used for other things. Now though things have sorted themselves out a bit and we’re getting back on our feet again.
The thing is, home improvements, especially in an old Victorian house, cost quite a lot of money. We have a bedroom to completely re-do, a bedroom to turn into a bathroom, a new boiler to buy and central heating to get… just to name a few things. We want Erin to live in a nice, comfortable house and be happy with the home we’ve made for her. This year we’ve decided to really try to make a start on some jobs that need doing but we have to save up and earn some extra money to pay for things. Here’s what we’ll be doing this year to be able to afford home improvements.
Regular savings
One of the most important things that we need to do is to put away regular savings. This isn’t something we have been able to do recently as my job is so random and I never know what I’m going to earn. However, thanks to John’s promotion at the end of 2019 we have some spare cash available now every month. Some of this money is going to go straight into a home fund for anything we need doing.
Start small
There are some jobs that we can get done quite easily around the house I think and they don’t have to cost a lot of money. Recently we had a new carpet in our living room/ dining room and while the cost wasn’t small, this was a relatively small and easy job compared to a lot of others. Something as simple as a new carpet has transformed a room and has now made me happier with it and not as desperate to get the big jobs done.
Don’t panic
When it comes to owning your own home things can go wrong, and they definitely do, and you have to do something quickly sometimes. We have had sinks break, electrics trip and windows can leak when there is really bad rain. If, like us, you haven’t had an emergency fund to fall back on you have to do something and quickly. This is where a company like Polar Credit can help. Unlike with traditional credit, you can apply for a credit amount and then withdraw amounts to your bank account. Instead of paying interest on the whole credit amount, you only pay interest on the amount used. You can feel at ease knowing you have credit available to you if you need it, without being charged interest until you have to access the money. Not only that, but interest rates reduce over time!
Make a plan
As we are in a position where we need to do a lot of things the easiest things for us is to make a plan. We need to sit down and make a list of jobs for each room and decide which are the most important and which we might be able to get done quickly. For example, we need to have the whole house re-pointed but that’s a huge job. We could be saving up for that slowly but still getting bits done like buying a new dining table or getting some much needed light shades for the living room. It will be nice to see the progress we make as we tick off each job.
If you have any tips for making things more affordable, saving money or even where to buy things from, I’d love for you to share!
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