How to Revive Your Home’s Most-Used Rooms?

Home renovations can be stressful and expensive but it’s smart to focus on improving your home’s most used rooms.  Kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, and game rooms are generally the most used rooms in a home and you may need to revive them often.

• Boost Air Quality- Air flow is essential especially in kitchen and bathrooms to carry away excess moisture that can cause mold and mildew.  Adding extra ventilation will help with the excess moisture.
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• Freshen the Foundation- Repaint walls and woodwork to freshen up your rooms- it will make the room look bright and newer.
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• Max Out Storage- Maximize your closet space with ready-made units that you can install yourself or create an organizational system in rooms where there is a lot of clutter.
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• Swap Appliances and Fixtures-Out with the old and in with the new! Update your out of date fixtures and appliances to give your rooms a whole new look.
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• Welcome Natural Light- Add a skylight to your room or open the curtains everyday to add more natural light to your rooms.  It will help reduce artificial light.

How to Ditch the 10 Money-Wasting Habits?

Whether it’s skipping the coffee and bagel run in the morning or going without that cute pair of shoes that you don’t need, there are always ways to cut out items you may be waiting your money on. 

1. 1.     Paying Bank Fees- Do you know how much your bank is charging you?  From checking fees to overdraft fees to third party ATM fees, you should do everything you can to avoid those charges.
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3. 2.     Tossing Leftovers- Whether you cooked too much food or couldn’t eat your whole meal at the restaurant, avoiding throwing away the leftovers the next day is a huge and avoidable waste of money.
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5. 3.     Buying Items at Convenience Stores- Think twice about buying that pop or candy bar at the gas station.  Convenience stores tend to increase the price of all of their items and you can find them cheaper at a grocery store.
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7. 4.     Heating and Cooling Costs- Insulate your home properly and fill in the cracks/crevices under doors can save you money
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9. 5.     Unclaimed Rebates and Returns- If you are throwing away cash you are not redeeming on rebates or neglecting to return even the littlest items you purchase, you are throwing away money.
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11. 6.     Bottled Water- Purchase a filter for your fridge or faucet or start carrying your own water bottle from home instead of paying for bottled water and clogging the ecosystem.
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13. 7.     Not Buying Generics- Some generic brands may not fit your standards but for the most part, generic brands are just like name brands with half the cost.
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15. 8.     Buying Everything New- Trying buying items through a second-hand store and prove to yourself you don’t need to buy everything new.
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17. 9.     Ignoring Discount Stores- Try purchasing some items you use on a regular basis at the dollar store or only purchase them when they are on sale.
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19. 10.  Paying for Services You Can Do Yourself- Why pay for lawn mowing or changing the oil in your car when you can do it yourself.
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How to Get Tax Credit for Improved Home Sustainability?

We now live in a day and age where it is encouraged to go green and recycle whether is electronic cars, second hand clothing or even recycling materials at your home.  We have been seeing this idea of sustainability creep into our homes more and more throughout the past few years and now the government is offering tax credits for making the upgrades.

• ·      Photovoltaic Energy System: These systems are made up of the familiar solar panels that we have been seeing more and more the past few years.  The battery cells harness the sun’s energy and transform that energy into electricity for the house.  Installing a system can reduce your home’s annual carbon dioxide output by an average of 35,180 pounds and can earn you a 30% tax credit of the cost with no upper limit.
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• ·      Windows: Swapping out old windows for newer Energy Star approved versions can save your household an average of 12% on your energy and tax credit of 10% with a limit of $200.
• ·      Insulation: Insulation improves the heating and cooling efficiency of your home, and can be self-installed in about a day.  This will give you a tax credit of up to $500.
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• ·      Residential Wind Turbines: If you live on an acre or more, you could have your own wind turbine that produces emissions-free electricity for your house.  The average cost of a residential turbine is around $30,00 with 30% of the system’s cost being credited back for taxes.
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• ·      Roofs: If your roof is needing major repairs or a replacement you may want to consider installing an Energy Star approved metal or asphalt roof.  These approved shingles have pigmented coatings or cooling granules that reduce heat retainment and can give you a 10% tax credit of the replacement cost- not including labor costs.