A mortgage alone can easily devour a third of your monthly income after taxes. But owning a home or other property comes with many additional expenses that, if left unchecked, can push your housing costs into unsustainable territory.
The good news is you’ve got options if you’re drowning in monthly house expenses. A few changes can lead to massive annual savings. And who doesn’t want to save money on bills?
Owning a beautiful home doesn’t have to break the bank. Here’s how to drastically cut expenses related to your house:
Get Handy
There’s no avoiding a simple truth about owning a home: You’ll have to maintain it. When your kids destroy the drywall or an electrical socket stops working, most homeowners call a professional to make the fix. But that can cost a small fortune.
In the age of the internet, the average homeowner can do basic maintenance without assistance. So why pay someone to do the work for you?
Great DIY skills are not only useful when you’re looking at a big project, such as installing a new toilet, but they can help you keep your appliances running longer. For example, you’ll know when it’s time to replace the air filter in your HVAC unit, expanding its lifespan.
Go Solar
Nowadays, everyone has a green thumb. Recent advances have made even the most absurd science-fiction technologies a reality for many families.
Of course, we’re talking about the solar panel. Installing a solar panel system on your home will reduce your monthly electric bill. You’ll enjoy the added satisfaction of a minimized carbon footprint.
It’s true that a solar panel installation comes at a significant price. However, it will pay for itself over the span of several years. Best of all, many states offer tax credits for solar residences, which can help you save thousands of dollars every year.
Think it’s too good to be true? Think again. Take a look at the state by state savings.
Shop for Better Homeowner’s Insurance
Mortgage lenders require homeowners to carry homeowner’s insurance. Even if you paid off your mortgage, it makes sense to keep the home insured. The problem is homeowner’s insurance can cost $1000 or more in annual premiums.
When’s the last time you re-evaluated your insurance plan? Although some providers offer loyalty discounts, you can usually save money by jumping ship to a new insurance company for the first few years. It’s one of the easiest ways to cut expenses by a few hundred dollars.
Refinance Your Mortgage Loan
Interest rates can swing wildly every few years. That’s an opportunity for all homeowners to take another look at their current mortgage loans. By refinancing to a loan with a lower rate, you’ll end up cutting thousands of dollars off its total cost.
That has the added benefit of lowering monthly mortgage payments. Even if the market has remained stable, improving your credit score can land you better rates and conditions.
Audit Your Utility Bills
Water, electricity, and gas are all major house expenses. It’s a good idea to watch for fluctuations every month. A leaking pipe or loose wire can wreak havoc on your utility bills and the safety of your home.
Don’t forget about other essential utilities like Internet and cable. Switching to different providers or downgrading an overpriced plan can add up to hundreds of dollars in your pocket by the end of the year.
Unplug Unused Electronics
If you aren’t using an electric appliance, it’s probably still consuming electricity. Many devices continue siphoning electricity from the wall socket even while powered down. This is known as vampire power.
How bad is it? The Energy Department says vampire power is responsible for 25% of home electricity use. That means your electric bill is 25% more expensive than it should be.
Simply unplug unessential devices while not in use. These may be items such as a television, computer, or phone charger.
Insulate Your Home
Does your HVAC unit run day and night? That’s a good sign your home is lacking proper insulation.
But there’s no way to tell for sure without an energy audit. A professional will come to your home to look for cracks in your doors and windows. They’ll check walls for lackluster insulation, too.
A bit of caulk could be all it takes to keep your interior temperature comfortable and your bank account secure.
The Bottom Line
Small changes can lead to big results. That’s the idea behind these ways to cut costs. By taking advantage of some or all of these suggestions, you can lower your monthly house expenses without dramatically changing your lifestyle.
Photo Credit: stock photo
Having built ( as in driven every nail) in our home, we’re pretty handy about fixing things. The Maytag repairman has never visited here !
That also did away with the mortgage loan thing, as we paid cash as we went building the house.
House is very well insulated…..I built using double outside walls, for example. Our heat is wood stove, our small need for air conditioning is provided by a couple of self installed, super efficient mini-split heat pump setups.
I started with solar about 12 years ago, putting up a small (2.3kw) system. At that time, our utility was encouraging small scale solar by a generous infeed payment, combined with the 30% federal tax credit, made it a ‘no brainer’ for me. I expanded our system several times over the years, now at 16kw. The infeed payment is gone (it was for 10 years), but we now have enough capacity that we have a zero bill, and that should be the same forever.
We have very little utility costs, as our water comes from our spring, sewer is private septic system. Even our wireless internet is cash positive, as I built a 100′ tower at the top of our mountain to get wireless high speed service into our valley. I lease it to a local ISP that provides service for all my neighbors. I get my service free with the deal, plus they pay us enough in annual rent to cover the property taxes on the whole farm…..not a bad deal.
Have to fill the propane tank once a year (about $500) for hot water/cooking gas. Our Dish satellite bill runs around 80/mo, but it’s about our only form of entertainment/local TV (OTA antennae is too blocked to get local channels), so it’s not too bad.
Cut our local phone to a Verizon home phone box (uses cell technology) resulting in a cut from 50/mo for a landline to 26/mo for Verizon. Our cell phones are TracPhones purchased from HSN for $60 ea that include 1500min talk/1500 texts for a year….more than we use cell phones by double.
Wow. Spectacular, Andy! Now THAT’S how you do it!!!
Aside from vampire power which is a real issue I found that most people simply pay too much for electricity because of the complicated pricing structure.
If you live in a deregulated energy state like Texas you can choose your own energy company. Don’t simply choose the lowest advertised rate, because that is usually how they get you.
Instead, figure out what your monthly energy usage is, and then find a plan that offers the best rate for that SPECIFIC usage.
For example, commonly plans will advertise a rate of 9 cents per kilowatt, but that will only apply when you use 2000 kWh a month.
What if you use less?
In the small text, they will then specify a much higher rate. Get it?
Simply look at your 12 month usage history and find a plan that has a low rate for your own usage. You can use online calculators to help with that. Remember, the goal is to have the lowest monthly bill, and not sign up to the first low-advertised rate you find.
Good luck!