The ABC's of a Frugal House

If you’re Alert to penny-saving ideas in and around your house, you can accumulate many small savings that will Amount to big bucks.

Bulkheads are handy but let in a lot of cold air and moisture.  Insulate from within around your bulkhead in the late fall and seal with a moisture barrier film.  In the spring you can open it back up for easy access.

Chimneys need to be maintained to work efficiently.  Make sure to clean you chimney every year and to check the flashing around the chimney opening on your roof.  Good home maintenance can save hundreds of dollars a year.

Driveway sealants help protect your driveway from widening cracks and growth in those cracks that can shorten the life of your driveway.  Do it in the fall when the weather is cooler, but before the frost.  The cost of sealants over years is still less than the cost of a new driveway or significant driveway repair work.

Energy in your home eats money.  Use space heaters in rooms where you sit instead of central heat in the fall and spring months, install storm windows or use inside films and curtain to cut window leaks, and use compact florescent light bulbs both in and out.

Fire!  I have already talked about maintaining your chimney.  But, you also should  check chimney linings every two years, check your attic for exposed wiring every year, and buy new fire extinguishers every 6 years.  Then the only fire that you’ll have to content with is what warms your feet.

Gardening is a great activity and improves your home’s curb appeal, but it can get expensive.  How about filling your beds with roadside and native plants?  They can be dug for no cost except to your back, and they are hardier, already perfectly matched to your planting zone.  I love all the blueberries, too, in my front yard—easy picking when I want a pie and helps with the bird feed costs.

Heating costs can be cut with automatic set thermostats.  Set the temperature at 68 degrees for the day and 55 degrees at night and dress warmly.  Keep your curtains closed on cloudy, cold days and open for passive solar effect on sunny days.

Irrigation and watering your lawn and gardens is expensive, especially if you pay for city water and you use electricity for delivery of water to the outside.   Drip irrigation is more cost effective than sprinklers. Sprinkled water goes into the air first and can blow away, while drip irrigation concentrates right at the root of plants and shrubs for the best soaking.  And, rethink the need against the cost of fountains and ponds.

Just plan simply for additions.  First, a simple rectangle will cost less for foundation work than a more irregular shape.  Second, think about your neighborhood.  You want to step up in comparison to other houses around you so additions can be good, but if you oversize for your neighborhood, you may have trouble recouping your cost if you sell eventually.  Also, be careful your addition does not overpower your lot size.

Kitchen remodeling will give you great return on your costs.  However, updates do not have to include expensive replacements.  Think about painting your cabinets and save.

Lights!  Turn them off when not in use.  And, you already know about using compact florescent lighting both inside and out.  But, you can have motion sensitive outside lights and also motion insensitive nightlights inside. To reduce electrical costs for landscape lights, plan carefully by placing lights where there will be most effective, or use solar energy or energy saving lighting fixtures.

Mortgages for your home can be hard to find and re-mortgaging is always a question when interest rates go down.  For re-mortgaging, plan to stay in your house another 7+ years on average to make it worthwhile.  One tip for saving on mortgages, in general, is to put down 20%; another is to check the overall cost of the loan.  That figure is more important than the monthly payment.  A rule of thumb is to plan to pay off your home mortgage by age 65.

Neighbors lend a helping hand and can help you save money.  Rent lawn and construction equipment together and share costs.  Swap tools and labor.  There are even neighborhood programs for saving on groups solar projects.

Options for saving on home insurance are out there.  For example, make sure you have replacement cost insurance, not cash value.  If you need to replace a furnace, for instance, you want the present-day value to break even, not what a used, furnace may cost.  Also don’t over insure.  You’ll have your land in most every circumstance so why insure for its value?

Pennypinchinghints.com is a great site to use for home-saving ideas.  This site has a little bit of everything with big savings ideas.  The site also has freebies, deals of the week, and tackles many topics from homebuilding to college savings and from buying shoes to making investments.

Quick sales of houses are harder today, but there are some tips to make sure your house sells.  Clean, paint, and mow.  Also declutter by clearing counters and shelves and knickknacks. Also think about negotiating for a dual realtor’s fee—the regular 6% if your realtor sells but 3% if another agency sells; that increases incentive.  You can even try selling your home on your own.

Roofing improvements now save you energy and money.  Until 2016 you can recoup 30% of your costs on your existing home to replace asphalt and metal roofs up to $1500 with Tax Form 569.

Sealing can save!  Silicone sealing is used to address air leaks inside your home in smaller places.  Check around incoming cable and phone lines, around your mail chute and around your vents, like dryer vents.

Taxes on your home and property can be reduced.  When market values go down, so should your property taxes.  Make sure to ask for re-assessments.  Also use the Homestead Exemption and save 20%. Everyone qualifies so apply with your county assessor in February.  And, take advantage of all the other exemptions out there on widows, veterans, minor, etc.  Check with your state government to find out what is available to you as exemptions vary state to state.

Utilities can cost you a lot.  Turn off water when brushing your teeth and on only to rinse.  Unplug your TV and computer at night.  Clean your furnace yearly to increase its efficiency, and try alternative heating like pellet stoves.

Varmints can cost you money.  Save on exterminating costs by keeping mulch away from your foundation.  Don’t feed the birds (and squirrels), and use cornmeal to kill ants—not Orkin.

Water savings can be realized by turning your water heater temperature back to 120 degrees in the summer and by using a 2 gallon per minute show head.

Xtra savings are possible when buying a house if you buy in December and not in the summer.  Also negotiate based not on what comparable house have sold for but what they will sell for now, and never tell your realtor what you will pay; realtors find a way to push you upward.

You net good money return on your home when you buy newer appliances, increase closet space, add a garage and/or work space, and fence in back yards.

ZZZZZ….Now you can sleep soundly knowing the little things you do to save around your house can save you big $$$$$$$s.