Beating Broke

5 Ways to Invest in Regular Home Maintenance

May 17, 2023 By Erin H Leave a Comment

Being a homeowner comes with a great deal of responsibility. To keep your home from falling apart or becoming a safety hazard, it’s important to do regular maintenance. Whether it’s roof inspections, power washing, or preventing air leaks, there are several ways to maintain your home. While spending more time and money on your home may seem like a burden, it’ll pay off in amazing ways you may not have expected!

1. Inspect Water Sources

As water flows into and out of the home, you must be mindful of the source and plumbing. 13 million households in the U.S. use water from private drinking water wells. The last thing you want for you and your family is to drink water that’s been contaminated because you didn’t maintain your well. Waterborne illnesses can cause gastrointestinal problems. Your local plumber should do inspections to ensure your pipes aren’t corrosive or create leaks. Leaking pipes not only waste tons of water in American households each year, but they can also cause water damage to the home.

2. Clean the Exterior

According to Zippia, there are over 9,424 pressure washers currently employed in the United States. Any algae growth can be unsightly and can create damage due to moisture. Regular power washing is a great way to remove it along with dirt and other bacteria from the exterior. It also aids in your home’s curb appeal, which is helpful in case you ever sell your home.

3. Add Security

Do you feel secure with your doors and windows? The doors and windows of your house should properly be sealed to prevent air leaks, water leaks, as well as intruders. If a person steals property or services worth $1,000 to $1,500, this is considered class B felony theft. However, if a person steals property or services worth more than $1,500, this is considered class A felony theft. You can help avoid any type of theft by installing custom steel or iron doors. Upgrading your home security system with smart locks and video surveillance is a great way to ensure there are always eyes on your home, even when you’re not there.

4. Protect Foundation

You simply can’t live in a house without a strong foundation. The best way to protect your foundation is to be mindful of any vulnerability to water damage. That’s why you should never skip your annual roof inspections. In the event of inclement weather, such as heavy storms, you should also have your roof contractor check your roof afterward. Water damage can creep into the foundation and lead to mold. Mold is a health hazard to you and your family’s respiratory health. By preventing mold, you can avoid costly mold remediation services or hospital visits for asthma. You’ll also protect your home value.

5. Utility Bills

Paying utility bills is a part of home ownership, and the better you maintain your home, the less you spend. As mentioned earlier, leaky pipes waste tons of water, which can lead to a high water bill. When you have cracks and other vulnerabilities in your roof, windows, and doors, it makes it easy for air to come in and out of the house. Such exposure makes it impossible to truly insulate your home during cold winters and hot summers to keep the air temperature comfortable for you and your family.

These are just some of the ways that you can properly maintain your house. Property maintenance goes a long way in keeping you secure and safe for years. You’ll save money on costly utility bills, prevent mold, and more. For more information on how maintaining your property can save you money, contact our team today.

Why I Prefer to Pay with a Credit Card

May 8, 2023 By MelissaB Leave a Comment

I’ve been interested in personal finance, budgeting, and money management for at least 25 years. During that time, I have repeatedly seen the advice to pay cash to best manage your money. Proponents argue that paying cash limits spending and makes you feel pain, so you won’t want to spend as freely. However, I prefer to pay with a credit card. I’ve tried paying with cash, and I find it a hassle.

Why I Prefer to Pay with a Credit Card

There are several reasons why I prefer to pay with a credit card.

Keep Track of Spending

When I pay with a credit card, I can keep track of my spending. Whenever I pay with cash, I forget what I bought and have no record unless I got a receipt and saved that. With my credit card, I can go to the credit card statement and see what I spent where.

Convenience

Paying with a credit card is more convenient. When I experimented with using cash, two things often happened. First, I would forget my cash, get to the store, and realize I had no money. I’d have to drive back home to get my cash. Second, if I went to a gas station, I didn’t feel comfortable leaving my young children in the car alone while I paid. I would have to get them out of the car to pay the cashier in the store. What a pain! Swiping a credit card at the pump was easier and safer.

Accumulate Rewards

I always use credit cards that have rewards programs. We pay them off at least every month, sometimes weekly. Because we use the cards responsibly, we aren’t stuck paying interest fees.

When we lived in Arizona, I used the credit card rewards to pay for our trips back home to Michigan. I would save rewards for a year or two until we had enough money to finance our trip. Now, my husband and I have moved closer to family, so we are using the rewards to plan international travel.

Extended Warranties

Many credit cards offer extended warranties. For instance, we recently bought a laptop and a new dryer. We charged both purchases on our American Express card because American Express offers extended warranties, saving us money from purchasing additional protection.

Rental Car Insurance

Another perk of paying with a credit card is that some cards offer car insurance for rental cars. Rental car insurance can run several hundred dollars, so this is a considerable saving. However, ensure you know what card offers this service and use that car to pay for your rental.

Protected from Theft

If you carry cash and lose your money or it’s stolen, you’re out of luck. That money is gone. However, if you use a credit card and someone fraudulently charges something, the credit card company will erase that charge. You are not responsible. That alone is an excellent reason to pay with credit cards rather than cash.

Maintains Credit Score

A sound credit card is essential for low car loans and mortgage interest rates. In addition, a good credit score can save you money on your car insurance and help you rent an apartment.

When you use a credit card regularly and pay it off, you help build or maintain your credit score. Cash cannot do that.

Two Drawbacks to Paying with a Credit Card

Of course, there are two drawbacks to using a credit card for most of your spending.

Credit Cards Get Stolen

I have never had it physically stolen in the more than 25 years I’ve used credit cards. However, I have had people make, or try to make, fraudulent charges at least four times. Each time, the credit card company caught the fraud, often before the purchase went through. However, the company then had to cancel my card and issue a new one, which was inconvenient. I could not use my credit card for a few days while waiting for the new one, and I had to change all my autopayments that used that particular credit card. Even worse, if I forgot to change all of them, some companies billed me a $20 missed payment charge since the credit card was no longer valid.

More recently, I had a scammer steal my credit card rewards points, but the credit card company refunded them for me when I noticed.

You May Overspend

If you are not disciplined and lack a budget system, you may overspend when using credit cards. When I was in my 20s, a friend said she thought of credit cards as “free money.” Unfortunately, many think this way and mindlessly spend more when using credit cards instead of cash.

How I Handle Credit Cards in the Budget

To avoid overspending, I use my credit card only for purchases I had already budgeted for. For instance, we use You Need a Budget (YNAB), and I have a separate category for dining out. So if I only have $20 in the dining out fund, and the family wants to go out to eat, we don’t at that time because there’s not enough money in the dining out category. So, by utilizing my budget in this way, I can avoid overspending on my credit card.

Likewise, this year we needed to buy a new dryer. When ours stopped working last week, I charged it with no qualms because I had enough money in my home maintenance fund to cover the purchase.

Final Thoughts

Choosing to pay cash or use a credit card is a personal decision. I prefer to pay with a credit card because it helps me monitor my spending easier than using cash. Because I combine my credit card usage with my budgeting, I rarely overspend on my credit card. In addition, we pay off our credit card each month (or earlier), so we do not have to pay interest fees. If you currently have a credit card balance, paying with cash until your credit card is paid off may make more sense.

Read More

Why You Need a Budget If You’re Broke

How YNAB Changed Our Finances

Make Improving Your Finances Your Part-Time Job

4 Ways to Make Your Old Home Energy Efficient

April 27, 2023 By Erin H Leave a Comment

Regardless of age, it’s always a good thing to save money. This is true for people who own their own homes, and who may be wondering if there are ways to make improvements to their savings. This is especially a concern for older homes, which may leave a lot to be desired in terms of efficiency. The answer is that it’s possible to save by keeping your energy requirements reasonable. Have a look below to see some amazing ways in which you can make your old home more energy-efficient and save a good amount of money.

1. Seal Your Duct System

One of the areas in which you should invest some energy is in your home’s ductwork. Hot air can easily escape through the joints in the ductwork. This is supported by the fact that up to 30% of the energy consumption in your home may start from issues with your duct system. That said, it’s a good idea for you to have an inspection done on your ductwork so that you can seal all possible leaks. Alternatively, do the inspection yourself as long as there’s minimal risk in doing so, and apply healing-vent tape to all the joints that you come across. When you do this, you can be sure that you’ll lose less energy through the ductwork.

2. Switch to ENERGY STAR Kitchen Appliances

To make even more savings while keeping your home running efficiently, you may want to look into getting ENERGY STAR appliances that have great ratings for energy use. While 87% of homeowners add new decor as a part of their kitchen renovations, it’s important to dedicate more funds towards a more meaningful upgrade. If your appliances are old enough to warrant replacement, you should replace them with modern appliances that promise to give you great service while using up less energy. From dishwashers and refrigerators to freezers and induction cooktops, you can be sure that you’ll get a number of kitchen appliances to choose from. You’ll notice an improvement in your overall energy consumption when you switch to appliances that have a good energy rating.

3. Redesign Your Bathroom

Another space in your home that you can redesign to improve efficiency is the bathroom. That’s because there are a few possible sources of energy loss in this space. From making sure that the showers and toilets use water efficiently to getting more efficient water heaters and energy strips for appliances in the bathroom, there are a few things to look into. If your bathroom is among the 12.43% of bathrooms that have a modern design aesthetic, it’s important to proceed with this design aspect in mind. Make upgrades that will add to this rather than take away from it, such as picking taps in a certain finish that are also more efficient in controlling water flow.

4. Check the Doors and Windows

Last, but not least, it’s a good idea for you to ensure that there are no cracks between your doors and windows and their frames. These may seem minimal, but they can cause a lot of energy loss by forcing you to turn your AC higher and for a longer time to achieve a comfortable temperature in the house. That said, if your house has older windows and doors, you may want to look for new ones that will replace any old, drafty ones and lead to energy efficiency. If you can’t replace them right away, take the temporary measure of sealing any gaps you find with caulk from your local hardware store.

With these four methods, you can improve your home’s energy efficiency and get the money you spend on energy to go further. By doing this, you can enjoy a safe and comfortable home through all seasons. Plan for these upgrades so that you can get them done in the best way possible and make considerable energy savings as a result.