| Made any New Year resolutions? How about making | | | | re-modeling is tax deductible. This is better than using |
| some for your home? What of: 'I will boost my | | | | your credit card, which is not tax deductible. If you |
| savings'? How about: 'I will look for economical ways | | | | have any money left over from the re-modeling pay |
| to increase the value and livability of my home?' and | | | | off your credit card! Have you ever worked out that |
| the big one: 'I will get my home finances in order'? | | | | interest rate? Scary! |
| With regard to getting our home finances in order, | | | | There are ways that you can boost your savings. |
| many of us have huge mortgages and at the | | | | One of them is to try each year and make the full |
| moment the mortgage rate is relatively low. If you | | | | tax deductible contribution to the tax-deferred |
| have a sub prime and/or an adjustable rate | | | | retirement fund of your choice. |
| mortgage, you may be able to reduce your financial | | | | Depending on your salary and tax breaks, nearly |
| risk now that there has been some legislative help in | | | | 40% of all homes would have saved on average |
| this area. | | | | fourteen cents in the dollar, if they had invested in |
| If your mortgage is long standing, go back to your | | | | tax-deferred retirement accounts rather than pay |
| lender and ask if you can trade in on a better rate. If | | | | down their mortgages. |
| you have been lucky so far, with a variable rate | | | | Another way we waste money is to overpay our |
| mortgage, consider whether now is the time to | | | | income tax. The IRS keeps our extra money all year |
| switch to a fixed rate. This way you will know for | | | | and then gives it back to us with no interest. |
| sure how much to budget each month. | | | | If you have a long list of things that need repairing in |
| Do you have a large amount of equity built up in | | | | your home, then prioritize them in order of |
| your home? If you have been paying your loan off | | | | economics. For instance if you can't turn your hot tap |
| for a few years, this fact, coupled with the property | | | | right off, and it is always dripping slightly, you need |
| market increases now mean that you owe | | | | to do it first. The cost of paying higher charges for |
| considerably less than when you started out. You can | | | | hot water that you are not using is a complete |
| use this money to improve your home. | | | | waste of money. |
| If you need extra room in your home, rather than | | | | Another way to prioritize is to write down the jobs |
| risk moving house, you could take this cash equity | | | | that need to be done early on so that they do not |
| from the lender and use it to re-model or to make | | | | gradually get worse. For instance a leaking roof that |
| an extra room. Moving home is an expensive | | | | is not attended to may develop into a collapsed |
| business, and you can easily spend 10% of your | | | | ceiling as well. A broken refrigerator seal will increase |
| home's selling price on real estate commissions and | | | | your electricity bill. |
| various other settlement costs. | | | | Now check the vacation brochures for ways to |
| The interest on the cash that you have used for | | | | spend those savings. |