4 Home Improvements That Save You Money In The Long Run

With bills piling up, it’s hard to imagine ever having extra money. When your utility bills are a big source of your woes, you need to invest in home improvements that will lower your energy usage. It’ll cost more now, but you’ll reap the benefits of energy-efficiency for years to come, and you’ll end up saving more than you spent.

Upgrade Your Windows

4 Home Improvements That Save You Money In The Long Run
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Image via Flickr by roger_mommaerts

Old windows are a huge culprit for energy loss in your home. Leaky windows let the cooled air from your AC or the heated air from your furnace float right outside. Then, you have to run your HVAC system longer, which sucks energy and raises your energy bills. If you replace old single-pane windows with Energy Star windows, you’ll save between $126 and $465 a year. The older your current windows are, the higher this number will be.

Add Spray Foam Insulation

Installing spray foam insulation is on the expensive side, especially if you want to change the insulation in any significant part of your house. Spray foam insulation, however, saves you money in the long run because it completely fills the spaces in your walls and won’t start to fall down or deteriorate the way fiberglass will. Adding spray foam insulation to uninsulated parts of your home can save hundreds of dollars a year in heating and cooling costs, so you’ll recoup the price of having it installed within a few years.

Invest in Energy Star

4 Home Improvements That Save You Money In The Long Run
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Image via Flickr by Goedeker’s

Replacing appliances is a big expense, but sometimes you don’t have a choice. When an appliance like your washing machine or refrigerator breaks down, consider upgrading to a more expensive model that will end up saving you more during its lifetime. Energy Star appliances cost far less to run than older, inefficient models. Sometimes your Energy Star appliance will cost $100 less to run a year, which builds up in energy savings pretty quickly.

Landscape for Shade

Can’t afford to have a contractor come over right now? No problem. While you’re saving for bigger home improvements, you can do some landscaping yourself. Spend a few hundred bucks on trees and shrubs that you can plant around your house. Get deciduous trees with big leaves and plant them on the west and south sides of your house. They’ll block the sun’s rays that make your house hot during the day, reducing the impact on your AC. Just remember not to put them too close to the house or the roots will damage the foundation.

So, what will you do with all these savings? Having extra money in your pocket is a wonderful feeling. Create a fund for your dream vacation, pay down the principal on some of your debts, send money to Mexico for your family, or start a college fund for your kids. Making a few choice home improvement investments now, even when money is tight, will ease up the pressure on your bank account later. If you can, start saving in small increments to help fund these home improvements.

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