Thursday, March 22, 2018 / by Bret Johnson
The Top 6 Most Expensive Mistakes Homeowners Can Make
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Here are the six most expensive mistakes you can make while owning a home:
1. Using incandescent light bulbs. Using incandescent light bulbs costs you about $180 for the lifespan of each bulb, whereas a CTL light bulb will only cost you $40 throughout its lifespan, and an LTE bulb will only cost you $30. Updating your light bulbs early in your homeownership tenure can definitely save you money over time.
2. Ignoring leaky faucets. One drop per second from a leaky faucet over the course of a year equals 30,000 gallons of water wasted—the equivalent of 180 showers. Get your leaky faucets fixed, and you’d be surprised how much money you can save on water.
3. Using incorrect or dirty air filters. A dirty or incorrectly sized air filter forces your HVAC system and/or furnace to work much harder during its lifespan. Buy some cheap air filters and just change them out once a month—you’d be surprised at how much less electricity you have to use.
4. Not having an adjustable thermostat. Heating and cooling your house while you’re at work is a waste of money, so if you can install a programmable thermostat and set the temperatures for when you sleep, wake up, go to work, and come back home, you’ll save a lot of money over the course of a year.
5. Not reducing the water heater temperature. Many of us never even check our water heaters, but it’s important to reduce your water heater temperature during the summer months, especially if you have an older home where some of your pipes run through the attic—that water can naturally get very hot. Conversely, you can turn up the water temperature during the winter months.
6. Paying a handyman for simple fixes you can do yourself. There are so many resources out there (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) where you can watch do-it-yourself videos and learn how to fix something instead of paying hundreds or thousands by hiring a handyman.
If you have any other homeownership questions or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home soon, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d love to help you.
