Your home is a great joy that comes along with great responsibility.  After making such a large financial investment, you have to be aware of the future costs of maintaining your new home.  

When you properly maintain your home, you’ll have more time to reap the benefits of your investment.  Take a moment now to look over a brief compilation of a few tips aimed towards helping you to plan for the cost of improvement and maintenance on your home.  

Create a home maintenance savings

The first thing you should do when considering what you should save for home improvement and maintenance is where you’re going to put all that money.  Set up a savings account specifically designated for home maintenance/improvement costs.  

Setting the money aside in a separate account will help you and your family to keep their hands off the funds.  Use the money only for its designated purpose.  Otherwise, forget it exists. 

Keep track of your HVAC 

Your home’s heating and air conditioning unit is one of the most expensive appendages on the property.  You can save a lot of money in the long run by taking good care of your HVAC unit.  

Paying to have your HVAC unit maintained will cost you a whole lot less than paying for a complete replacement.  Take the time to keep up with the state of your heating/air unit, and do your savings account a favor.  

Take a skeptical walk around your house

Part of keeping up with the maintenance of your home is keeping a watchful eye on some of the most important aspects of the structure.  Take a moment at least once a year to walk around your home. 

Check for missing or loose roof shingles. Take a good look to see if you need to repair any cracks in your foundation.  Catching these issues at the start will help you to avoid a heavier cost.  

Pay attention to the land

Maintaining the land around your home is part of being a homeowner.  You can’t forget to save money for lawn maintenance, landscaping, and other outdoor improvements.  

Adding to the curb appeal of your home effectively boosts your equity as well.  Spend wisely on your landscaping ventures, and you can get all that money back when you decide to sell your home.  

Save more for updates

When it’s time to really dig into the bones of your home, you will need to boost your savings.  There’s a general 1 percent rule regarding savings for home improvements/maintenance.  

In general, homeowners can save one percent of their home’s worth each year to cover the cost of regular maintenance.  However, you’ll probably need more to dig into a more detailed upgrade/renovation.