Whether you have owned your own home for years or are just buying your first home, there is always a lot to learn about being a homeowner. Being a smart homeowner can not only save you money, but it can also increase the value of your home over time. 

Save Energy

One of the best ways to add value to your home and save money, in the long run, is to make your home more energy-efficient. Doing a home energy audit can help you find out where you are spending the most money in your home and prioritize where to make improvements. Check with your local utility companies to see if any of them do free or inexpensive home energy audits. You can also conduct one yourself if you are willing to put in the time to figure out how to do it through the U.S. Department of Energy. Things like upgrading windows and insulation will require more significant projects to fix, but there are other ways to improve the energy efficiency of your home without remodeling. 

Heating and Cooling

Over half of most homeowner’s utility bills are spent on heating and cooling their house. You can save money if you find ways to heat and cool your home more efficiently. Programmable thermostats can help you save money on heating and cooling costs. We often don’t think about adjusting the thermostat to accommodate hot or cold times of the day or when we are not at home. Programming your thermostat means you don’t have to remember to do it manually each time, and you have heat and air conditioning when you need it most. Installing a smart home option so you can adjust it when you are not at home is also a great idea.  

You can also save money on utility costs by installing ceiling fans, and weather stripping to doors and windows can make keeping your house cool or warm much easier. Single-pane windows are much less energy efficient than double-paned windows. If you have single-paned windows, the goal should be to upgrade to more energy-efficient windows. This can be expensive, so if it is not an option right now, you can add more insulation to your existing windows to help keep energy costs low. 

Do It Yourself

One way that you can save money when you own a home is to learn to do some repairs yourself. You should never attempt to do complicated projects on your own without proper training, but there are a lot of things that you can learn to do. Learning to fix your appliances can save you a lot of money, and most of the repairs are small. You should consider these dishwasher parts or other appliance parts you can buy online to make the process even easier. Other projects like painting, landscaping, adding crown molding, and minor hardware updates are all projects that can be quickly done yourself. You may even find that you like working to add value to your home and find a sense of accomplishment in doing the work yourself.