by Emily Hechler 
The ongoing costs of owning a home can quickly add up, and with prices steadily rising, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. While these costs are unavoidable, there are strategies you can use to help reduce your overall home expenses. Explore this list of practical tips to help you save and manage your household budget more efficiently.
Refinance your mortgage. There are two ways that refinancing your mortgage can lower your monthly payments. First, if you are struggling to make your payments, you can increase your loan term. For example, if you have a 30 year mortgage and are 7 years in, you can refinance the remainder of your loan for another 30 years. While this will increase the amount of time it takes for you to pay off your loan, your monthly payments will be lower. Or, you can refinance your loan with a better interest rate. In this scenario, you are paying the same amount toward the principal and less toward the interest each month which can reduce your monthly payment.
Review your home insurance. Home insurance was a requirement when you purchased your home, and in your time crunch, you may not have found the best deal for coverage. It’s worth getting new quotes from different home insurance providers to see what they currently offer. Additionally, many insurance companies offer discounts if you bundle your home and car insurance, which can help reduce your overall premium for insuring multiple products with them.
Lower your utility bills. Simple tricks like using LED lightbulbs and motion sensor lights can help decrease the cost of your utility bills. You can also unplug appliances and tools if you are not using them to decrease the cost of your electric bill. Adjusting your thermostat when you are out of the house all day can keep your home at your perfect temperature while you are there and hotter or cooler when you aren’t home, thus reducing your bill. Many thermostats have built in timers, so you can schedule the changes and not have to worry about forgetting to adjust the temperature when you come and go.
Reduce maintenance costs. Many home maintenance chores are easier to complete than you think. While there might be an upfront cost to buy new supplies, you’ll make up that money over time by not having to hire someone to complete reoccurring chores for you. In addition, you can complete minor fixes with a few supplies from your local hardware store like Home Depot and a YouTube tutorial video.
Automate bill payments. Many companies offer discounts when you set up automatic payments. While these discounts might be small, implementing several can save you a large amount of money over a few months. In addition, automating your bill payments will help ensure that you won’t miss any payments. You can avoid late fees by doing so and help build your credit too.
Utilize tax deductions. If you work from home, you may be able to claim some home expenses as an itemized deduction when you file your taxes. In addition, meeting certain criteria can allow you to claim the taxes paid from your mortgage as an itemized deduction too. You’ll need to complete a Form 1040 when you file your taxes in order to claim these deductions. The money you save from these deductions can be used to pay for your other bills.
Negotiate your bills. Apps like Rocket Money help you keep track of your ongoing subscriptions. In addition, they can also negotiate the cost of your bills. While there is no guarantee that they will successfully lower your costs, it’s definitely worth a try especially if you already use Rocket Money. In addition, some companies will lower the cost of your bills if you simply take the time to ask.
Homeowners can take advantage of these money saving tips to help reduce the monthly costs that come with maintaining a home. If you are ready to refinance your mortgage, let us know and we’ll help you start.
