5 Home Improvements That Can Save Seniors Money
There are certain home improvements that can save seniors money in the long term. The easiest ways home improvements can save you money are by installing a water-saving showerhead, which will help lower your water bills, and installing skylights so you can rely on natural light more instead of electricity. Learn more ways seniors can save money with home improvements in our guide below.
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UPDATED: Nov 9, 2020
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Finding ways to save money as a senior through home improvements can be an important thing to consider. Being able to live out the rest of your life in the home you’ve grown to love over the years is surely important to you.
Saving money through home improvements can mean the difference between borrowing against your life insurance, down-sizing, or remaining in the home you built. So let’s take a look at five home improvements that can help you as a senior save a bit of extra cash.
#1 – Get a Water Saving Showerhead
It’s true, showers are perhaps the biggest way we consume water. If you’re like me and naturally take long showers, installing a water-saving showerhead can be a simple DIY home improvement for you to make. Water-saving shower heads can save up to ½ a gallon of water per minute.
In the long run, you’ll find that your utility bill is lower and the upfront cost wasn’t all that much!
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#2 – Install Skylights
This exterior home improvement can save you a bit of money on your electricity bill. While also bringing in some extra natural light!
Having a skylight comes with a number of benefits including:
- Extra heat in the winter
- Less need for using artificial lighting
- Increasing your property value
So, while you are searching through the best home insurance policies, your skylight will be saving you money by lighting your way.
#3 – Install Ceiling Fans
If your home doesn’t have a ceiling fan insight, you may want to consider taking advantage of this home improvement. Simply put, ceiling fans are great for circulating air in both the winter and summer. They can keep the warm air from staying on your ceiling in the winter. And they keep cool air from sinking in your house during the summer months.
With ceiling fans, you can use less air conditioning or heat and keep the air in your house at the ideal temperature.
And by using less air conditioning and heating, your electricity bill will begin to fall.
#4 – Invest in Smart Home Appliances
Maybe you’re a tech-savvy senior and you really want to avoid having to manually do everything in your house. With today’s technology, you have the option to control your home from the comfort of your couch. With these technological improvements, you can also save lots of money after the initial cost of installation!
Three great “smart home appliances” are:
Smart Light Bulbs
Smart light bulbs come in an array of different options. Most are energy efficient and can last up to 75% longer than the standard light bulb. Some light bulbs are automatic and will turn on whenever there’s movement in a room. Others can be controlled from your phone and you can turn them on and off as you please. A bonus to some smart light bulbs is that if you forget to turn off the lights in a room, they’ll take care of it for you!
Programmable Thermostat
Programmable thermostats are all the rage now. There’s been a tremendous rise in commercials advertising for them and it’s easy to see why.
Programmable thermostats can save you lots of money on your energy bill by simply doing their job.
They can be programmed to adjust themselves automatically during certain days, or times of the day.
This is especially helpful if you’re not normally home during the day and you want to have your house at a comfortable temperature while you are there, but save some money while you are away. Some thermostats can also be controlled from your phone, providing you convenience no matter where you may be. Smart thermostats are nice when you want a little extra warmth or air on some days, or if you just want to know how warm or cool your house is at any moment.
Home Security System
Now you may be wondering how a home security system can save you money. Well, it turns out that there are multiple ways that having extra security can save you money over time.
Having a home security system could save you money on your home insurance by up to 15 – 20 percent!
Buying a home security system can seem like an expensive investment, but it’s worth it. There are also now a variety of options when it comes to home security. This means that there is also a system to fit almost any budget. Many burglars look for home security systems before they consider breaking into a home. By making this home improvement, you could be protecting not only your valuables but yourself as well.
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#5 – Save Money by Fixing or Replacing Your Faucets
Believe it or not, you can save lots of money on your utility bill by fixing your faucets. This is one home improvement that many people overlook. Listening to a leaky faucet can be annoying enough. It’s even more annoying when you begin to think about how much money that leaky faucet is wasting you.
Be mindful of the signs of leaking or burst pipes. If you hear the water pump kicking on and off for no reason, or if you smell some mildew, you may have an issue somewhere in your plumbing. Call a plumber if you think there may be an issue.
Saving Money Through Home Improvement
Luckily, there are many ways that seniors can save money by making investments in their homes. Some investments take longer to pay off than others, but in the end, they’re worth it.
Something that’s great about home improvements and technology today is that there are so many tools that make life convenient, and more affordable.
Whether it be for seniors or people in general, there’s always another home improvement out there that will save you money! Just make sure your home has the best insurance no matter what improvements you do.