Put your tax return to work for you!
Most of us have plans for our tax return long before we receive them. Why not put your tax return to use towards saving money all year round? There are many expenses when owning a home, so wouldn’t it be nice if you could lower some of these bills. Utility bills go up and down depending on the season, but can become a hefty expense each month. What if you could lower your utility bills each month simply by doing a few improvements to your home. Investing in the following home improvements could help you do just that.
Recommended money saving improvements:
The first improvement would be to air seal your home. There is a certain amount of air sealing that can be done to a home, before mechanical ventilation would need to be installed. A good way to find out which areas of your home that need air sealing, is to have an Energy Audit completed on your home. During the audit a blower door will be be placed in your home and will be able to show the gaps in the home that need to be sealed. By sealing these areas, you can help keep conditioned air from leaking to the outside of the home. This will help keep your HVAC from constantly running and raising your bills each month.
Another suggested improvement would be proper attic insulation. Attic insulation acts like a blanket for your home to keep conditioned air from leaking. If your home is not properly insulated, conditioned air can leak through the attic area to the outside. Energy efficiency guidelines suggest that a home should be insulated to an R-49 in order to keep conditioned air from leaking. The more air that leaks from a home, the harder the HVAC has to work. The harder the HVAC has to work, the higher your utility bills will be. Although attic insulation is a bigger investment than air sealing, insulation can save you quit a bit each month.
Therefore consider using your Tax Return towards these simple improvements and start putting money back in your pocket! GIC would like to help you prioritize improvements for your home and get you on the road to savings.
