4 Tips For Budgeting Your Remodel

You may be moving into a previously owned home that you want to make your own. Or maybe you’ve saved up enough over the years to decide that the house you live in is finally due for a makeover. Whatever the case, if you plan on kitchen and bath remodeling, you’ll need to keep an eye on your finances. Kitchen and bath remodeling are easily the most expensive investments that can be made in a home, so it’s important to keep the money under control. Here’s how.

Define Your Budget

This might seem obvious, but plenty of people out there think about what they want in a kitchen and bathroom without first seeing what’s financially feasible. The smart way to approach this experience is to clearly lay out a budget in advance and then try to stick to it.

This is often easier than said than done, as new features or ideas can pop up that you may be tempted to incorporate because “it’s only a little bit more,” but if you keep doing this, it adds up, and you may find yourself spending far more money than you ever intended.

Plan For Contingencies

While everyone hopes for the best when remodeling, it is always best to be prepared for the unexpected, especially if you live in an older home. You may uncover lead water pipes that need to be replaced or find out the electricity is still on knob and tube rewiring and needs to be updated to modern code.

Always allow in your budget for these extra expenditures. Either plan to spend a little more than your budget allocates or tune down some of your purchases and remodeling wishlist to give yourself a little more financial clearance.

Pencil In Accommodation Costs

This is especially important if kitchen and bath remodeling is done simultaneously. There may come a time during the renovation period when the kitchen, bathroom, or both are unavailable. While it’s possible to create an auxiliary kitchen elsewhere in your home for cooking, it’s extremely difficult to do the same if the toilet, shower, and bathtub are no longer available for use.

You’ll need to find another place to stay until these functions are restored. As long as you know your schedule for the remodeling, you can plan ahead to minimize the required time required.

Plan For Eating Out

Another way you will be spending more money, especially during a kitchen renovation, is by eating out. There’s a reason most Americans don’t do it every day for every meal, as this is far more expensive and adds up over time. However, eating out more frequently during a kitchen remodel is unavoidable; even with an
auxiliary kitchen set up elsewhere in the home, eating out will still happen more often.

If you build this into your budget, you can easily avoid the surprise that creeps in for some people when they start looking at their monthly expenditures and realize meals are making it spike.

And if you’re interested in finding experienced professionals to work on your kitchen and bath remodeling, contact us today.