Home maintenance costs are on the rise; according to a recent report from Thumbtack, home maintenance costs increased from $5,894 in 2022 to $6,493 in 2023, an 8.5 percent increase and an all-time high.
But there’s good news! There are ways to save on your maintenance bills, if you have the right strategies.
A recent article from realtor.com outlined strategies homeowners can use to save on their home maintenance costs, including:
- Clean your appliances. Appliance repair can be expensive. And while there’s no way to completely foolproof against appliance breakdowns, there are things you can do to lower the chances that your appliances will break, starting by keeping them clean. Cleaning out your oven, your dryer vents, and replacing your HVAC filters can all extend the life of your appliances, and help you save on maintenance costs in the process.
- Get your chimney inspected off-season. If you have a wood-burning stove, you need to clean it. Most people clean their chimneys in the fall because they plan to use the stove in the winter, but you can often save money if you schedule your chimney cleaning in spring or summer.
- Take over your lawn care. According to the article, lawn care costs can range from $100 to $400 per month. But taking care of your lawn is a project that can (with a bit of research and hard work) easily be DIY’d, so if you want to save on your home maintenance costs, consider tackling lawn duties yourself.