The High Cost of High Value

Let’s face it, home remodeling is expensive. According to Houzz.com, a whole house remodel can cost, on average, around $200,000 to complete. The lower third of people spent about $30,000 remodeling their home, the middle third spent about $100,000 remodeling their home, and the upper third spent about $450,000 remodeling their home. These numbers kind of set you back in your seat right?

But these are just averages. These people may not have been shopping smart. That’s okay, you are not going to fall into that same trap. You need to be vigilant about controlling costs. Do what you can yourself, but realize that sometimes its smarter to hire someone else to do it. If your time is worth more than what a project costs, its probably wiser for you to hire the job out.

Realize that home improvement is an expensive hobby. When it comes to our homes, and the areas we live in, we can be pretty particular about what we want. What shade of a color we want, or whether we want stainless steel, or maybe the brand new technological gadget integration that just came out, these things add up. Not only do we have a lot of expensive choices to decide between, we also want it done right. We don’t want someone using duct tape and superglue to build our home. We want to build it right, the first time.

Remember to always keep a budget. If you don’t have a budget, your costs can spiral out of control. It is the same reason that credit card debt can get out of control. We as humans, tend to not notice the small changes adding up. We need to be strict about our budget, so that we don’t get our expectations up for a project. Don’t start looking at things outside of your budget, this will only invoke jealousy and envy. You won’t be satisfied with what you can afford, and will feel like you had to settle, which is never satisfying.

How much have you spent remodeling so far? That will be an interesting number to look at. Mine is way more than I would like to admit. However, I have reduced the cost significantly by performing the projects myself, and learning along the way. Remember, keep it fun and you will always enjoy your work!