When should you be repairing and
when do you need to be replacing?
With people staying in their homes much longer in this down economy and with money much tighter, the choice is being considered more often among homeowners in these times.
For example, during this cold winter, along with concerns over energy costs rising, many cash-impaired homeowners are attempting to discover out how to cut down the typical $1,900 each year the U.S. Department of Energy imparts the average family
expends on their utilities.
New energy-efficient windows, or a new furnace, although both obvious methods to reduce the costs of heating, however there may not be any money be in the family budget.
Meanwhile, caulking around doors and windows isn't nearly as expensive and can significantly diminish the cold air flowing into the house. Opening up the window coverings during a sunny winter day can add needed to warm up to a room.
The National Association of Home Builders Institute suggests some other not too expensive ways, including weather stripping around doors and windows, changing the furnace filter, putting draft dodgers on the inside exterior of doors, and switching to a programmable thermostat for more control over when the furnace is on and off.
After thousands of readers surveys on the subject,
Consumer Reports is adamant is stating that when your appliance becomes eight years old or more, it usually makes more sense to replace it with a new one.
If your favorite older appliance is high-end, you might want to consider repairing it. Don't hesitate to replace a newer model if's been repaired
too much. However forego any repair which costs over half the replacement price of a getting new one, the magazine staff suggests.
The magazine additionally discovered that at times its readers started a repair process however stopped in midstream out of frustration. That, can turn into a costly process, as a repair department will charge for the repairs even when you change your mind and purchase a new one.
AARP with millions of senior members depending upon fixed incomes recommends using the so-called "50 percent rule," that financial experts have always considered a gauge when trying to decide any cost-effectiveness of replacing versus repair.
Those experts state that if the cost of a repair is estimated to be 50 percent or under the money you
originally paid for the device, you're usually better off to have it fixed.
AARP, however, has suggested that this 50 percent rule needs to be based upon replacement cost, not the original acquisition cost, since numerous consumer item prices have been reduced over the years.
For major consumers items like automobiles, consumers should initially calculate the estimated present resale or market value and not the original purchase amount.
If your mechanic states it's going to be $6,500 to fix your car, and the trade-in value even after the repairs will only be $1,000, your choice is a no brainer. Take money for repair cost and put it toward the purchase of a new car.
Always check for a warranty on every product you have. Conventional wisdom states that a product or device usually begins to cause problems following the day the warranty is out, however just in the off chance something might be covered, you need to know about it up front..
Consumer Reports also suggests that unless you bought an expensive, high-end version, there might no be a return on having most products out-of-warranty repaired that are over three years old.
Regular maintenance can extend the life of practically anything. When dirt and dust dirt clog up furnace filters, letting the air flow become more constrained making the furnace work harder. A furnace that is not running efficiently is going to cost you more money for energy, while its parts become more apt to quickly wear out.
One of the major factors that governs a decision of repairing or replacing is the overall life product expectancy.
Most refrigerators last from 15 to 20 years.
So, unless it's been a lemon from day one, the newer the model, all the more thought you should give to repairing it.
Freezers, which last about the same time frame, should be given an identical consideration.
A significant deliberation is over energy-efficiency, although. Energy Star refrigerators manufactured after 2001 consume 40 a percent reduction in energy over the ones built prior to that date, and just might have some bearing on any decision.
Saving just $100 during year might just not be nearly enough money to rationalize spending the sort of money you would on a refrigerator which would still meet the needs of your family.
Additionally, a new appliance often will improve the way the other parts of a room looks, or changes the look so greatly that must replace everything else, increasing the expense past what you intended.
Everything comes down to affordability and meeting your needs, which means both of these tests needs to be met, not only one but both.
The exact same thing goes for windows, which were just weather-stripped and caulked to help cut the costs of heating and cooling.
Leaky windows amount to 25 percent of the costs of heating costs plus 40 percent of the expenses for cooling, however if an older home contains 30 windows, replacing them becomes dreadfully costly, even when an energy-tax credit exists.
Putting insulation in the window weight pockets and fixing the sash, along with adding storm windows, is a big help and doesn't break the bank.
Most of the experts concur that it's probably smarter to replace electronics over repairing them.
Technology changes so quickly, and that DVD player you purchased when it first came out probably cost several times over the ones in the stores today, while parts or even repair might not be available anymore.
When you replace these electronic devices, don't just throw them out. Recycle them.
Jan 15, 2012
Improvement / Maintenance Books
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