Summer is often the season of home improvement. These long, hot days get us looking at the parts of our residence that require a bit of an uplift (or a down-lift). Travel to distant locales may also bring back fresh architectural ideas, zany or not-so-zany.

It’s tempting to make home improvement into a bit of a job, particularly if it excites you. But it’s all too easy to let the finances slip in this regard. Small fixes and updates add up all too quickly.

Home improvement is an exciting endeavour, and often necessary from a safety perspective. But it, too, deserves a frugal eye. In this post, I’ll discuss some tips I’ve used in the past to budget effectively for home improvement.

Assess Every Task’s Relative Need

It’s important to treat home improvement much like any other purchase: consider it in terms of your relative need as a homeowner. Naturally, it’s essential to prioritize the tasks that are more “urgent” than others.

It can be difficult to be objective about this or even to recognize what being objective about home improvement actually means! Take it from someone who knows. I once got caught up in the allure of vertical gardens and, despite having no true objective need for one, spent weeks and months planning its addition to our bland wall space.

Now, I’m not saying that there isn’t ever a “need” for green (in fact, I am in full support of greener homes in general), but a needed home improvement item often offers an immediate benefit.

For example, that broken railing on your front porch—that’s a need. Broken railings can pose all sorts of hazards for children and guests, and from a safety consideration, this should come first.

But what about replacing your kitchen sink faucet if the current one functions decently? Putting in some stone pavers around your patio? Getting double-pane windows? A new rug? Vaulted ceiling? This is where the gray areas can get, well, rather gray.

I recommend writing a list of all immediate home improvement needs in your home. Then categorize them by relative urgency. What has been waiting for your attention for quite some time? What poses a safety hazard? What would generally improve well-being in the home?

Weigh in on these needs with a partner, spouse, or other household members, and rank tasks in a timeline according to this needs assessment.

Consider Other Household Costs

If home improvement is to be treated just like any tangible purchase, it should be compared with other household costs. Fit specific tasks within a greater financial timeline in order to budget for them effectively.

You may find that this requires more “needs assessments” of your other household, family, or personal expenditures. If you’ve been thinking about investing in high-quality orthodontic care for your daughter, for example, maybe that should take priority over adding on to your guest house.

Home improvement is fluid, meaning that it really can happen whenever, and its costs aren’t always immediate. If you feel the itch to keep transforming your house while your daughter goes in for new braces, prioritize those low-cost tasks before tackling the high-cost ones.

Once I began to see home improvement as one of many “serious” bills, I was able to fit it into the scope of my usual spreadsheet calculations of income flux and expenditure.

Analyze the Future Payoff

I always recommend devoting your time to home improvement tasks that have a positive “payoff.” Sometimes these payoffs won’t be immediately evident, but it’s best to analyze what a specific task or upgrade can add to your home.

Many home improvement tasks have the sole purpose of adding improved aesthetic or atmosphere to a residence. An improved visual appeal does have its benefits, particularly if you are getting your home ready to sell—curb appeal can very well be everything. Property managers or landlords may also dive into home improvement in order to attract more longterm tenants.

Nonetheless, be sure to clarify how a modification or upgrade will impact your home. Categorize home improvement tasks based off of this relative impact. I like to prioritize the tasks that keep basic home security and sustainability in mind, such as investing in a specific kind of insulation or buying an additional solar panel (or three).

Some home improvement areas can have a professional impact, such as the addition of a home office so that you can finally pursue your freelance career. Others may influence your children’s lives, like that guest house that they can rent out once they graduate from college.

Always look to the future when budgeting for home improvement. A generous forward glance can make all the difference when choosing between different tasks.

Always Upgrade—Avoid Band-Aids

In general, “band-aid” fixes in your home may have an in-the-moment payoff, but they may not be designed to last. Band-aids can be useful, especially when it comes to staving off an emergency or stretching to the next paycheck, but they aren’t designed to be lifelong or sustainable.

When budgeting for home improvement, always ensure that you are upgrading—not providing a quick fix that will simply lead to another quick fix.

This means investing in high-quality, sustainable materials. These may be more expensive initially, but they are more likely to ensure that upgrades are permanent. You may wish to hire professional services for specific tasks or source specific décor or materials from reliable local providers.

This was a hard point for me to stomach at the beginning of my life as a homeowner. I simply did not want to shell out hundreds of dollars for a specific dishwasher, but once I realized that this dishwasher would reduce my water footprint, lower our energy bills, take up less space, and last a lifetime, I was sold.

When it comes to building materials, avoid purchasing plastic or anything that may submit to wear and tear over time. I’m a fan of metal, personally, especially steel!

At the end of the day, approach home improvement mindfully. Treat it with as much respect as your other bills, perhaps even setting up a savings account designed specifically for home upgrades. Always assess the immediate and future payoffs of a specific modification, and choose upgrades rather than in-the-moment fixes.

Good luck with your home improvement tasks!