5 Ways To Save On Your House Renovation

Ask Marvin

The Question:   “Hi Sir Marvin!  I have been a fan of your articles, your TV and radio sessions for the past year! Your investment advise also over twitter has helped me gain confidence to invest in VUL’s, mutual funds and in the stock market.  Me and my husband are planning to renovate our house early next year and I was just wondering if you can give me some tips on how I can budget and lessen our expenses for the renovation.

Thank you so much!  I’m your number 1 fan!”

Thea M.

Marvin Says:

Hi Thea!  I am honored that the shows and tweets have been a channel to bring you closer to financial freedom.  It’s great that you are planning ahead of time this is so you can budget expenses early on.  From a financial planning perspective, it is okay to renovate your house as long as you have covered all your bases.  This means that you:

1.  Have planned how much it could possibly cost for the renovation.

2.  Would not dip into your emergency fund nor even go into debt to fund the renovation

3.  Are using a separate “savings bucket” to fund your renovation

The earlier and better you prepare the better the outcome of your renovation.  You would not want to stop your renovation in the middle of everything going on just because you run out of funds to complete it.  I am passionate about financial planning and investing but I am not an expert when it comes to home renovation.  But I have good news for you!  I have invited, a very good friend and fellow stock market investor, Marilen Faustino Montenegro to share her expertise on how you can save on your house renovation!  She is an interior stylist and has completed numerous residential and commercial projects in her 10 years of practice.  She is also a model and TV personality, having appeared in Tahanang Pinoy on ABC5 as host, Houselife on QTV11 as Co host, and Extreme Makeover Home Edition Philippines on TV5 as part of the design team.

My desire for you is for you to be financially free and also enjoy life and have a great balance between saving and living!

Enjoy Marilen’s “5 Ways To Save On Your House Renovation”

We all have to renovate our home at one point or another. If not a total renovation, some things need to be repaired or we may simply want a new look. You can actually prepare for your home renovation and save a few pesos with these practical tips:

1. Start a money jar and save for your home remodeling.

Never underestimate the amount you can save by dropping loose change and a few big bills into a money jar when you can. Getting into the habit of dropping some cash into this make- shift- bank will eventually surprise you with a large sum in a few months. You will be glad you saved some money once you see you have a good amount to re- paint your walls, or change your sofa upholstery one day.

2. Hire an expert from day 1 if you can afford it.

I’ve heard many horror stories of home projects gone wrong because people actually thought they can execute things themselves. There are several aspects with regards to home design that can get quite technical such as proper space planning and ergonometrics. Sturdiness and safety of construction is also very important. If you do things the wrong way, you could actually end up spending more because you would have to repeat everything from square one. If you are doing a major renovation or have uncertainties then you will save yourself a lot of money by hiring an expert. I highly encourage people to hire an interior designer for the inside of their home. They are experts with details and aesthetics. Architects deal with the exterior only.

3. For minor cosmetic changes, consider to Do- It- Yourself.

There are a lot of online instructions on simple home makeovers that you can do to instantly change your home’s appearance. Painting walls can be done yourself, just be sure you research on the proper way. Hanging artwork or a set of photographs on a wall is another thing that can be done. The adventurous ones can even repaint some of their own home décor or furniture with a can of spray paint. Changing your furniture layout by moving pieces around is another simple way to change the look of your space.

4. Consider hiring an expert and do everything virtually.

I’ve had some projects that are simple enough for the client to do themselves with the proper guidance from an expert so I offer online decorating.  You get a mood board with the actual colors, fabric and details on how to execute your minor home renovation yourself, as well as a list of actual suppliers for furniture etc. Because everything is done online, you get expert advice at fraction of the cost. There are a lot of other interior decorators who are starting to offer the same if you just do your research.

5. Purchase during a SALE.

Several home stores go on sale from time to time. Look for your favorite stores on Facebook and follow them so you get tips on sales and special offers. You don’t have to change everything all at once, you can work your way to a new home gradually.  Home renovations are best done when you are prepared for it financially so aside from setting money aside, these small ways to save on your home project will surely be beneficial.

New book and other books on Investing, Business and Finance.

I’m excited to share my 5th book overall and the 4th book in the Stock Smarts series, Stock Smarts: Breaking the Resistance – How to time your traders perfectly. The heart of this book is to teach you strategic ways on how to come in and buy and sell stocks in a way where you come as the market is headed up and come out as the market is headed down. The book is now out and exclusive via Marvin Germo Book Orders.

For more details and to order my other books: Marvin Germo Book Orders