So you graduated and the real world is here. You finally managed to move out of your parents’ basement and rent your first apartment, or maybe you are saving money for the house of your dreams in the future. No matter what your situation is, there is no way to escape the necessity to maintain your house.
There is one little truth that you will never learn in school. Houses break. Your dishwasher fails on a Tuesday. Your roof starts leaking during the most severe storm of the year. Your furnace stops working during the Christmas evening. And yeah, I am not talking about fiction, it happens to everyone who owns a house.
The golden rule is simple. Dedicate 1-2% of your house value annually to maintenance. This means that you will need three to six thousand dollars annually to maintain your property if it is worth three hundred thousand dollars. It sounds scary when you are eighteen years old and barely surviving on your own with ramen and tips from your DoorDash orders.
However, do not be afraid. Right now you probably rent your place, which means that all the responsibility of repairs and maintenance belongs to your landlord. Utilize it wisely. Develop the habit of saving money, which will serve you well throughout your life. Stashing away fifty dollars a month will make you accustomed to the fact that you have expenses on maintenance rather than unexpected disasters.
Let me show you how much does maintenance actually cost. Replacement of the roof – $8,000-$15,000; HVAC replacement or repair – $5,000-$10,000; replacement of a water heater – $1,500; replacement of kitchen appliances – a basic Frigidaire refrigerator or decent Samsung dishwasher would cost you $800-$2,000. It may not sound fancy, but you need these things in order to have working appliances, which are required in order not to ruin your food and dishes.
Unexpected expenses are also a big problem. Services of pest control companies. Twice a year cleaning of gutters. Replacement of weatherstripping to reduce expenses on heating bills. Landscaping of your backyard in case you live in an HOA community and receive passive aggressive letters due to lawn length. All of these minor expenses accumulate very quickly.
It is time to educate yourself. Subscribe to YouTube channels like This Old House or Home RenoVision DIY. Learn the difference between Phillips and flathead screwdrivers, before you find yourself at midnight with a broken pipe. Being able to fix minor drywall holes or unclog drain will allow you to save $100 every time you will need to call a professional.
There is one very effective way to organize your expenses. Create three savings buckets in your bank account. The first one is dedicated to your routine maintenance, consisting of expenses you make monthly, such as replacement of HVAC filters and cleaning supplies. The second one is intended for predictable expenses related to replacement of some devices (new dishwasher in five years or new paint in bedrooms every decade). The third one is the emergency fund for unexpected issues (explosion of water heater at two a.m., which floods your basement).
Apps like YNAB or even spreadsheet are very efficient for tracking your expenses. In my opinion, spreadsheet is one of the most effective tools for a young person. No magic tricks in it. Keeping all of your maintenance expenses organized instead of ruining your budget is like a superpower.
If you still in high school or just graduated, start with something easy. Save twenty dollars weekly in separate savings account and name it “house stuff”. When you buy your first place when you are twenty-five or twenty-eight, you will have enough experience to know what to do with your budget.