It would be nice if it only took pennies but, unfortunately, budgeting for home repairs and maintenance takes much more than that. I have heard professional money managers discuss that you should budget annually 1% of the value of your home for repairs and maintenance. Personally, I think that is on the conservative side, especially if you have an older home where items tend to all break down at the same time--ha! So, for instance, if your home is valued at $100,000, you should put away $1,000 for repairs and maintenance. In today's economy, I think 1% is much too low of a percentage figure and, personally, 2-3% makes much better sense for our household. When we first bought our home, the pressure tank that runs our well broke down about one or two months after we moved in--OUCH! We also had a wraparound deck which never had been treated or stained so the boards were literally falling apart--another OUCH! Budgeting for home repairs and maintenance is one financial area that we do not budget as much as we should. Even replacing something as simple as light bulbs or something more difficult such as replacing the flooring in a room should be budgeted for. And you never know when the air conditioning or water heater will break down...
What's one item that unexpectedly needed to be replaced in your home that you wish you had budgeted for?
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