If travel’s been put on the back burner for you this year, you may find yourself with some extra cash on hand due to missed or postponed family vacations. While this can be disappointing, many are taking this opportunity to repurpose the money they would’ve spent on travel to reach other savings goals. One popular trend has been repurposing vacation savings into home upgrades.
With an increase in time spent at home, you may find yourself discovering ways you’d like to change your home so that it’s a better fit for your family. Read on to learn more about some common home projects and how we can help you combine your former vacation savings with our competitive Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) to make your home upgrade needs and dreams a reality.
Modifying Indoor Space
Spending more time at home may cause you to generate tons of ideas for how you’d like to change your home’s interior, but these were the most common in 2020. Noted beside each is the percentage of households that completed the project last year:
- Interior painting (35%)
- Bathroom remodel (31%)
- New flooring (26%)
- Kitchen remodel (23%)
There’s a big price difference between these projects, but even a project as seemingly small as interior painting can add up in cost. In fact, on average, households that completed interior painting projects in 2020 spent $2,007.
In addition to projects like these, you may find yourself in need of rearranging your space due to a shift in work or school locations. With many employers contemplating a long-term shift to allowing employees to work permanently or frequently from home, you may need to convert a bedroom or other space into a private office. Or, after having your child learn virtually for a year, you may decide that this model works best for your family and make the shift to permanently enrolling your child in virtual learning or homeschooling. This could result in wanting to create a designated learning space in your home.
Exterior Projects
Canceled vacations don’t have to be a downer. While you may not be able to transform the weather at home, many homeowners are finding ways to transform their outdoor living spaces into relaxing oases for their family.
The most popular outdoor home projects in 2020 were:
- Landscaping (24%)
- Exterior painting (19%)
- New roofing (16%)
- New fencing (16%)
- Deck or porch (14%)
These projects have a big range in price tags, as well. Landscaping came in at an average cost of $2,389, and adding a deck or porch hovered around $3,291. Replacing a roof, however, was closer to $9,375.
Financing Your Home Upgrades
Depending on how much you’ve stashed away for vacation that you’re looking to repurpose into home upgrade costs, you may find that you fall a bit short and don’t have enough to complete the projects on your must-do or would-like-to-do lists.
One product you can consider to bridge the gap is a Home Equity Line of Credit, or HELOC.
A HELOC allows you to put the value of your home to work for you. The loan is secured by the equity you’ve built in your home through your down payment, mortgage payments, or work that has increased your home’s value.
One big perk of a HELOC is that it’s a flexible loan that allows you to only borrow what you need, when you need it, rather than taking out a large lump sum loan that may cause you to borrow (and pay back) more than is necessary.
Learn More About a PSECU HELOC!
A HELOC can help you check items off your home renovation wish list and turn your canceled or modified vacation woes into an exciting upgrade for your home. To learn more, visit our HELOC page.