The American economy as a whole may be an unstoppable force these days, but on an individual level most of us feel pretty poor. While some of that may be “money dysmorphia,” it’s also a fact that everything costs more these days, and until very recently our incomes haven’t kept pace.

In a capitalist society, the answer to any problem is usually “more money,” so a lot of people have been wondering how they can level up their earning power, especially if they don’t have a college degree or experience in a well-paying field. While there are a lot of professions that only require a certificate or license, paying for that when you’re already broke can be a challenge.

But not every professional certificate costs an arm and/or a leg. Here are eight professional certificates that are relatively cheap but can lead to robust careers.

Drone pilot

Cost: $225

Potential salary: $98,249

Drone pilot careers seem like a glitch in the matrix. Chances are, if you’re somewhat good at video games you could probably be a good drone pilot, and yet this career path averages close to six figures in terms of income. Even more amazing, to become a certified drone pilot you just need your Part 107 certificate, which costs just $175. If you need some help to pass the exam, a drone pilot course will run you about $50, making your total cost $225 (although you’ll probably need a drone to practice with, which might run you a bit more). Even if you find a job for a lot less than six figures, that’s a pretty great deal.

You might wonder who hires drone pilots—the main industries looking for these skills include photography businesses (including real estate photographers), film and television production companies, and surveying companies.

Home inspector

Cost: $500 - $800

Potential salary: $48,000 to $78,000

Home inspectors are always in demand, because people are still buying houses and still worried about buying a money pit. While a background in construction or home maintenance might give you a leg up, it’s not required—if you can meet your state’s requirements (and some states don’t even require a high school diploma to certify you as a home inspector), you're good to go. All you generally need to do is take a Home Inspector Education Course that costs anywhere from $500 to $800, pass your state’s exam, and start up your business. How much you make depends entirely on you; while the range is generally between $48,000 and $78,000 per year, it depends on how many inspections you can schedule every day.

Real estate agent

Cost: $1,325

Potential salary: $139,286

Real estate often seems like everyone’s fallback career. Lose a job? Retire? Get into real estate! Well, there’s a reason for that: It’s not hard to get licensed, and there’s potential for a lot of money. The operative word there is potential, because real estate is not a magical journey where money rains out of the sky—most newbie real estate agents work for brokers who sponsor them, and they often start off working the lowest-paying listings and paying part of their commissions up to their broker.

But getting licensed as a real estate agent isn’t too expensive—about $1,325, including fees—and the average income is just under $140,000 if you stick with it. The only catch is that it takes a lot of knowledge to pass that exam, so be prepared to study your butt off.

EMT

Cost: $1,000 to $2,000

Potential salary: $98,000

Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) are an essential part of our emergency medical system—these are the folks who show up in an ambulance and offer emergency stabilizing treatment while getting you to a hospital. It’s a high-pressure, high-stress job, but it can pay close to six figures. Getting certified as an EMT isn’t a high barrier, either, as long as you can master the skills and knowledge required. Most courses cost between $1,000 and $2,000 (equipment and exam fees might be extra). If you have a passion for serving your community and saving lives, this certificate offers an excellent ROI.

Funeral director

Cost: $4,000 to $21,000

Potential salary: $64,617

Being a funeral director isn’t for everyone, obviously, and getting licensed can cost a bit more than some of the other certifications on this list (up to $21,000 depending on the program). And it won’t get you into six figures easily, averaging just under $65,000 a year. But if you find a program under $5,000, it’s a career that offers something invaluable: Job security.

Medical coder

Cost: $3,564

Potential salary: $48,780

Medical billing involves knowing how to appropriately code medical services so insurers and healthcare systems can bill properly for them. It’s precise work, but it’s work that anyone can do if they apply themselves and complete the appropriate training. While the average salary is just under $50,000, it’s a growing industry, and getting a two-year certification to work in it usually costs under $4,000 (although you can spend much more), making it a solid investment.

Massage therapist

Cost: $10,000+

Potential salary: $57,060

Just because your friends tell you that you have “magic hands” doesn’t mean you’re ready to just open up a massage therapy business. To get certified as a massage therapist in most states, you’ll need to complete 500 hours (or more) of training. And that training isn’t as cheap as some of the other programs listed here, costing about $10,000 or more. But that’s still a lot less than the average cost of a four-year degree (about $38,270). If you complete that training, you can look forward to a career earning an average of about $57,600.

Air traffic controller

Cost: $10,000 to $35,000

Potential salary: $129,750

You might assume you need all kinds of arcane experience to become an air traffic controller, responsible for preventing air disasters and keeping your flights from ramming into each other. You’d be wrong: It’s relatively easy to become an air traffic controller (ATC). You don’t need a degree, although getting one is often helpful. All you absolutely need is to complete a training course offered by the Federal Aviation Administration and passing an exam.

Technically, you can become an air traffic controller without any degree as long as you pass the exam, but it’s usually necessary to either have training (from military service, for example) or to complete at least a two-year Collegiate Training Initiative (CTI) school. The FAA has a list of approved CTI schools on its website. Total costs can go as high as $35,000, but can be as low as $10,000—and ATCs enjoy a median salary of $129,750.

Renovating or remodeling your house can be a disorienting experience. Between the mess, the strangers crawling all over the place, and the constant discovery of disasters hidden inside your walls, stress levels can skyrocket. And when the bills come in, it gets worse.

One reason the average home renovation can cost more than $40,000 is our tendency to assume you have to do it all in one marathon instead of in phases—and to spend top dollar on everything along the way. All that flooring, hardware, and construction materials (not to mention appliances and new furniture) really add up fast, especially if you assume that higher prices equal better quality. While some renovation materials cost what they cost (you won’t be comparison shopping drywall any time soon) the fact is that not all your renovation or remodeling choices matter the same amount. There are aspects of any renovation where paying extra money makes a difference—and aspects where you can get away with cheaper, less flashy materials and no one will ever notice. If you’ve got limited funds for your project, here are the renovations that are worth extra money—or not.

Home renovations that are worth it

There are certain aspects of a home renovation where you should spend extra money:

• Kitchen floors. You have a lot of flooring choices, and in other rooms you can likely get away with a cheaper carpet or an engineered wood of some sort. But your kitchen floor is going to see a lot of traffic—not to mention a lot of spills, temperature extremes, and scrubbing. The kitchen floor also pulls together the whole design, and you can’t easily cover it with an area rug as you can in other rooms. Spend that extra money here.

• Furniture. In general, it’s worth spending money on furniture like sofas, chairs, and beds. If you’re remodeling or renovating your living room, buy a really good sofa. After all, you will spend a lot of time using these pieces, and the minor problems that come with cheap stuff will quickly become major irritants.

• Appliances. Higher-end appliances are generally going to be worth any extra margin you have in your budget. They look nicer, actually do last longer, and tend to perform better.

• Windows. If you’re replacing your windows, spend the extra money for high-quality ones. They will look better, last longer, and offer energy efficiency benefits that will actually reduce their overall cost over time.

Home renovations that might not be worth it

If you have all the money in the world, sure, go to town and spend on every little thing. If you’re trying to fit your renovation project into a modest budget, there are some areas you can get away with basic, no-frills stuff:

• Kitchen cabinets. In the end, your kitchen cabinets are just boxes of wood. You want quality construction, but beyond that you can buy basic cabinets and easily make them look more expensive with new hardware, paint, or adding a soft-close feature.

• Moving plumbing and wiring. Your ideal kitchen or bathroom renovation might include shifting the sink or toilet and changing the location of every single power outlet—but you can almost certainly get away without doing that. Moving plumbing can add close to $1,000 to your job, and rewiring a kitchen can run you nearly $2,300. Unless you need to do this to get the place up to code, it’s an easy place to not spend your money.

• Lighting fixtures. Recessed lighting costs an average of $300 per fixture. Just by going with wall- and ceiling-mounted lights you can save a fortune and still have style to spare. And there are plenty of inexpensive light fixtures that look pricey and provide the same light that more expensive stuff does.

• Cabinet/drawer hardware. Trust us: No one will know if your drawer and cabinet pulls cost $300 each or $10.

• Backsplash. While you don’t need to spend a fortune on tile to get a luxe look, generally speaking, cheap tile will look cheap. But a backsplash is typically a very small area, and is usually obscured by appliances, cabinets, and all the stuff on your countertops. You might not want to put the cheapest tile or other materials on your backsplash, but you can definitely get away with cheaper.

If you find yourself in the woods or the wilderness, far away from civilization, chances are good that it was a planned excursion and you brought all the equipment you need to be safe and comfortable, including a basic survival kit.

But what if you didn’t plan this trip into the backcountry, and you didn’t bring a survival kit? Maybe you thought you were going for a short, easy hike and somehow wandered off the trail, or you thought you knew a shortcut and now find yourself surrounded by pristine, unmarked wilderness. How are you going to survive until you’re rescued (or you can rescue yourself)?

First: Don’t panic. Follow what’s known as the STOP protocol: Stop, Think, Observe, and Plan. Don’t go rushing off in a promising direction, and don’t rev yourself up by worrying about wasting time. Think about your surroundings, the path you followed, and what you might have in your pockets that can help you survive the rest of the coming ordeal—because it’s probably a surprisingly useful collection of stuff.

Your pocket survival kit

If you didn’t expect to be lost in the woods today and have brought no special equipment, you might still have the basics necessary:

• Smartphone = signal mirror. One of the most important things to do when you’re lost is to make yourself noticeable. If people are searching for you, you want to make it easy on them. If you didn’t think to bring a signal mirror, your smartphone will do—shut it off (we’re assuming you don’t have a signal to call for help) and it becomes a pretty decent reflective surface to shine at potential rescuers.

• Bottle cap = whistle. Sound is also very useful when trying to get noticed for rescue, but few people carry around piercing whistles every day. But if you have a bottle of water, you can use it as a fairly effective safety whistle, as seen here. Alternating that with good old-fashioned shouting will get you noticed if anyone’s nearby.

• Hand sanitizer = firestarter. If night starts to fall and you’re no closer to being rescued, you might be in for a cold, miserable evening. But if you have hand sanitizer with you, you can transform it into a slightly warmer miserable evening, because hand sanitizer is really, really flammable. Once you have some kindling and a fire built, you can use hand sanitizer to get your fire going easily.

• Condoms = firestarting lens. Of course, you can build the greatest fire ever designed and absolutely soak it in hand sanitizer, but if you can’t create a spark it’s useless. If you didn’t think to bring your flint and steel and have no idea what the bow and spindle method of starting a fire is, but you do have a condom you’ve been carrying in your wallet since 2013, you might be in luck. Fill that condom with water and you have an effective sun lens that can use solar heat to start a fire.

• Keys = saw. Did you wander into the woods with your house or car keys in your pocket? Good, because those keys can be used as tiny little saws. You won’t be building a log cabin with them, but they can be used to strip branches off of trees and notch them to construct a quick shelter, or cut your shoelaces or other cordage to size as needed.

• Nothing = compass. If you’re not sure anyone is coming for you, you should at least have some vague idea where you are. If your phone has power and a connection, you can use the maps app or a compass app to figure this out, but if it’s dead or isn’t reliable, you can always figure out the directions using just a stick, some rocks, and the sun. As shown in this video, just plant the stick in the ground and mark the tip of its shadow with a rock. Wait 15-30 minutes, then mark the tip of its new shadow. The line between those rocks is East-West. If you stand with your toes touching the rock, you’re facing north, more or less. If you know the direction of your camp, car, or civilization in general, you can at least know you’re walking in the right direction—though you should check yourself regularly to make sure you’re still on course.

Surviving in the wilderness begins with not panicking, conserving your resources, and using the tools you have on hand. Luckily, you probably have more of those tools than you think.

When you buy a house, chances are you’re going to find at least a few incomprehensible decisions made by your home’s previous occupant. When those decisions involve important infrastructure—what look like stopgap repairs, or projects that seem like temporary fixes that became permanent over time—the urge to just rip them out and do them over the right way is often overwhelming. “What were they thinking?” you might wonder as you swing that sledgehammer.

And then, disaster. You remove an oddly placed planter in your backyard that’s ruining the layout, only to discover it was diverting water from your foundation—and now you have a flood. You find a basement window well covered in ugly, thick plastic, which you tear out to replace with a more attractive mesh—and a few months later a small jungle is growing in that well. Assuming previous owners were dumb or lazy is an easy way to make a lot more problems for your house. The best way to defend against this is second-order thinking, or what’s known as Chesterton’s Fence.

What is "Chesterton’s Fence"?

First-order thinking is simple stuff: You conceptualize an action and an immediate consequence. Consider that weird planter: The first-order thought is, I’ll remove that planter and my yard will look better. Second-order thinking is more abstract, and takes into account where the consequence of that action will lead—sometimes called the “consequences of the consequences.” The second-order thought asks: What else happens if I remove the planter? Will the water drainage shift? Will something be exposed that needs to be covered up? Will I disturb an ancient grave and unleash evil forces on my home?

The concept of Chesterton’s Fence wraps this concept up in a mental exercise. The concept comes from G. K. Chesterton’s book of essays, The Thing: Why I Am a Catholic, published in 1929. In it he describes someone coming across a gate across a road that seems to serve no purpose. One sort of “reformer,” he argues, assumes that if he can’t see the purpose there isn’t any purpose, and removes the gate. A “more intelligent” person won’t do anything until they can understand why it was put there in the first place.

Understand why something was done before you do anything about it

The idea of understanding why something was done before you remove or reverse it is key if you want to avoid home renovation disasters. Homeowners often make quick, DIY repairs that become permanent—because they work, despite not being the correct material or not using the correct techniques. And that original homeowner might be the only person who remembers the why of something.

Consider the dripping valve in an unheated garage. You buy a house and discover that a loose valve in the garage is always dripping a small amount of water. It’s an easy fix, and you feel very capable and handy. And then a few weeks later the pipe freezes and bursts, because the previous homeowner learned to just let it drip all the time. Taking a moment to stipulate that the drip might not have been negligence or ignorance and asking yourself why it was left loose might have led you to at least investigate the reason—and possibly saved you a lot of trouble and money.

Next time you notice some strange decision made by a previous owner in your house, don’t immediately suit up and start ripping the offending bit. Stop and do some second-order thinking, asking yourself why the decision was made in the first place. Only when you understand that can you safely proceed with your own plans. Doing this will save you a lot of time and trouble over the years.

Cars certainly aren’t cheap—the average cost of a new one is just under $50,000, and used cars are going for an average of almost $29,000. Buying a car might be necessary, but buying a new car is almost always a bad financial decision—even if you find ways to sweeten the deal. Either way, though, focusing on price alone when you're shopping for a vehicle is a bad idea—price should be just one aspect of your decision-making process.

The next time you’re on the hunt for a new or new-to-you car, make sure you take the following factors into consideration, just as much as the price.

Total cost

Instead of thinking solely about the bottom-line price of the car and assuming that if you manage to cut it down a little in the negotiation you’ve done your due diligence, consider the total ownership costs of the car. Aside from the interest you’ll pay on financing, you should also consider:

• Maintenance costs. Cars are sinkholes of money because they are complex machines you will have to pay to have repaired and maintained. And not all cars are the same when it comes to the cost of keeping them in working order. Teslas, for example, have a 10-year maintenance and repair cost of $4,035, while Land Rovers can bleed you for an eye-popping $19,250 over a 10-year period. Add that number to the cost of the car and the interest on your financing to get a better idea of what you’re really spending.

• Insurance costs. Not all cars cost the same to insure, so it’s worth doing some research to find out if your car will cost you $1,600 or $2,000 a year in premiums. While your own driving record and other factors go into insurance rates, the make, model, and year of the car have a lot to do with it.

• Fuel efficiency. You might be getting a great deal on this car in terms of up-front price, and maybe you’ve even got great financing numbers. But if the car is going to cost the GDP of a small country to fuel up, it could still be a bad deal. A car with a better miles-per-gallon (MPG) rating can translate into thousands of dollars saved at the pump.

Electric vehicles (EVs) have an efficiency rating to consider, too, and you’ll be paying for the electricity to charge them up. Every EV has a rating that tells you how many miles you get out of a charged-up battery. Choosing an efficient car today will offset a higher price and enhance a lower price in the long run.

Reliability

Maintenance costs are one thing. Being able to rely on your car is crucial. If you want to have fewer mornings ruined by the sound of a starter grinding and sputtering, make sure you’re buying one of the more reliable cars on the market. For example, if you purchase a Pacifica Hybrid from Chrysler, you should make sure your bus pass is current and ready to use.

Theft rates

As the recent “Kia Boys” plague proved, your car won’t do you much good if you can’t keep it in the driveway. Even if the car you’re about to buy isn’t the target of lax security and an internet meme, you should consider how frequently it’s targeted by thieves. The most-stolen vehicle in the U.S. in 2022? The Chevy Silverado, which was boosted nearly 50,000 times that year alone. If you want to have one less headache tied to your car, buy one that thieves disdain.

Resale value

If you’re buying a new car, chances are you won’t be driving it forever—the average length of car ownership these days is a little over twelve years. So a big factor you should take into consideration when buying a new car is the resale value. All cars depreciate, but not all cars depreciate at the same rate or by the same dramatic amount. You might get a good deal on a car today, but when you try to sell it or trade it in after a few years, you might get smoked on the value—and the time to think about that is when you’re on the lot deciding which car to buy.

Warranty

Even new cars have problems, and a solid warranty can save you a lot of money and heartburn. Maybe you’re getting a good price on that car, but check the warranty to make sure you’re not getting rooked. You’ll want to know what’s covered, how much repair costs you’ll be on the hook for, how long the car is under warranty, and if specific aspects of the warranty expire at different times. You can always try to negotiate a better warranty if the standard offering isn’t great, but at least know what you’re getting for the price.

Use case

One major aspect of buying a car is the use case—the way you’ll be using the car. For example, if you need a vehicle to transport three kids and their sports equipment all over the state five days a week, buying a fun little two-seater is likely a poor decision. Make a list of the ways you’ll use the car, from your commute to grocery hauls to transporting your elderly relatives to and from family gatherings, and consider whether the features of the vehicle in question will satisfy those requirements. If not, even a great deal won’t be so great in the long run.

Safety

Even if you’ve negotiated a solid deal in financial terms and ensured you’re buying an efficient, easy-to-maintain vehicle, you should also check the safety rating before pulling the trigger. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) awards Top Safety Picks every year, which is an easy way to determine that the car you’re buying is safe for you, your family, and other drivers and pedestrians.

Comfort and features

If you’ve ever driven a long distance, you know that even minor problems with the seat, the climate control, or the legroom can become butt-numbing miseries. If you’re going to be spending a lot of time in your car—commuting, road-tripping, or ferrying your family around town—you want to know whether the car is going to be comfortable. The test drive is key here—you can’t take the vehicle to Coachella to really see if it’s comfy, but you can look for cars with a lot of adjustable features (like the steering column and seat), and don’t forget to consider the impact of noise while you drive.

Used car specifics

While most of the considerations above apply equally to used and new cars, there are some specific things to consider other than price for used cars:

• Mileage. It’s obvious that every mile put on a car translates into wear and tear. A common-sense cutoff is about 100,000 miles, depending on the age of the car. The average driver puts about 13,476 miles on their car annually, so you can do some quick back-of-the-envelope math to figure out if the previous owner drove that car hard or not.

• Vehicle history. You should never buy a used car without getting a vehicle history report to see if it was ever in a major accident or flood. You don’t necessarily have to pay a company like Carfax, either—you can run a check on the car’s vehicle identification number (VIN) for free.

• Condition. It might be obvious, but if you’re getting a great price on a car that ticks all the other boxes but looks like hell, think twice. Rust and scratches, ruined upholstery, a permanent odor, or an orchestra of creaks and groans when it goes over a pothole might indicate that it’s not a great buy even if all the paperwork and math says it is.

The moment someone builds a house, nature begins the process of destroying it. This can be a shockingly fast process, as when a natural disaster sweeps through the area and erases the house, or it can be a slow, grinding process of weather and time picking away at the structure bit by bit.

That’s why houses are always clad in siding of some sort. Siding keeps the sun, wind, and rain off the structural aspects of the home, extending its life. But siding isn’t cheap. The average cost of siding a house these days is $12,690, but the high end tops out over $20,000. The good news? It’s a terrific investment. Not only does siding protect your overall investment in the home, it has a very high return on investment (ROI) (typically between 75% and 85%). Plus, the boost to your home’s curb appeal that fresh siding provides can translate into an increase in property value of as much as 10%.

There are a lot of siding options for your house. Here’s a rundown of your choices and how to decide whether they'll work for you.

Vinyl siding

Vinyl siding is basically plastic, but don’t let that fool you. While early versions of vinyl siding were prone to cracking and looked kind of cheap, modern vinyl siding comes in a wide range of styles and colors and is one of the most durable siding materials around.

Pros: Vinyl siding is relatively affordable, averaging about $11,100 per installation. It’s also a flexible choice, as you can find vinyl in a wide variety of styles mimicking wood or other materials.

Cons: While vinyl can last decades with proper maintenance, it can also fade within a decade or two, and is generally considered to have a lifespan of about 20 years or so, which is shorter than other materials.

When to choose: When cost is a main consideration.

Metal siding

Metal siding, typically aluminum or steel (although other metals like copper can be used), is a durable siding material with a distinctive look. Costs range from $8,374 to $22,942 depending on the material and size of the house.

Pros: Most metal siding will last between 30-50 years, and it’s very low maintenance. It also offers a distinctive look to your home.

Cons: Metal is durable, but it weathers unpredictably. Dents, scratches, or some sort of patina aren’t uncommon, and while it won’t undermine the function of the siding, it might undermine your style. Metal is also a poor insulator and sound barrier and can conduct sound into the house.

When to choose: When durability and longevity are primary concerns, but you don’t want the look of brick or stone.

Wood siding

Wood siding comes in a lot of different forms, including old-school clapboard (which most vinyl siding seeks to imitate), split logs (for that cabin feel), board and batten (for a farmhouse look), and shakes and shingles (for that New England port town look). There are also manufactured (aka engineered) versions made from a combination of wood fibers and a resin binder. In general, wood siding will run you an average of $19,300, though it can go much higher depending on the specific style and type of wood you choose.

Pros: Classic, traditional look. Environmentally friendly, as its manufacture doesn’t require any toxic materials and it’s a renewable material.

Cons: Requires more maintenance. While wood siding can last decades, it often requires cleaning and sealing every so often, and is vulnerable to rot and insect infestation (like termites, a word that strikes fear into any homeowner’s heart).

When to choose: When you want a cozy old-school look, or you want to worry less about the environmental impact of your house.

Fiber cement siding

Made from Portland cement, silica, and wood fiber, like vinyl fiber cement siding can mimic the look of wood or other textures while offering superior durability.

Pros: This stuff lasts: You should get at least 50 years out of fiber cement siding. It’s also comparable to vinyl in terms of cost, with most installations running about $15,000. It’s also very easy to maintain.

Cons: Like vinyl, it can look a little artificial compared to wood or metal.

When to choose: If you’re looking for the same flexibility as vinyl, but you want a more durable material.

Brick and stone siding

When you think of “siding” you might think of the traditional planks of vinyl siding or wood shingles. But anything that covers your home’s exterior is siding, and that includes brick and stone facades.

Pros: Brick and stone siding offers a classic, traditional look. It’s also very low maintenance, and can last as long as 100 years if properly maintained.

Cons: Expense. Brick siding can run an average of $22,500 to install, while stone siding can go as high as an eye-popping $72,000, depending on the size of your house.

When to choose: When you want your siding to outlive you with minimal maintenance.

Stucco siding

Stucco is an old-school siding choice made by combining cement with sand or lime and applying it to a lathe of some kind (typically metal screening) attached to the exterior of the home.

Pros: It’s very flexible in terms of color, and provides superior energy efficiency because it forms a seal around the home, keeping the outside air outside. It’s also price-friendly, with an average cost of under $10,000.

Cons: Stucco is porous, and won’t do as well in cold or damp climates. It’s also maintenance-intensive, as weather and settling can create cracking that will need repair on a relatively regular basis.

When to choose: When costs or energy efficiency are the main thing.

Other considerations

Of course, part of choosing siding for your home will be your neighborhood. You may not want to have a dramatically different style of house (or you may not be allowed to have a dramatically different house if you have a homeowners association). Keep the look of your home as it pertains to the rest of the community in mind when choosing siding.

Another consideration is the installation process: If you’re looking to DIY your siding to save some money, you might choose vinyl siding (even if you don’t love the look) because it’s definitely something you can do yourself.

Whatever siding you choose will improve your home’s curb appeal, comfort, and longevity, so there’s no really wrong choice here. You just need to balance cost, durability, and aesthetics.

At first blush, light sockets seem like a single-purpose aspect of your home. They’re ... light sockets. That is, sockets for lights. They’re pretty specifically designed to have light bulbs screwed into them so you can see stuff at night. And they’ve been around for so long that we don't think about them much: The basic design of the “Edison Screw” base for light bulbs hasn’t changed much since they were first introduced by Thomas Edison in the late 19^th century, and bulb bases are still described using the letter “E” for “Edison”.

But light sockets can be incredibly useful. If your home lacks convenient plugs, they can provide alternative sources of power. Their placement on ceilings or walls or as lamps on our desks and tables can be strategic, and since they’re already wired up and ready to go, they offer an easy way to upgrade your house without having to call an electrician. Here’s how you could be using the light sockets in your house for things other than light.

Instant ceiling fan

Ceiling fans can have a powerful impact on the comfort level of your home, helping to circulate cool air in the summer and warm hot air down in the winter, saving you money by making your home’s climate control more efficient. Installing one can be a hassle, though, and if you’re not comfortable being on a ladder or working with wiring, you might end up hiring someone, which can cost a few hundred bucks or more.

But if you have a ceiling light fixture, you can just pop out the bulb and screw in a socket-mounted ceiling fan for the house or garage. These fans combine a light with the fan, so you won’t lose any illumination—but you will gain a more comfortable home, no wiring or contractors required.

Adapter plug

Sometimes the decisions made designing and building homes are baffling. If you’ve ever moved into a place only to discover that whoever built it saw little use for power outlets, or that your ideal furniture arrangement in every single room magically blocks every outlet, you know the bitter frustration of trying to plug in all your stuff.

Light sockets offer an easy solution—just install an adapter that adds power outlets and any wall- or ceiling-mounted socket (or lamp) becomes a source of power. You can install adapters that include the screw-in socket for a bulb, or transform the socket into a dedicated outlet.

Security camera

Whether you need to monitor your outdoor spaces or want to have some indoor peace of mind when away from your home, there are a lot of reasons to install security cameras. But doing so can mean hiring someone to wire up your house, or dealing with battery-powered cameras and drilling holes in your home’s exterior to attach the cameras, which can be eyesores.

Or, you could just screw a security camera into a convenient light socket. Whether it’s an outdoor sconce or a ceiling fixture inside the house, a socket-based camera offers all the features of a wireless security camera with none of the installation, and without cluttering up your home with stuff stuck on your walls.

GALAYOU 360 Light Bulb Security Camera

$19.99 at Amazon

$28.99 Save $9.00

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Learn More

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Speaker

Bluetooth speakers are great, but keeping them charged up and remembering to carry them wherever you want to hear audio can be a pain, and hiring someone to wire up the house with speakers can cost several hundred dollars. Instead, pick up a few of these speaker light bulbs, install them in any light socket, and enjoy your music or other audio seamlessly through the house without picking up a single tool.

USB chargers

An incredibly wide range of things now use USB to charge up their internal batteries—from cat toys to motion-activated lights, stuff that has no business being plugged into a computer now uses the standard. This can make finding places to plug in those cables a challenge, bulking up desks and counters with extra cables and dongles.

Or you could install socket adapters that include USB charges. Whether it’s a desk lamp that now lets you easily charge everything or a floor lamp that lets you charge your phone while hanging out in the living room, using these adapters means you won’t struggle to find a place to plug in your USB cords ever again.

Projector

If you’ve got 500 movies on your laptop you want to watch easily, or 500 presentations for work, having a portable projector is a great tool. Having a portable projector that plugs into any light socket? Even better. Not only does it eliminate the need to keep charging your projector, but it makes it super convenient to use with work files, or toss it into a sconce and turn your backyard into a movie theater.

As a new homeowner, you may have been surprised to learn you're responsible for the sewer and water lines that run from the street to your house. No, you didn’t install them. No, you don’t technically own them. But they’re your potential headache anyway—if a water line bursts or a sewer pipe fails, you’ll wind up paying for the repair.

When you receive a frightening letter in the mail telling you that replacing or repairing these pipes can cost anywhere from $2,585 to $8,500, signing up for a “utility protection plan” (also known as service line insurance) seems like a great idea. For a small amount of money, you get the peace of mind that comes with knowing any sewer or water line problems will be paid for. This is especially comforting because sewer and water line problems aren’t always covered by standard home insurance policies.

So yes, it seems like a great idea—but in most scenarios you don’t really need that utility protection plan. There are just a few specific scenarios when it makes sense.

You'll probably never need to use your utility protection plan

While all insurance is something you buy hoping to never need, there are reasons to think you don't really need a utility protection plan to cover a water or sewer pipe repair:

• Those repair/replacement costs are way overblown. The average cost of repairing a water line is just $950 (with a high end typically around $1,575). Sewer lines can be pricier (with a high end of $7,500), but average about $4,000. Moreover, most claims on these policies are for much less, according to an investigation by The Wall Street Journal, because a problem like a clogged main can often be solved with an inexpensive service call.

• The odds of having a water or sewer line problem are actually pretty low. A study conducted by Utah State University found that the average replacement rate on water mains is 125 years. And according to that The Wall Street Journal study, an analysis of municipal permitting records shows the chance of needing a water or sewer line repair in a given year was less than 1 percent.

• Finally, it’s likely you can add utility line protection to your homeowner’s insurance as an endorsement for a lot less money(typically $30-$40 a year).

When it's a good idea to buy a utility protection plan

So, generally speaking, you probably don’t need to purchase line protection from your utility provider (or the third-party company they’ve partnered with to offer it to you). But there are specific scenarios when buying this protection makes sense.

First, if you can’t add it to your homeowner’s insurance, it’s worth investigating. But even then, you likely won’t need it unless your home falls into one of these scenarios:

1. Your home is older than 50 years AND your water and sewer lines have never been replaced. As noted, the average replacement for water and sewer lines is about 125 years, and the expected lifespan of a water main is about 84 years. Once those pipes get into their sixth decade, the odds of a problem start to go up. So if your water and sewer lines are getting up there in age, a protection plan starts to make more sense.

   You can try to determine the age of your water and sewer lines in a variety of ways. You can do a permit search at your construction office; even if the utility company or county did the work, there will be permits as evidence. You can also go down into your basement or crawl space and look at the exposed pipes coming into your house; if they look ancient (rusted and corroded), they probably are, and there are sometimes stamps on the pipes that will give you info about their age—though this will require some research, as these markings are usually unique to the manufacturer (a plumber may be able to help you out). You can also make some educated guesses if you can figure out what your pipes are made of—cast iron, for example, probably means your pipes are really old. Barring that, you can contact your utility's customer service and they may be able to tell you the history of your water/sewer lines.

2. Other homes near you have had problems. Ask your neighbors. If more than one of them has experienced the joys of a burst water main or a sewer line replacement, chances are the plumbing in your area is older and all the lines are in danger of failing. That makes a protection plan a wise investment.

3. You’re already experiencing the signs of failing service lines. Are you suffering from chronic low water pressure or frequent sewer or sump backups—but your neighbors aren’t? Those are signs that your service lines are old, damaged, or blocked. Cleaning out a sewer line or calling a plumber to investigate your water supply might fix the problem, but if it doesn’t, utility line protection might pay for itself sooner rather than later.

When you buy a house, you buy all its current and future problems. In legal terms, problems with a property are called “latent defects,” and the home’s seller is legally required to disclose these to any potential buyer. And if the seller isn’t forthcoming about stuff like that, you rely on a professional home inspector to catch problems on your behalf—except home inspections aren’t exactly thorough.

This inspires some unscrupulous homeowners to hide problems with their property in the hope that you’ll buy it and make them your problems. One of the most common problem sellers try to hide is a waterlogged basement—it’s estimated that 98% of basements in this country will flood at some point. Water intrusion issues in a basement can be expensive to fix and aren’t always effective, so it’s not unheard of for a homeowner to slap a quick renovation on a basement to hide water damage and signs of flooding, hoping it lasts long enough to get the house sold. An inspector can miss this because they can’t look behind the drywall or under the floor—but there are signs you can look for that can tip you off that this finished basement is hiding serious problems.

Disclosures

It’s important to be able to spot a quickie renovation hiding a water-damaged basement because it can be difficult to hold the previous owners responsible. While they’re required to disclose problems like flooding and water damage in the basement, you’ll have to prove they knew about the problem and took steps to deceive you, which can be difficult. Even if you amass a lot of evidence of an existing problem, proving the previous homeowners knowingly deceived you is an uphill battle.

You might win a lawsuit, especially if it’s obvious that they covered up water damage. But it’s not going to be cheap, and it’s not going to be fast. It’s a lot better for you to spot the signs of a water damage cover-up before you buy.

Signs of a cover-up

Even if you have a home inspector looking at a home you’re considering buying, you should pay close attention to the basement and look for some of the signs of a hasty cover-up remodel:

• The sore thumb. Is the basement the only part of the house that’s been recently remodeled? If the kitchen and bathrooms are old but the basement is brand new, that’s an odd decision (kitchens and bathrooms are by far the most commonly renovated rooms in the house).

• The partial. Is only part of the basement renovated or remodeled? If only some of the walls or floors have been finished off, or if there’s brand-new flooring but everything else is still stuck in a prior decade, it’s worth wondering why—it’s possible these were the areas affected by water damage, and this was a hack job to hide it.

• The mismatch. Look at the paint closely. Can you see areas that look a little different—a different sheen, or slightly off-color? That might indicate a rush job to hide water stains. Another aspect of this is the quality of the materials: Is the upstairs of the house remodeled with top-tier, expensive materials, but the basement looks like they shopped a clearance sale at a hardware store? That might indicate a second renovation was needed to hide a disaster.

• The ripple. Is the floor uneven? Are the walls bulging? Freshly hung drywall and a new laminate floor might look great at a glance, but get up close—and use a level or straight edge to make sure there isn’t bowing on the walls or rippling under the flooring.

• The rusty nail. Is everything fresh and new down there but all the infrastructure—the pipes, ducts, and appliances like the furnace—rusty? If there’s a moisture problem down there, the rust tells the tale even if drywall and carpet hide the damage.

• That smell. It’s an obvious one, but worth reminding you: No matter how great a basement reno might look, if it smells musty or smells like mold, there’s probably something lurking under those finishes.

Everything about buying a house is fraught. There’s the money, of course. And the research. And the emotional toll of trying to translate the needs and dreams of your family into a pile of bricks and drywall. But one of the most exhausting aspects of looking for a new house is visiting all those prospective homes and trying to determine whether buying it is a good idea or a mistake that will ruin your life.

A solid real estate professional on your side is a necessity, but you can also eliminate a lot of properties right off the bat if you collect enough data. Any time you visit a home you might want to buy, it’s an opportunity to kick the tires, so to speak, and look for obvious problems that might help you narrow down your choices. But that requires data, and data requires tools—physical tools. Here are the essential house hunting tools you should put into an “open house kit” and bring with you to every home you visit on your quest for a dream home.

Tape measure

There are a lot of reasons you should be able to measure stuff when walking through a house you might buy:

• To ensure that the listed square footage of the home is accurate. It’s not unheard of for there to be major discrepancies between reality and listing, so measuring as you go is a must.

• To be certain the furniture you’re bringing with you will fit through doors and up stairs, and will ultimately fit in the room it’s destined for. This applies to stuff going on the walls, too—including that enormous television you just bought.

• Appliance spaces in the kitchen and laundry areas, if you’re bringing your own or plan on replacing some older models.

• Closets. If you’re told you’re buying “walk in” closets, they should be a minimum of four feet by four feet. You might also want to compare them to your current ones to ensure you can fit your stuff.

• Vertical space. There’s a huge psychological difference between eight- and nine-foot ceilings.

One thing to note: You can use an app on your phone to take measurements, or a fancy laser measure, and that will be fine if you’re just looking for a rough measurement. If you need to be somewhat accurate, you should use a good old-fashioned metal tape measure.

Moisture meter

Water damage and leaks can be hidden pretty easily—some quick drywall or flooring repairs, some paint, and even a rug or a carefully arranged pile of boxes in the basement can make a damp house seem dry. Moisture problems aren’t always obvious to the homeowner and can develop quietly inside walls or up in attics for years before they’re noticed.

Instead of relying on your eyes and the cross-their-heart declarations of the person selling you their home, bring along a good moisture meter and take some readings as you walk through a house. You might need to take a reference reading in a spot you know to be dry, but most moisture meters have a scale that goes from 1 (bone dry) to 100 (wet). Generally speaking a moisture reading over 17 is cause for some concern, with your level of alarm rising with every point.

Pocket level

Very few homes—even new-ish homes—are truly square. Houses settle, materials warp slightly, and minor mistakes can exist that are invisible to the eye. So you shouldn’t expect to find perfect 90-degree angles and perfectly plumb floors in any house. That being said, severe sloping on floors, warping on walls, or off-kilter kitchen cabinets can be serious warning signs that this house may be a money pit.

A pocket level can be whipped out in every room for a quick inspection, alerting you to major issues that might indicate foundation problems or similarly disastrous situations.

Camera

This one might be obvious: But always bring something you can use to snap photos. Your phone will be fine, as long as you take the time to organize the images and label them clearly for future reference. Take a lot of photos from different angles so you can refresh your memory when it’s time to make a decision. This is important because you don’t want to rely on the photos provided in the listing, which can often be carefully staged if not outright deceptive.

Flashlight

A pocket-size flashlight will get a lot of use when touring a house. There are going to be dim spaces behind and under furniture and appliances, dark basements or crawl spaces, and weird crevices you’ll want to check for spiders, mold, or portals to alternate universes. Shining a bright light can also get rid of shadows that might hide (or be mistaken for) problems.

Water pressure gauge

It’s a cliche, but it really is a good idea to check the water pressure when you’re thinking about buying a house. Water pressure affects many aspects of your life—low pressure means taking a shower will be a longer and more frustrating experience, doing laundry will take longer (and might require extra rinse cycles), and might indicate a problem with your plumbing.

That’s why a pressure gauge is a good idea. These typically screw onto a hose hookup, and measure the water pressure in pounds per square inch (psi). The normal range is between 40 and 80 psi, and the sweet spot is around 50 psi. Anything outside of that range is a concern that you should look into before you make that down payment.

Outlet tester

You won’t be able to see through the walls of your potential home purchase, and just because the outlets look new and modern doesn’t necessarily mean the wiring is. But you can at least pop an outlet tester into a few receptacles to ensure things look right. You want to see about 110 to 120 volts on each normal outlet, and, of course, you don’t want to see or hear any alarms when you pop that tester into the outlet.

Buying a house is a big deal. Carrying these tools when you go to an open house or check out a property with your real estate agent can save you a lot of time and trouble by catching problems before they become your problems.

House projects come in two distinct flavors: The panicky, oh-crap kind that force themselves upon you at the least convenient (and usually random) moments, and the pre-planned, ambitious projects that will improve your home—or at least help you avoid future problems.

There’s not much you can do about the first kind, which will slam into your life with hurricane force when you least expect it. But when it comes to the second kind, choosing when to work on that project is crucial to both its success and the misery level it inspires in your home during the work. Sure, scheduling your projects in February might get you the best prices and the most call backs from contractors, but if you’ve ever had your windows replaced in the middle of winter, for example, you now know that there are much better times of year for projects that leave your house open to the elements.

With summer fast arriving, then, it’s time to consider which house projects are actually best to launch during this season—and which ones you should avoid at all costs.

Best: outdoor living projects

On the one hand, you might want to have your deck, patio, or backyard area all set and ready to go the moment the temperatures start to rise so you can maximize your enjoyment of your outdoor spaces during summer. But figuring out outdoor furniture layouts, grill and outdoor kitchen placement, and the installation of other outdoorsy stuff in the off-season is all theory: You don’t know how you’ll actually wind up using it until you do.

That’s why early summer is the ideal time to figure out the best way to use your space, because you’ll literally be using it. You’ll know if expanding your deck is going to pay dividends, if you’d be better off with a fire pit than an above-ground pool, or if a bar cart is a better investment than an outdoor kitchen you’ll never use.

Worst: painting

Summer feels like the right time to paint. You have more daylight to work with, and probably more flexible free time to dedicate to a project with terrific return on investment.

But summer also means higher temperatures and humidity, which can undermine your paint job in many ways. Your paint may take longer to dry, or dry inconsistently, and if you paint on hot surfaces or with paint that’s been sitting in the sun for a long time, you might find your paint peeling and cracking when the colder weather arrives. Painting is best left to spring or fall when temps are milder and the air tends to be drier.

Best: heating maintenance

Keeping your furnace or boiler in good shape is essential to having a safe and comfortable home, so regular inspections and maintenance are a great idea. There are two reasons why you should do this in the summer, when your heating system is probably the last thing on your mind:

• Scheduling. Your heating is the last thing on your mind—it’s the last thing on everyone’s mind. Your local heating contractors will be delighted to hear from you, and it will be easy to schedule that appointment.

• Convenience. If problems are found and your heat has to be taken offline for a few days, well, you’re not using your heat anyway.

The opposites of these reasons are just as compelling—if you wait until the cold weather starts, you’ll find your contractor is pretty busy. And if you need major repairs or a furnace replacement, you’ll be in for some extremely uncomfortable nights.

Worst: new flooring

Having new floors installed in the summer might seem like a good idea, but it’s probably the worst time of year to do this project because of the heat and humidity. You might get away with it in the early days, but if it’s consistently hot and humid outside, you’ll do best to wait until the fall.

Heat and humidity can cause several problems for new floors, including warping of planks and longer-than-ideal curing times for adhesives and sealants. Plus, if you need to ventilate the house after having your new floors stained and sealed, you’ll be sitting in a hot house with all the windows open, instead of enjoying a beautiful fall or spring breeze.

Best: kitchen renovation

Kitchen renovations are really disruptive to your life. You have no idea how much you’ll miss having a usable kitchen until you’re three weeks into living with a plastic-wrapped, dust-coated hole in the middle of your house while waiting for electric and plumbing inspections.

That’s why summer is the best time for a kitchen reno. If you’re replacing the flooring you have to take the heat and humidity issues into account, true (see above), but the lack of a kitchen stings less when you’re able to cook outside all the time, augmented by the occasional (or daily) delivery order. And if you can work some scheduling wizardry and be on vacation during the bulk of the reno work, you might experience the magic of leaving home with one kitchen and returning with another.

Worst: AC maintenance

If you wait until the hot weather to have your air conditioning system checked out, you’re going to experience a bit of trouble just getting a technician to show up—they’re likely swamped with appointment requests and emergency calls from desperate, sweltering folks who woke up without functioning AC that day.

Plus, that delay in maintenance makes it just that much more likely that your own AC will fail you just as the temperature starts flirting with triple digits. Spring is the ideal time for AC maintenance—in fact, the first day that temperatures get above 60 degrees, you should run your AC to make sure it’ll actually work when you really need it.

Best and worst: roof work

You don’t always have control over roof projects—when your roof springs a leak or suffers obvious storm damage, you’re going to have to get it repaired no matter the season. But for non-emergency roof work, whether replacing the roof proactively or doing regular DIY maintenance like adding a roof coating, summer is both the best and worst time to do it.

On the one hand, doing any sort of DIY work on your roof during the summer will be like stepping onto a hot grill. You’ll be fully exposed to the heat and sun and be baked from below by the sun-heated surface—which can get as hot as 150 degrees. That means doing optional roof work in the summer is going to be a miserable experience.

On the other hand, if you’re having your roof replaced, summer is the best time to do it: Asphalt shingles and roofing adhesives cure are heat-activated, and will cure and seal faster in the warmer weather. Plus, you’re probably hiring someone to do that, so you’re not going to be up there like an egg on a griddle.

Every local government has a set of building codes on the books, and it’s the responsibility of every property owner to adhere to those codes. Building codes ensure that every property is safe to inhabit and doesn’t present a threat to the safety of people around it. It’s in everyone’s interest that you keep your home “to code,” which is why you need to pull a permit when doing major repairs or renovations to your house (and why you should look into the permit history of any property you’re considering buying).

Most regular, minor maintenance projects don’t require permits—but they can trigger erroneous code violations. Most municipalities employ code enforcement professionals who respond to complaints and who can—and often do—make visual observations of the properties in the local area they cover. That means that if a neighbor files a complaint about a perceived code violation or an inspector sees something from the street that looks like a code violation, you might receive a code enforcement notice, which could include a fine as well as a requirement to pay for retroactive permits, or possibly to have the work removed if it’s deemed a violation of the existing building codes.

Reasons for a notice

The specific laws governing code enforcement, inspections, and violations vary from locality to locality, so you’ll have to do some research to familiarize yourself with your local laws. In general, code enforcement inspectors can’t just enter your private property without a legally binding court order (e.g., a warrant). But if they see something from the street, they can issue a violation based on that.

Sometimes, maintenance work can be misinterpreted. For example, if you have concrete steps in front of your house and you patch some cracks or apply a top coat to both refresh and protect them, it might look like you’re doing masonry work without a permit. If an inspector—or a nosy neighbor—notices, you might get an erroneous enforcement order. Other commonly misinterpreted maintenance projects include any roof work, window repairs, or sidewalk repair.

Don't bother trying to sue

One thing to be clear on: Even if you feel like the code enforcement officer (or neighbor) is maliciously targeting you and citing you for code violations in bad faith, you probably can’t sue the inspector. Like most government employees, code enforcement officers are usually considered to have some form of qualified immunity against legal action.

You might be able to sue the county or city government, but proving a conspiracy to target your home with violations is going to be tough. Your best course of action is going to be going through the legal channels outlined below instead of calling your lawyer and vowing to salt the earth with your litigation.

Steps to take

If you receive a code enforcement notice concerning maintenance work that didn’t require a permit, or permitted work that you believe was done to code, take the following steps:

• Gather documentation. First, get your ducks in a row. This is especially crucial if the inspector is incorrect about an aspect of your project. If the repair was a minor, superficial change (like a topcoat on a set of concrete steps), be prepared to show receipts for materials purchased and to describe in detail the work performed. Take photos, as the inspector may not have been able to get close enough to see what’s really going on (and if you have any kind of time-stamped “before” photos or video, even better)

• Research. You should know the code you’ve been accused of violating. Decoding these can be challenging, so you might consider consulting a contractor or engineer if you know one. A good starting place to see your state’s building codes is here; although your local county or municipality may have their own code, the state code is a good starting place. You don’t need to be an expert overnight, but if you can speak intelligently as to the specific violation you’re accused of, you’ll have a better chance of getting the violation dismissed.

• Contact the appropriate department. The enforcement notice will include contact information for the appropriate department in your local government. Use it. Armed with your evidence, respond in writing and clearly explain a) the purpose and scope of the work; b) why it did not require a permit (or evidence that you actually did pull a permit for it); and c) anything else that seems relevant. Following up with a phone call isn’t a bad idea—but don’t be angry or insulting.

  If you truly didn’t violate any local building codes, this will usually be sufficient to clear up the problem. Sometimes the enforcement office will dismiss the violation if you make adjustments to your work even if you did inadvertently violate the building code.

• Pull retroactive permits. If it turns out that you should have pulled a permit for your project, you may be able to apply for a retroactive permit, which is simply a permit issued after work has concluded, and scheduling the required inspections. This might require you to undo some portion of the work if the inspectors need to see inside something (and might possibly entail a small fine) but usually won’t require tearing everything out and starting from scratch.

  Not all localities offer retroactive permits, however, so don’t assume you can do the work and apologize later.

• Attend a hearing. If you can’t resolve the matter with a letter of explanation or other action, there will almost certainly be a hearing scheduled for your case (again, the exact procedure will vary depending on your location—here is how it works in King County, Washington as a random example; you should research the procedures followed in your area). Generally, though, this is just what it sounds like—you will usually have an opportunity to present your case, and a decision will be rendered regarding the alleged violation. You’re usually allowed to have an attorney if you want one, though it’s not required.

  At the end of the hearing, a final decision will be reached regarding your violation. You might be able to appeal it, if you want to keep fighting, but at this point paying a small fine and cutting your losses might be your best option.

If you’re like me, you spend a lot of your time worrying about all the ways your house can literally disappear. Fire, for example, is exceptionally efficient at transforming your cozy house from the place where you play video games and make poor dietary decisions into a smoldering pile of insurance claims. And house fires aren’t exactly uncommon: In 2022 there were more than 374,000 residential fires in the U.S. alone. Wildfires are always in the news—and they’re getting worse (thanks, climate change!)—but you don’t need one to see your house go up in smoke: Nearly half of residential fires are started in the kitchen.

The good news is that you can take some pretty simple—and very affordable—steps to make your home more fireproof no matter how old it is, where it’s located, or how it was designed and built. By adding these components gradually, you can keep costs manageable while slowly reducing your risk of fire.

Paints, sprays, and coatings

Fire needs fuel to burn, and your home is basically made out of fuel. Just about everything in a house—especially a wood-framed house—will cheerfully burn once fire shows up.

• Paint. One cheap way to at least slow down a fire is to use a fire-retardant paint. These paints are typically what are known as “intumescent paint.” They work by forming a protective coating (or "char") over their surface when they encounter flames. That protective coating prevents the fire from spreading—at least for a while. If you’re going to paint the house anyway, you can easily sub in fire-retardant paint and make the place more fireproof at the same time.

• Sprays. You can also purchase a fire-retardant fabric spray that can make your curtains, upholstery, carpets, and other fabrics a little harder to burn, which can at least slow down a fire in your home. Just be sure to test it out before you just go spraying it everywhere to make sure it doesn’t stain or otherwise ruin your stuff.

• Exterior. Choosing a fire-resistant siding will harden your house just a little more against flames spreading from exterior sources. Cement siding, stucco, brick, and metal siding will act as a firebreak. If you have wood siding, you can purchase inexpensive coatings that will improve its fire resistance substantially, though keep in mind you’ll need to re-apply every few years to maintain its fire-resistant properties.

• Roof. Roofing materials are classified in terms of fire-resistance: Class A materials (which include clay, concrete, slate, and metal roofs) are the most fire-resistant. If you’re not looking to spend copious amounts of money on a new roof right now, you can also purchase roof coatings that can be applied DIY-fashion that will make your roof fire resistant in addition to protecting it from the sun, weather, and other damage.

Clear debris

Even if you don’t live in an area prone to wildfires, there’s one simple thing you can do to make your home more fire-resistant: Create a firebreak around your home. This can be as simple as clearing away any combustible debris, like dead leaves, branches, and other flammable materials. You can also trim back trees so branches don’t come close to the roof. Removing anything that could transmit flames to your home reduces the chances that a fire in another house spreads to yours.

Building materials

• Fire-rated windows and doors. If you want to harden your home further against potential fires, replacing your front door with a 90-minute fire door like this one and swapping out your windows for fire-rated, heat-reflecting windows like these can make a difference. This isn’t exactly a cheap project (especially the windows), but these windows and doors will stand up to the intense heat of a fire a lot longer, preventing it from engulfing your house and potentially giving the fire department time to put out the flames.

• Fire-resistant insulation. While most standard fiberglass insulation isn’t flammable itself, it’s usually backed by paper which very much is. Choosing insulation material like mineral wool can add a bit more fireproofing to your home if you’re already going to be opening walls or ceilings for other projects.

• Spark management. Fires often spread when a spark or ember blows over to your home from another. Adding a chimney cap with a spark arrestor and ember-resistant vents to the exterior of your home can help prevent sparks from infiltrating your home. And cleaning out your dryer vent, which is packed with kindling, is an easy way to make your home slightly more fireproof than it was yesterday.

Every homeowner struggles to decide when it's really time to make a large repair or replace something expensive, like an appliance or old flooring. Windows are one such major expense that can be hard to judge when an upgrade is truly needed—or when a pushy salesperson has simply convinced you an upgrade is needed. Here’s how to tell if you really do need to replace those windows.

Leaks and drafts

The most obvious sign that you actually need to replace your windows is leaking—if water is getting into your home every time it rains, your current windows have stopped performing one of their most basic tasks. Water intrusion can be subtle—if you notice the window frames get damp when it rains, or discover mysterious puddles on the sill or floor near your window, something’s not right. It’s possible that it’s just old, failing caulk, so you can try to re-caulk your windows. But if that fails, it’s time to replace them.

Another sign it’s time to replace your windows is drafts. If you can feel the wind blow through your windows—especially if you’ve re-caulked recently—the time has come to do something about it. There are cheaper options to consider, like window inserts, but these can have downsides (like not being able to open your windows), so opening your wallet and bringing in some contractors might be a better option.

Indoor air quality

Related to leaky windows is one of the most subtle signs you need to replace them: The quality of your home’s interior air. If you suddenly notice you’re having allergy attacks even when you’re indoors, or you notice you can smell the lighter fluid every time your neighbor fires up their grill, your windows may be the culprit. You can test your home for drafts to confirm that it’s your elderly windows, starting with a visual inspection and then using incense or a lit candle to observe air currents. If your windows are letting in the outside air, you can try to re-caulk or eliminate the problem as noted, but chances are good you’ll just need to replace them.

High utility bills

There could be several reasons why it’s suddenly costing you a lot more to heat or cool your home, but if your windows are older than 10 years (the length of most standard warranties), they should be on your list of suspects (especially if you can feel a draft). Older windows just aren’t going to offer the same insulation and weather-sealing properties as newer windows, so they can be responsible for a higher utility bill. If you’ve investigated other possible causes for that huge bill and come up empty, it’s time to consider new windows.

Cloudy glass

If the glass in your window has become hazy, almost like it has a film, it usually means the seal around the frame has failed. That allows the inert, insulating gas between the panes to escape, and allows moisture to enter, which then evaporates, leaving behind deposits that form a hazy coating. It’s possible to repair foggy glass, but it’s not easy, and the fix may not last very long if the rest of the window is in poor shape.

One caveat before you opt to replace a fogged-up window: Check your warranty, if you have one. Different replacement window manufacturers have different warranty policies, which also vary depending on the product installed. Some companies may replace glass that’s become fogged up or otherwise damaged for a surprisingly long time (you’ll still have to pay labor costs, usually), so it’s worth checking into.

Stuck windows

Whatever type of windows you have, if they’re meant to open, and if you can’t open them easily, it’s possible that they need to be replaced. You can investigate to see if there’s another explanation—years of sloppy paint jobs can seal a window pretty firmly, for example—but if you come up empty, you might have swollen, rotten frames or rusted mechanisms from moisture intrusion, which means it’s time to remove those old windows and start fresh.

Keep in mind that the above indicators are more important in determining whether to replace your windows than just their age. Not all windows are created equal, and how well they've been maintained over their lifespan can make a difference, too.

Welcome to "Best Summer Ever," your guide to making the most of the sunny season. Whether your idea of a perfect summer is embarking on epic adventures or blissfully doing as little as possible (preferably somewhere with good air conditioning), we've got you covered, because the best summer doesn't just happen. You have to make it happen.

Summer is about to officially start, and that means it’s time to get your backyard into shape for the coming festivities. Every neighborhood has that one house with the banging backyard that’s comfortable, beautiful, and conducive to a chill party atmosphere—that one house everyone wants to be invited to. The secret to having the best summer hangout spot? Planning. You can’t just cross your fingers and throw something together. You have to make a plan and start executing it today if you want to have memorable hangouts all summer long.

Don’t worry, it’s not that hard—or even that expensive. All you have to do is supply comfortable seating, snacks and drinks, and some fun activities, and everyone will want to hang out in your backyard all the time. Just remember that with great power comes great responsibility; if you create the best summer hangout spot in the world, you’re obligated to share it with your friends and family on a regular basis. That’s international law. Here’s what you’ll need.

Seating and environment

Before you can host epic gatherings in your backyard, you need to make it an inviting place in a fundamental way. That means making sure people can hang out comfortably:

• Seating. No one wants to sit on the ground, so bring in some comfortable seating. A flexible, modular seating area like this one from Wisteria Lane is a great idea because it can be arranged in various ways and includes a table for casual dining options. You could also go with a more formal option for outdoor dinners with a dining set. To encourage that sense of summertime laziness, a porch swing like this one that can also serve as a napping spot captures the vibe perfectly.

• Rug. No matter how nice the deck, tile, or patio is back there, a high-quality outdoor rug makes people feel comfortable kicking off their shoes, and brings a needed dash of color and pattern to your outdoor space as well.

• Lighting and shade. For daytime hangouts, a shade sail is a must unless you have a canopy or covered area to keep the sun off your guests on hot days. Alternatively, you could set up a geodesic dome tent like this or this in case of rainy or cooler weather. When the party stretches on into the evening you obviously need to light up the area—that’s where these smart lights come into play. You can program and schedule them to create any mood at any time, turning your backyard into a special place for any occasion.

• Music. Every hangout needs some music to set the mood, but you don’t necessarily want to think about speakers all the time. These rock speakers are waterproof, solar-powered, and will blend right into your outdoor area seamlessly, creating a magical sense that the music is coming from everywhere at once.

• Fire pit. Fire pits add visual interest to your backyard hangout area, but they provide a touch of warmth when the summer night gets a little chilly. This fire pit table runs on propane, so it can placed anywhere that works, and doubles as a table for drinks, instantly creating an intimate environment that encourages conversation.

• Bug control. Finally, make sure your guests aren't swatting mosquitoes all night long with this rechargeable repeller from Thermacell. There’s no irritating zapping, scent, or smoke to get in people’s eyes—just a bug-free night.

Sustenance

Okay, you’ve got your crew over and you have a serene, comfortable spot for everyone to sit and chat. Now you have to follow the first rule of parties and feed them:

• Kitchen. Sure, you have a grill—but why not upgrade to a full outdoor kitchen so you can whip up some truly memorable meals for your guests right there in the backyard?

• Bar. Sure, a cooler full of cold drinks and a table laden with cocktail fixings will get the job done. But why not upgrade to an outdoor bar? Stock it with everything you need for some summery cocktails, and deploy the canopy if the weather’s proving to be uncooperative.

• Beverage & snack tables. One thing about backyard gatherings: If you’ve done your job in terms of setting up a comfy spot for everyone to sit, no one’s going to want to get up just to get a snack. That’s where these folding and stake-able tables come in: They hold beverages and bowls of snacks and even come with a built-in bottle opener so folks can post up next to the cooler and not have to move.

Activities

Now everyone’s comfortably seated and enjoying their fave cocktails and some grub—the final piece of the puzzle for your world-class backyard hangout spot is entertainment:

• Movies. A portable projector and a large outdoor movie screen are all you need to turn your backyard into the best movie theater known to man (or at least your neighborhood).

• Yard games. Some classic yard games will keep everyone active and let them enjoy the sunny weather to the fullest. You can go classic with some cornhole or horseshoes, or go neo-classic with a pickleball court. Whatever games you and your friends are into, have them on hand to keep the party going.

Space is a big motivator when it comes to buying a house; sometimes it seems as if people start planning to buy a bigger house the moment they move into their current one. And yet, after years of growth, new houses have actually been getting smaller over the last few years, dropping from a median of 2,519 square feet in 2015 to just 2,191 last year.

The rule of thumb on square footage is that you need about 600 to 700 square feet per person living in a house, so if you’re a family of four you ideally want about 2,400-2,800 square feet. And adding square footage can pay off—every 1,000 square feet of additional space in your home can potentially boost your home’s value by 30%. There are several options for adding square footage to your home, but most depend on having space to expand into. If you lack outdoor space, can’t build up due to zoning laws or other barriers, and you have a shallow crawl space that’s not usable for any activity except crawling, you might ask yourself if you can solve your square footage problem by going down.

Can you? Possibly. Should you? That’s a more complicated question.

Digging out

Digging out a crawl space or shallow basement is just what it sounds like: You dig, removing the dirt and other debris currently forming the floor, lowering the floor until you have usable clearance above your head. It’s more complicated than that, of course: You also have to extend and reinforce the foundation and footings via underpinning or buttressing, and you have to figure out how to remove all that dirt.

There are many considerations involved when deciding whether it’s possible to dig out your crawl space:

• Soil. The type and condition of the soil your house is built on is a big factor. Loose, sandy soil is more likely to collapse during the process.

• Age. Homes built before the 1950s rarely have foundations made from reinforced concrete, and tend to have thinner footings, making a dig out much more difficult.

• Foundation. The type of foundation matters, too; older foundations made from bricks are less stable, especially if the mortar is sandy. Monolithic concrete foundations are better for dig outs.

If you consult with a structural engineer and decide it’s possible to dig out your crawl space and get that valuable square footage added to your house, you still have to decide if it’s worth it. And it very well may not be.

Considerations

There are a lot of potentially disastrous downsides to digging out your crawl space to create a basement you can then finish:

• Cost: The total cost to dig out a crawl space and create a finished basement can be as much as $200,000. Even if you get that 30% bump in your home’s sale price, it’s going to be tough to get a solid ROI on that.

• Risk: Homes can—and do—collapse when crawl spaces are dug out. Even when proceeding with extreme caution, digging out can weaken the foundation and cause it to shift, which can set off a chain reaction of failure that leaves you not only with no new basement, but also no house.

• Cost, again: Because of that extra risk, you’d be well advised to buy extra insurance if you undertake the project—especially because catastrophic failure of your home’s stability can impact your neighbors on every side. You’d better be prepared for that kind of liability.

• Time: This isn’t a quick job. It can take weeks to dig out a crawl space, and you may not be able to stay in the home during the process.

Bottom line

You’ve got a crawl space you try your best to never enter. You’re dreaming of a finished basement or accessory dwelling unit. Should you dig out your crawl space? Only if you answer "yes" to the following questions:

1. Do you have no other option to add square footage to your home?

2. Was your home built after 1950 or so?

3. Has a licensed structural engineer signed off?

4. Are you prepared for the cost and potential liability?

If your answer is "no" to any of these questions, put down that shovel and back away from your crawlspace.

You’re not wrong to worry about getting scammed; fraud in general is on the rise (and anyone can be a victim), with losses attributed to various kinds of fraud topping $10 billion in 2023 alone. And good old-fashioned bank fraud is on the rise, too—including check fraud, which might seem surprising since paper check use has been declining since forever. Although we write fewer checks, the value of those checks has risen from an average of $673 in 1990 to $2,562 today, making them an attractive target.

But avoiding paper checks doesn’t insulate you from fraud. Paying for things online using credit cards or similar tools includes some built-in fraud protections, but there are times when using an e-check and having funds pulled directly from your bank account is preferable (when there’s a “convenience fee” for using a credit card, for example), or you might have money coming in via wire transfer. In either case, you’re suddenly faced with giving away your bank details—the routing number, account number, and wire transfer or SWIFT codes—in order to complete the transaction. And you might reasonably wonder if it’s safe to just give this information away.

The answer is: Yes, generally speaking. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful.

Banking information to keep an eye on

A quick rundown of the relevant details we’re talking about here; when I say “bank details,” I mean:

• Routing number: A nine-digit code that identifies your specific bank.

• Account number: The number of digits in your account number varies. It’s a unique identifier for a specific account at the bank or financial institution.

• SWIFT code: If you need to send or receive money internationally, you might need a Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) code. This is a number between eight and eleven digits that identifies your bank.

• ABA number: Also called a “wire routing number,” this nine-digit code is an alternative way to transfer funds internationally.

Most of these numbers are pretty easy to find. If you have paper checks issued by your bank, the routing number is printed on the bottom left, and your account number is printed to the right of that. And you can usually find your bank’s routing number and SWIFT and ABA codes by logging on to their website, calling and asking, or just looking them up online.

As I said earlier, your routing and account numbers are literally printed on your checks. These numbers are used in what are known as Automated Clearing House (ACH) transactions to move money between different banks and accounts. This means anyone who sees your check also sees your ACH info—and with that info they can commit some pretty easy fraud against your accounts. So when should you worry?

When it's OK to share your banking details

First, take note of the fact that you share your routing number and account numbers all the time. Every time you send a check, sign up for direct deposit, or enter your banking info to pay taxes or a utility bill (or sell tickets on StubHub) you’re sharing those numbers. They’re out there. A few things to keep in mind:

• Just having your account number is meaningless. No one can do anything with just your account number. They also need your bank’s routing number.

• As noted, your bank’s routing number and ABA and SWIFT codes are public info and can be looked up online, so there’s no reason to guard those with your life.

So, when should you feel safe sharing your bank routing and account numbers? A few guidelines:

• If you would be comfortable writing a check, it’s generally OK to share your bank details.

• If you know why you’re being asked for this information—you’re setting up an account, or direct deposit, or paying a bill using ACH to avoid a fee, for example—it’s generally OK.

• If there’s a legitimate, compelling reason the organization needs this info (e.g., direct deposit) or you have a compelling reason to offer it up (e.g., avoiding a fee if you pay via credit card or PayPal).

Keep in mind that when you give someone authorization to use ACH to access your bank accounts, you can always revoke that authorization, and you generally have 60 days to report fraud involving your bank account as an individual.

When you should worry

Of course, scammers can wreak serious havoc on your financial life if they get both your routing and account numbers, so you definitely do need to think twice before supplying them. Here’s when to worry:

• Insecure communications. Never give your bank details to anyone who requests them via email or text.

• Supplied links. If you’re sent a link to enter your bank details, be suspicious. Always go directly to the website of any business or organization to enter routing and account info.

• Pressure. If you prefer to use another form of payment—a credit card, for example—but you’re pressured to give out your bank details, be suspicious.

Bottom line: the key is your account number. Scammers can’t do anything without that, and they can find out everything else on their own, so if you don’t give out your account number there isn’t much they can do to you. On the other hand, if you need to get paid via wire transfer or need to pay a bill using your bank account, it’s generally safe to provide your bank details as long as you expected the request. Just be wary if it’s unexpected, or if you don’t understand why it’s necessary to provide that information.

The average price for a new car is close to $50,000 these days, which is a lot of money, and not always a good financial decision (not to mention the fact that the purchase price is only part of the cost). Even worse than the price, in many ways, is the process—anyone who has ever purchased a new car knows how long and excruciating it can be, involving several hours (or days) of your life as you engage in Jedi Mind Trick battles with a salesperson and then sign dozens of documents when you’re mentally and emotionally exhausted.

One reason the process sucks so much: Car dealerships are notorious for using tricky, sneaky tactics to get you to pay more than you need to. But you can turn the tables on them a little, because once you’ve struck a deal, in principle you have more leverage—the salesperson can smell that sale, and if you walk away, their time is as wasted as yours. This is the moment to ask for all the little things that won’t cost the dealer much, but can add up to a nice package of savings and perks for you, making this purchase a little less painful.

A full tank of gas

You might assume that the least you can expect from a car dealership is that your new car will arrive with a full tank of gas. And that is usually the case, but sometimes things go wrong—a salesperson forgets to gas up after a few test drives, or it’s simply overlooked. Considering that a full tank of gas can run as much as $100 depending on the vehicle you’re purchasing, it’s worth insisting that the contract stipulate the car will be delivered with a full tank, or that you’ll get a fuel voucher to fill it up. And while you’re at it, specify premium fuel, too.

Warranties and service plans

Dealers often toss extended warranties (that cover some repairs after the manufacturer’s warranty expires) and regular maintenance like tune-ups and oil changes into your contract and assume you’ll pay for them even though it increases your costs. But they’re not always worth it; an extended warranty only makes sense if you intend to own that car for well past the included warranty’s expiration, and even then you need to look closely at what’s covered. And most dealers will offer some kind of service and maintenance plan included with the purchase.

If you’re going to skip the extended warranty, you should ask to have it added to the contract as a freebie—all they can do is say no. Similarly, if there’s a charge for a service plan, try to have that added as well—even limited service options can save you some money down the road.

Coatings

When buying a new car, salespeople will often push various coatings—paint protection, anti-rust, anti-stain fabric applications—that they insist are necessary to keep your car from literally dissolving under the elements within days, if not hours. For the most part these coatings aren’t worth the money—cars are pretty durable right out of the factory, and while these coatings do offer some protection from normal wear and tear, the markups on them are usually breathtaking.

So, don’t buy these add-ons—but do ask that they be included in the contract as an included part of the purchase. Dealerships don’t pay much for these services (which is why they love selling them to you—that profit margin is sweet), so they can be persuaded to just throw them in if you ask nicely—and firmly—enough.

Extra keys or fobs

While most new cars these days use keyless (or even fully digital) entry and ignition, some basic models still come with mechanical keys—and if you need a fob to access the car it’s really just a key with extra steps. In either case, having a spare you can keep someplace safe is a great idea. Yet many dealers act like giving you a second key or fob requires immense effort and expense on their part. Before you sign that contract, ask them to write in a second key or fob so you don’t have to worry about losing yours.

VIN etching

VIN etching is a chemical process that burns your car’s vehicle identification number (VIN) onto the glass. It’s useful because it makes it much more difficult to sell a stolen car, which is why some insurers offer discounts on policies if your car has it. You can do VIN etching yourself cheaply, so it might not be worth the several hundred bucks your dealer will charge for the service—unless you convince them to write it into your contract for free.

Floor mats

If your new car doesn’t come with floor mats as a standard feature—and some don’t—you should definitely not buy them from the dealer. You can get them for a lot less money just about anywhere else, or spring for some laser-measured custom mats that will fit like gloves. But your dealer has floor mats they could give you—so write it into the contract and see if they’ll go for it, because free floor mats are always going to be better than floor mats you have to pay for.

Buying a house right now is a nightmare. Just a few years ago, lenders were giving out 3% mortgages left and right, but today, interest rates are hovering at around 7%. Meanwhile, home prices are soaring, with the median price nationwide currently a bit over $430,000—which means you need a six-figure income to comfortably afford a house in nearly half the country.

If you want to buy a house but the prices in your area are turning your hair white, it might be worth looking into post-foreclosure properties, otherwise known as real estate owned (REO) properties.

Why buying a real estate owned (REO) property can save you money

A real estate-owned (REO) property is one that a bank or other lender has foreclosed on, and that failed to sell at auction or as a short sale. As a result, the bank now owns the property and most probably fervently wishes it didn’t. Banks aren’t in the real estate or property maintenance business, and keeping properties on their books increases their financial risk.

That often makes the bank into a particularly motivated seller, which is good news for you: REO homes are often listed at very competitive prices—what’s known as the REO discount, which can be as much as 41% off the market value. You’re not guaranteed to save that much, and it's not like you’re going to buy a turnkey million-dollar house for a bargain, but you can definitely save some money by going this route.

One major caveat of considering REO properties is that they are typically sold as-is, so if the defaulting owner let the maintenance and repairs slide towards the end of their ownership, you might have a lot of expensive repairs to deal with. On the other hand, the bank will usually have cleared away any liens or debts (like unpaid property taxes) because they want to avoid obstacles that will prevent a quick sale. All this means that if you’re not afraid of buying an as-is house that might need significant repairs, buying an REO property from a bank can save you bank.

How to find REO listings

Finding REO properties takes a little bit of research, because there’s no centralized listing service you can refer to. But there are some common ways to discover them:

• Bank websites. Banks often have entire REO departments, and maintain websites listing the REO properties they’re trying to sell. Bank of America, for example, lists their properties here.

• The Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The MLS is used by real estate professionals, and offers listings of REO and foreclosed properties as well. Some banks list their REO properties directly on the MLS.

• Foreclosure databases. Every REO home starts off as a foreclosure, so tracking foreclosures that fail to sell can let you be first in line for a plum REO listing. You can track foreclosures using a foreclosure database like RealtyTrac, Auction.com, or Foreclosures.com. Since real estate databases like Zillow or Trulia also list foreclosed properties you can do the same thing—track a property to see if it fails to sell.

• Federal databases. The Federal government writes a lot of home loans, and gets stuck with REO properties like any other lender. When they do, they list them at HomePath (Fannie Mae properties) or HomeSteps (Freddie Mac), or HUD Homestore (Federal Housing Administration-owned homes).

• An experienced realtor. If you decide to target REO homes, it’s a good idea to identify a real estate professional in your area who has REO experience and has been granted a short sales and foreclosure (SFR) certification by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The NAR maintains a searchable database of these agents, which can help you find someone in your area. You should also get pre-approved for financing. Banks are eager to get REO houses off their books, so they like to know you’re ready to pull the trigger.

Buying a house—any house—increasingly requires a small fortune and a tolerance for high interest rates, and renting isn’t any less bleak, with prices through the roof all over the country. So if you’ve currently got a roof over your head, congratulations! It’s something of an achievement, even if it isn’t fancy.

But what if you want fancy? Maybe you’re tired of builder-grade everything (though not all “builder-grade” stuff is worth changing). Maybe you just want to feel that rush of pride when people come over to your place. If you want a house that looks fancy without having to get a second job to pay for luxe materials, you have a lot of options. Here are 11 ways to make your house look expensive without spending a lot of money.

But first, clean and declutter

The first step toward a house that seems more expensive and luxurious is to declutter and organize everything in it. A tidy house has been proven to be a more valuable property overall (homes that are kept neat are worth about $3,700 more on average), and rooms with clean lines and no mess can give even the most modest space a more minimalist, purposeful look that feels fancier.

Add garage hinge magnets

Do you have some pretty standard, low-rent garage doors? You can make them look a lot more expensive and luxe for about $20-30 with some simple handle and hinge magnets. These just slap into place to instantly make your cheap garage door look like a much more expensive Carriage House look. You can see the effect in this video, and it’s pretty dramatic.

Install deck tiles

Outdoor spaces increase our enjoyment of a property—and the property’s value. But if your outdoor space is a broken concrete patio, a weather wooden deck, or a bare patch of dirt it’s not exactly inspiring (or comfortable) to use. The good news is that it’s easy to quickly and cheaply upgrade that area as long as it’s structurally sound (if your deck is threatening to collapse in the next stiff wind, no amount of cheap solutions will save you).

Luckily, all you need are some outdoor interlocking wood tiles to instantly turn that patio, deck, or patch of dirt into a luxurious outdoor space that looks a lot more expensive than it is. If you have an IKEA nearby, you can get enough tiles to cover a 9x9 space for less than $200, and it’s a job that can usually be accomplished in just an hour or two.

Cover your appliances in stainless steel contact paper

One dead giveaway that your house isn’t exactly a luxury model is the busted old appliances in your kitchen. Buying all new stainless steel appliances might be outside your budget, but you can get the same look for just a little money using stainless steel peel-and-stick contact paper. This stuff is waterproof, and if applied with some care it will fool just about anyone, instantly transforming your old appliances into shiny new (looking) ones. You can see the process of applying it here (using these kits, which are designed for specific appliances).

Use peel and stick tiles everywhere

Peel-and-stick technology is the cheapskate’s secret friend. They make a surprisingly large range of peel-and-stick items, from “tile” backsplashes to faux wood planks that can be used for accent walls or to even make a faux shiplap ceiling, or contact paper that can be applied to your kitchen counters to transform cheap counters into expensive-looking stone.

Install new flooring over your gross carpet

If you’re stuck with a ratty old carpet in your house that you can’t remove or replace, whether because you’re renting or because you can’t afford a full-on renovation, a relatively inexpensive solution is to install laminate flooring over your carpet. Yes, this is possible—you shouldn't consider it a permanent solution, but it provides an instant upgrade from the pink shag your landlord insists is “fine.”

If your carpet is pretty low-pile, you might be able to put the new floor directly on top of it; if your carpet’s a bit heftier you’ll probably need to put down a thin plywood underlayment. Either way, this is an affordable project that can have a dramatic effect on any room.

Install molding

One reason your house looks kind of basic? Your bare walls. Sure, you can solve that with some well-chosen art, but you can also do amazing things using wood picture frame molding. With the right tools and some time, you can create striking patterns on your walls that combine subtlety with elegance, giving it a bespoke look for not much money. (For less than not much money, you can even use pell-and-stick molding, like this stuff. You can get about 10 feet for less than $20.)

Upgrade your knobs and pulls

Whether your kitchen cabinetry (or any cabinetry in the house, actually) uses knobs or pulls (and yes, there is a difference), you can transform their look for less a few hundred bucks, depending on what you choose. Combined with a fresh paint job on your cabinets (or even a vinyl wrap), fancy new pulls or knobs will make it look like you renovated when all you did was work a few screws.

Add floor to ceiling window treatments

Hanging your curtains as close to the ceiling as possible and running those curtains to the floor will make your rooms look bigger and draw the eye up, making the space seem larger, brighter, and more expensive. People like higher ceilings and associate them with a sense of freedom, and are often willing to pay more for homes they perceive to have higher ceilings. And all you need to accomplish this is some curtain rods and some fabric.

Get new lampshades

If your home utilizes a lot of lamps that you bought in bulk at a big-box store because you needed to light up your rooms without hiring an electrician or spending too much, they might be contributing to the sense that your house isn’t very luxe. The lampshades provided with your typical mass-produced lamp aren’t exactly stylish—or durable.

Luckily, the solution isn’t expensive: You just need some cooler lampshades. This could involve a few art projects to spruce up the ones you already have, or a few new lampshades (like this, or this) to give your sad lamps a nice sense of luxury.

Install DIY built-ins

Built-in storage units like bookshelves add to a sense that the home is expensive, and are generally thought to add value to a house. But adding actual built-ins to your house can be pricey, since it might require a carpenter to custom design and install shelving or cabinetry. Or you can get a similar effect for much less money by buying Ikea storage, combining units, and painting.

For example, this homeowner used Ikea BILLY shelving units to create a pretty cool built-in effect. In fact, anywhere in your house where you can fit a pre-built cabinet or bookshelf can be made to look like a super expensive built-in even on a modest budget.

An earlier version of this article incorrectly calculated the cost of covering a space in deck tiles.