Home Emergencies To Budget For

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There is little you can do to control when your home needs an emergency repair. However, you can control the repair’s impact on your finances by setting aside funds to cover said emergency expenses. You can determine how much or how little you’d need to make sure you’re covered by researching the exact repairs that you could end up needing at a moment’s notice, that way you won’t find yourself short on the needed cash when the time comes. Here are some home emergencies to budget for.

Broken Windows

Broken windows are unsightly and rather dangerous. Broken glass can leave a family member, a pet, or a visitor with serious injuries, and the open hole in your window can expose your home to the elements or potential intruders. Putting plywood or a trash bag over the broken window should only be as temporary a fix as possible, as either can announce you have a broken window and become the eyesore of your curb appeal.

On average, repairing broken windows will cost anywhere around $350, depending on the glass used and the window’s location. If the windowpane has also been destroyed, expect to pay up to possibly $700. It’s up to you to decide whether or not the windowpane also getting destroyed is as likely as the window, and as a result whether or not it’s worth setting aside enough to cover both.

Broken Pipes

Some plumbing problems are easy to fix. Others are a catastrophe that requires contacting the help of plumbing services to get fixed. Something like a broken pipe is an expensive catastrophe.

Your pipes can break either because of corrosion or because of freezing. You need to stop everything when this happens, turn off your home’s main water valve, and contact a plumber immediately.

Hopefully, this emergency does not happen when you are away from home. If it does and water is allowed to run, you might have a sizable expense on your hands when it comes to repairing the water damage and the pipe itself, which can end up costing you anywhere in the thousands of dollars range to repair.

Broken Appliances

There are some appliances in your home that you can live without, like your coffee maker or hairdryer. Other appliances are essential to keeping your home healthy and keeping your family happy. For example, if your washing machine, freezer, or stove breaks, it will impact your quality of life immediately and severely.

It is especially a good idea to have enough money in your emergency fund to cover the cost of replacing or repairing one or two of these appliances in a hurry. Appliance repair may cost you a couple of hundred dollars, while completely replacing them will be significantly more expensive.

A Broken Water Heater

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know how frustrating a broken water heater can be. A cold shower on a cold winter morning sounds terrible.

There are several reasons why your water heater may break, including corrosion, sediment buildup, a damaged thermostat, faulty valves, etc. If your water heater starts leaking, it can cause severe damage to your home. Water heater repairs usually cost upward of $500. Replacing your water heater may cost up to $1,500.

Needing an emergency repair on your home can be frustrating. However, if you plan and set aside money or use cash advance apps as you go for potential emergencies, you can minimize your frustration while fixing the problem that needs to be addressed promptly and before it has the chance to get worse.

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