If I get a holiday bonus from work, I try to use it to invest in my house and property.
Even though this place was built decades ago, I have slowly renovated it during the time living here. Instead of spending it on alcohol or food, I’m building equity in my home. And because of my construction experience, I don’t need to pour lots of money into labor fees with a handyman or a home contractor. The real cost is in supplies like plywood which have risen in value over the past few years to a degree that we have never seen before. You have to factor in the cost of materials whenever you’re planning a new improvement on your home. Unfortunately, my skills in home improvement projects don’t extend into the world of heating and cooling. On top of that, you can void warranties with HVAC manufacturers by installing or repairing their equipment if you’re not a certified HVAC technician. But even when I found a good HVAC company for my new heating and cooling system, I got stuck trying to choose the equipment and style of HVAC. I had read about geothermal heat pumps but was taken aback by the insane cost of installation. But since my holiday bonus was a lot larger than I was first anticipating, I used that money as a downpayment on a geothermal heat pump while putting the rest of the equipment on a payment plan. Obviously the quality of my indoor climate control jumped with the geothermal heat pump, but I wasn’t expecting the value on my house to jump so high. I guess these are coveted HVAC systems and are seen as the ultimate investment in climate control if money wasn’t an issue. They’re inaccessible to most people unless they were lucky enough to find a house for sale that already has a geothermal heat pump installed.