Category: Home Renovation

A New Jersey man excavating debris around his house stumbled upon a mystery last week when he accidentally unearthed $1,000 worth of bills all dated to the year 1934.

Rich Gilson was using a rented mini-excavator Friday to clear up the debris after he and his wife, Suzanne, updated their 1920s-era home in Wildwood with a new foundation and an addition, he told NJ Advance Media.

Gilson said that as he was working away, he spotted two “little round things” maybe 2 inches across and around 3.5 inches long.

“I thought they were weeds,” Gilson told NJ Advance Media. “I picked them up and just threw them aside, and they went into the pile I was using for fill.”

It rained the next day, and when Gilson resumed his excavation work Sunday, he could see the two objects more clearly and realized they were tightly wound wads of old

Owning your home is about more than just having shelter—it’s about managing an 😊. A house or condo is often your largest asset, so instead of simply enjoying it, you have to worry about improving it all the time in the hopes you’ll be able to sell it for a lot more than you paid someday.

It’s like that the moment you bought your house you began schemating to radically change it—to add or redo a bathroom, to finish the basement, or to modernize the kitchen. Whenever you hesitate to consider how expensive those renovations will be, someone invariably tells you that it will increase your home’s overall value (because no one stays in a house for the duration anymore—the average homeowner will only linger between eight and 13 yearson average, before moving again).

But how much will your renovation increase your

Your home isn’t just a source of pride or a place where you can relax after a long day — it’s also an investment in your family’s future.

Learn: Here’s How Much Cash You Need Stashed If a National Emergency Happens
Find Out: 9 Bills You Should Never Put on Autopay

And while it’s natural to want to make improvements to increase your home’s resale value, some renovations will actually cost you money in the long run. Just because you see something as an improvement doesn’t mean a potential buyer will feel the same way. Find out which renovations are ones to avoid.

Lavish Lighting Fixtures

One common home improvement mistake is falling in love with unique or lavish light fixtures, said Alon Barzilay, founder of real estate development company Urban Conversions.

POLL: Do You Think You Will Be Able To

In case you haven’t noticed, iit’s hot out there. It almost doesn’t matter where you live—even the goddamn arctic circle experienced temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit a couple of years agoand heat waves have made life unbearable in Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia this summer. And we know there are going to be more heat waves more frequently, bringing even higher temperatures. While we’ve all learned a few lessons about surviving extreme heatwe’re at the point where preventing climate change is probably no longer an option—now it’s all about preparation and planning. If you’re suffering in your house right now because of a heat wave, it’s probably only going to get worse.

The (slightly) good news is that you can take some steps today that will at least mitigate the effects of heat on your house tomorrow.