Are you contemplating your autumn investments? You may want to look closer to home than the financial markets. Before the weather turns nasty and the snowplows start up, think about ways you can invest in your home and happiness this fall.
Smart investments you can make this fall includes a lot of ordinary, everyday things that you may have overlooked while contemplating your finances. Perhaps you’re looking at stocks when you should be thinking about your roof, for example. Or maybe you’re contemplating 401K investments when the true value lies in investing in your home before winter hits.
If you aren’t sure where to begin with your autumn investments, try making a financial spreadsheet. This kind of spreadsheet can give you a bird’s eye view of all your financial obligations, as well as opportunities you have for investments.
While preparing for autumn investments, look beyond the expected and explore options that you might not have considered initially. Here, we’ll suggest 7 of the best autumn investments you can make in your home, your property, and your life.
1. Get Rid of Pests
You don’t want to spend the long winter months shut inside with pests. Make an early investment in pest extermination to ensure you can have a peaceful fall and winter this year.
Pests try to escape the cold and bad weather just like we do. That may unfortunately mean that they try to find a way into your home, however. Mice, rats, squirrels, birds, spiders, moths, and even bats could try to make your home their own as the cold sets in. That might make winter even more miserable.
Get on top of the issue by making one of your autumn investments pest control. There are some ways you can try to keep out the pests on your own, but a professional will tend to do a more thorough job. They may even find pests and issues you were completely unaware of.
Whether you hire professionals or not, there will still be things you can and should do on your own as general maintenance and upkeep for dealing with pests. This includes very simple things like vacuuming and emptying the trash regularly. These two ordinary chores can discourage pests from settling in, since you will disrupt their food supplies.
For even better protection, try to seal up any holes or cracks you find around the home. You can use caulk or expanding foam for an easy DIY solution. Holes and cracks can invite pests in by giving them the means to sneak into the home undetected.
It is similar for your food. Making sure your refrigerator and containers seal tightly will keep food smells from attracting critters who may be looking for a warm place to wait out winter.
2. Invest in Heating and Cooling
Your heating and air conditioning system will be extremely important in winter. That’s why one of the best autumn investments is in your heating and cooling system. Sure, you aren’t using your air conditioning right now, but it is often all part of the same system and you definitely want to make sure that system is running properly before winter sets in.
If it has been a while since you’ve used heat in your home, autumn is a good time to put a lighter load on that system and see if it is still running well. You should search for things like leaks and gaps in windows. These can allow hot air to escape, making your heating system less efficient and driving up your bills.
A great way to help out your heating system this winter is simply by sealing up windows. Make weather stripping one of your autumn investments. This is a smart investment as it will save you a ton of money in heating and electricity costs as the weather continues to get colder.
A larger investment might be in repairs or maintenance for your HVAC system. An HVAC technician can help ensure your system is in tip-top shape ahead of winter. If your system is older or you think it may have issues, this is an invaluable investment. And if you don’t have a proper heating system at all, you definitely want to make that investment before it is too late and you’re stuck bundling up and shivering.
3. Invest in a Car
How about for a more creative investment? If you have a car, or even if you don’t, you might make one of your autumn investments a salvage car.
Restoring a car on your own can be a massively rewarding project. It is not just a financial investment, but also a lifestyle investment. If you have a garage, you can work on your car even in the midst of winter. Search for salvage cars for sale in your area to see what kinds of options might be available to you.
There are many advantages to a salvage car. A classic car can actually be a very cost-effective investment. Because their parts are interchangeable with other models of cars from the same time period, you can actually end up spending less on a classic car instead of a modern vehicle.
A classic car you’re restored yourself can also give you fuel efficiency and tax savings. You can make some alterations to classic cars that you’ve salvaged in order to increase their fuel efficiency, but even the baseline isn’t too bad. When it comes to taxes, you may get a huge tax rebate if your car counts as “historic.” Look up whether your car qualifies for this massive tax break.
But maybe this is all just for fun. That is also a worthwhile investment. Autumn investments don’t need to be purely practical. You can do something that is just for fun, as winter can be a dreary time of year. Perhaps you just enjoy restoring cars. Perhaps you want to use a cheap car to salvage auto racing parts or other parts you can use in a different vehicle. How this investment plays out is truly up to you.
4. Make Sure Your Roof Is Winter Ready
One of the most important locations in your home during winter if your roof. We mentioned pests above. The roof is one of the places where they can sneak in. Beyond that, the roof can also be a place that either helps heat stay inside or allows it to escape, driving up your winter heating bills.
If you need residential roofing services, fall is a good time to make that investment. If you make roof repair one of your autumn investments, you can go into winter with the security that you will keep out pests and keep in warm air.
The roof is so critical for your comfort and safety during winter. All roofs will wear down over time, so if your roof is getting older, it may be a good time to give it a quick look. If you can safely access your roof, check it for clogged gutters, cracked shingles, and gaps. Any of these things can quickly become a larger problem over the course of the winter. However, once winter sets in it will become more difficult to repair these kinds of issues.
In fact, if you aren’t sure where to start with your autumn investments, you might even consider starting at the roof. If you only manage to make one investment during fall, a sound, sturdy roof would certainly be a smart one.
5. Clean Up Your Yard
Another outdoor area to consider while making autumn investments is your yard. While winter likely means you don’t need to mow and trim anymore, you will face different challenges as fall sets in.
If you have a lot of trees, they will likely start changing as the weather shifts. While this can be extremely beautiful, it can also result in a lot of yard waste. Make sure you stay on top of this, as yard waste that is left unattended can lead to issues with pests and even bald spots on your lawn. If you have a lot of leaves and branches to deal with, invest in yard waste removal to ensure that waste doesn’t sit around and ruin your lawn.
Beyond just trees, if you have plants or a garden, fall is a good time to rotate those plants. Some plants do fine surviving the winter, but others simply won’t last. You might consider investing in plants that thrive in colder temperatures. At a minimum, it is a good idea to clear out old, dead plants, as these can invite pests and rot in your yard.
Also spare a thought for any inanimate objects in your yard. Maybe you have a pool or toys or just gardening tools. Pack those away in a shed and make sure they are in the proper place before winter turns harsh. Tools that are buried under snow not only will get ruined, but they can also be a hazard if someone unwittingly stepped on them.
6. Invest in Your Health
One of the best autumn investments you can make is in your health. Winter can be a time of stagnation because of the weather, but that is not a good reason to neglect your health and well-being. There is still a lot you can do indoors to ensure you’re healthy.
If you are the sort of person who gets down when the days turn shorter and darker, eating healthy and exercising when you can help a lot. Invest in your health this fall by starting up a consistent, healthy diet. That doesn’t mean you can never have ice cream or candy, but an overall healthy diet will help keep both your body and your mind healthy.
You also might search for ways to stay active indoors. These days, even video games can be very active and they’re perfect for a blustery winter day. If you don’t have anything you can use in your home to get moving this winter, autumn might be the time to invest. Even a simple yoga mat can open a lot of possibilities for you in terms of exercise options when you can’t go outside.
Healthy eating and exercise aren’t a cure-all, however. You shouldn’t stop investing in things like doctors appointments as well. You don’t need to do anything fancy. A walk-in medical clinic might be able to see you so you can get a normal check-up with a doctor before winter.
7. Don’t Forget to Spend Money on Fun
With all of this said, one of the most important autumn investment you can make is in fun.
For many, winter is a dark and dreary time. There are fewer opportunities to go outside. The weather is cold and uninviting. It is easy to get down when there is less sunlight as well.
That’s why it’s so important to invest in fun this fall. Perhaps that means video games. Perhaps that means an artistic pursuit.
One of the best ways to invest in winter fun is to find an outdoor activity you can do during the winter. You could find an arctic cat dealer and search for snowmobiles and ATVs that might allow you to create your own winter getaway. Or you could look for a sporting goods store near you and see what kinds of options they have for winter. You don’t need to ski down black diamonds to have fun outside in winter. Perhaps all you need is better cold weather gear so you can go for a walk or build a snowman.
These investments are about more than just fun. They can help keep you healthier overall. If you get down, it might also be harder to keep up with a healthy diet and doctors appointments. By investing in your happiness, you are making an investment in your long-term well-being.
This fall, think about how your autumn investments impact your entire life and not just a single transitory season. You don’t need to buy stocks to improve your life. Worthwhile autumn investments can be something as simple as weather stripping for your windows, snow boots so you can play outside, or a home repair you’ve been neglecting.
