Angie's List: Tips on budgeting for home improvements

Having an emergency fund -- even a small one -- can feel like a real life-saver.

Angie Hicks, co-founder of Angie’s List, shares a few tips on budgeting for home improvement.

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Olive garden was bestowed with the honor of "america's best casual dining all homes, at some point in time, will require maintenance.

And it's wise to set aside money to be prepared for when that happens.

41nbc anchor shelby coates has this week's angie's list report.

(((shelby intro))) having an emergency fund -- even a small one -- can feel like a real life-saver.

Here are a few tips... on budgeting for home improvement... so you aren't surprised when the bill comes.

(((take pkg))) angie hicks, co-founder of angie's list the last few months, we've been asking our houses to work overtime.

We are really, really putting forth a lot of wear and tear on them, asking them to be schools, work offices and our homes.

So now's the time to be thinking about how we're going to budget for any kind of expenses related to our house, and there's really 2 ways to go about it.

One is to think about the maintenance that needs to be done around your house and the other is to think about, hey are there any upgrades or dream projects i'm thinking about.

But the first thing to do is to go through and make a list of those items, independent of thinking about how much you want to spend, that way you can prioritize the most important things first.

Voiceover (:12) plan to save about 1 percent to three percent of your home's value every year... for home maintenance expenses.

Some years you'll spend more... and some you'll need less.

Use your list... to see how far your savings need to go.

Angie hicks, co-founder of angie's list first you want to think about the maintenance projects you want to do to make sure you're keeping your house running smoothly, and then after you lay those against your budget, think about the upgrades you want to do.

Voiceover (:10) when considering upgrades... it's worth thinking about the r-o-i ... even if you aren't planning to sell soon.

So be sure to compare with homes around you.

Angie hicks, co-founder of angie's list the key here is you want to keep up with the neighborhood, but you don't want to be the highest priced house in the neighborhood.

So if everybody has granite countertops, go ahead and put them in.

But if they don't, it might be an investment that doesn't have a great return.

Once you've decided how you're going to spend your budget this year, now's the time to get estimates.

Keep in mind, a lot of companies are using more technology to provide estimates than they every have been before.

So you might be able to video chat with your contractor versus meeting with them in person.

Ask about those types of tools they might be using when you're getting those estimates.

Voiceover (:15) get estimates that are itemized..

So you see exactly what you're paying for ... and can effectively compare your options.

If there are items on one estimate... that are missing from others ... be sure to ask.

And lastly remember ... to always expect the unexpected.

Angie hicks, co-founder of angie's list as you're planning your individual projects, be sure to add extra cushion to your budget.

It's not unusual that your budget might go over a little bit.

So adding 1?20% to your budget makes sure that you don't get surprised and doesn't add undue stress on your project if things come