Saving Money By Buying New: 3 Things To Replace Around Your Home

We live in a commercial age. Advertising and spending money is something that we've come to accept as a natural part of society. As a consumer, you want to save money and avoid the 28.8 million small business that are trying to market to you. Many consumers choose to buy used products, turn to DIY-solutions, and ask for help from friends and family when it comes to repairing your home.

But when it comes to saving money around your home, sometimes it's necessary to buy new products to keep old products from biting into your budget. While certain items like household appliances could be kicking up your energy bills, other items like personal care products could be the reason you've been taking unplanned sick days.

To help you save money in unexpected places, here are three common household items you'll want to replace.

Your kids' old toothbrushes

According to the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools, approximately 51 million school hours are lost every year due to dental-related illness. While insurance might cover check-ups and cavities, you could be losing money in unpaid leave staying home with your kids when their illness could be prevented.

Experts recommend replacing your toothbrushes every three months to prevent the spread of bacteria.

Your home's old faucets

Replacing an old faucet is a project that can be tackled with just a basin wrench and a few common tools within one hour. And in that hour you can end up saving your home a lot of money. About 13.7% of water use is the result of leaks, according to Plumbing Manufacturers International.

What's more, only 3% of the Earth's water is fresh water, which means water waste is not only impacting your utility bills but also the environment. Replace your old faucets with new, water-efficient faucets to save money and to reduce your environmental impact.

Your home's ancient HVAC system

While it's something that you may take for granted, your home's HVAC system is responsible for a large portion of your utilities.  In fact, heating and cooling makes up 54% of annual utility bills on average. Needless to say, it's important to make sure that it's running as efficient as possible to save on your total utility expenses. If your home's HVAC system is older than 15 years or you're not sure when it was installed after you moved in, it might be time to have it replaced. While a new HVAC system isn't the cheapest, it can help you save a lot of money in the long run by:

• Reducing energy costs. Old HVAC systems aren't very efficient and so they'll often run for a longer period of time to deliver the heat or cool air you need. After years of debris accumulating and possible damage, your duct work's performance abilities will decrease. A build up can end up leading to a loss of up to 42%. This unnecessarily drives up your energy costs.


• Reducing air pollutants. Approximately 83% of travelers say they would choose to stay in an allergy-friendly room if they had the choice. Chances are you would do the same. But when you use an old HVAC system, air pollutants could be circulating through your home more frequently. Air pollutants can cause cold-like symptoms and respiratory infections, leading to more frequent doctor visits and unplanned sick days.


• Improving airflow. One of the most frustrating things about an old HVAC system is that it'll run for a while but won't make certain areas in your home any warmer or cooler. Because of this, you end up spending unnecessary money on fans and space heaters to make up for it.

In a perfect world, the household items we invest in would last forever. But sometimes the older our products get, the less efficient and more costly they become. By replacing the items above, you can reduce your home's energy costs and prevent sickness from keeping you away from your work so you can focus more on saving and less on unnecessary spending.