If you find yourself with a little extra cash and are faced with the decision of whether to take a vacation or stay home (aka staycation) to make home repairs with the money, there are several factors in today’s economy that you should consider.
Vacation Money Going Further
With weak economies in the U.S. and worldwide, your vacation money can go further then before. It’s also a great time to travel because the crowds are smaller and small businesses are focused on providing the best possible service to their smaller set of customers in an effort to keep afloat. Americans are also discovering that the US dollar isn’t as weak as the past few years.
There’s no denying that a vacation always sounds nice and might be needed more now then ever before. The more difficult decision may be whether to take a vacation within the U.S. to help out the U.S. economy, or whether to travel abroad to a place more exotic and further away from it all.
Home Repairs Are a Mixed Bag
Though prices are cheaper and it is a buyers market for hiring contractors, making home repairs may not be the wisest move. If you are planning to sell your house in under 3 years and the home repairs are more targeted towards selling your house, you may want to think twice before spending extra money on making home repairs as selling a home is terribly difficult right now considering the excess supply of new homes that are selling below their typical market value as banks sell foreclosed or short sold houses.
On the other hand, there is an excess of contractors seeking work and home repair supplies are priced in favor of the consumer right now. With unemployment at 10 percent, chances are you have friends of family members who would jump at the chance to earn some money under the table from you.
Bottom Line: Take Vacation or Staycation?
If you have excess money, it is a great time to take a vacation thanks to economic woes throughout the world. On the other hand, if you are considering a staycation to make home improvements with your excess cash, just be sure that you are doing it for comfort or long-term improvements, instead of increasing the value of your home because the value is overshadowed by market factors right now. Ultimately, it is a personal decision - just make sure you’ve considered the out of the ordinary factors mentioned above.
