Planning on hibernating all winter long? Better make sure your home is a cozy refuge from Old Man Winter first. With dreams of rolling up in your blankets and staying there until the first crocus blooms in spring, your wintertime plans hinge on a warm and insulated space to call home. Making sure your home is prepared for the worst of the season can be expensive, but it doesn’t mean you have to give up on your plans. Check in with these good money management tips. Here are some wallet-friendly ways to cover the costs of winterization. It’s Not Too Late to Winterize Your Home!

It’s Not Too Late to Winterize Your Home

Know What You Can Afford

Depending on the size, age, and condition of your home, there may be an overwhelming number of tasks on your to-do list. Can you afford to cover them all?

If you aren’t sure, write down everything you want to accomplish this winter. Hash out how much each job will cost in terms of time, materials, or hiring a professional.

Next, sit down and draw up a budget to see what you can cover. By tracking your expenses and comparing them with your income, you’ll learn two valuable things:

1. How much money you have after you pay for the necessities, if you don’t change the way you spend.
2. Possible bad spending habits you may limit or eliminate entirely to free up more cash for your chores.

Sacrifice Frills to Save More

Between servicing your furnace and repairing damaged weatherstripping, these winterization chores add up. Once you see the price tag, it may be tempting to get a personal line of credit right away.

But this might not be the best strategy.

Financial institutions like CreditFresh recommend only using a personal line of credit for unexpected emergency expenses when money is tight.

Old Man Winter is an annual guest you can expect roughly at the same time each year, so your winterization chores might not fit the bill.

Before you rely on credit for help, try targeting bad spending habits and saving the cash you free up.

For many people, these bad spending habits tend to be fun frills — things drinks, food, and entertainment — but don’t stop there. Look to anything that isn’t a need. If you can bear living without it in the time it takes you to winterize your home, you may save the cash you need.

Only then ask yourself: do I need a personal line of credit to afford these chores? The answer may be a lot different from before you started!

Prioritize Your Jobs

If you’re working on a limited budget, even after you scrimp and save, don’t panic.

It’s not always possible to cover everything you want, but by giving priority to important chores, you may take on what you need.

Sit down and rank your chores from most to least essential. Work on the tasks at the top of your list before moving down to the bottom. This way, you’ll focus on necessary chores and avoid sinking money into an upgrade that is more frill than function.

Between balancing your budget and winterizing your home, you have a lot of work ahead of you before you can veg out on the couch without guilt. So what are you waiting for? Get started on your list of chores and check in with your budget now.