TIP OF THE WEEK

DEPENDING on which website you believe, autumn is already here, or nearly. I am not going to start on my tips for autumn yet, but the first two months of the year have flown past and before we realise it the first third of the year will be history.

It is difficult to discuss what you need to be doing around your home in general terms as this column is now published in Joburg and Durban, where the weather is different from ours in sleepy Cape Town. However, it pays to be prepared and to plan for the unexpected.

The current state of the economy means more contractors are battling to survive, and you need to be aware that as the work pool shrinks, it will become harder to find reliable contractors. To this end, please plan early and get all to-do things out of the way while they are still small and have not had the chance to grow into a monster headache.

Here are the things to do:

Start preparing a list of what needs to be done around your home relevant to the weather conditions heading your way.

Get some idea of what this is likely to cost so you can budget accordingly.

Decide what is critical and what is a nice-to-have. I am not your financial adviser, but I do know that it is more important to have the roof fixed than to buy a new golf club or visit to spa, neither of which will keep the rain out.