Most people think about house improvement projects as all the little things you can repair or do around your house to make it more livable. But home improvement projects don’t have to be limited to small budgets or simply involve a few minutes of work on the weekend.

Today’s home improvements are becoming more expensive and many times home owner must take out a loan to cover the project or borrow money from some existing asset. Using borrowed money to improve a home is a much cheaper option than buying a new home and moving for most people.

Larger home improvement projects that require financing could including adding an addition to your home, remodeling your home to add more space, upgrading the appointments in a kitchen or bathroom, installing a new furnace or cooling system, replacing a roof or installing siding or simply putting in a new swimming pool.

There are two general types of home improvement loans. There are unsecured home improvement loans and a secured home improvement loans. Within those two types there are many different loan products which can give you extra money, though each has it’s own good points and potential drawbacks. The differences among the loan products are many, but let’s focus on the two types of home improvement loans that are generally available:

Unsecured house improvement project loan: You can get a loan that doesn’t require you to put up anything of value as collateral. These loans are called “unsecured” or “personal” loans and they are often small loans based on your income and credit score. Credit cards can be used as a type of home improvement loans and some credit cards are specially designed just for this purpose.

Secured home upgrade loans: A loan that has some sort of collateral, such as existing home value, tied to it is called a secured loan. Secured loans usually have smaller interest rates and are available from many different lending institutions.

The type of loan you choose should be based on the size of your house improvement project, your credit score, your income and the amount of equity or collateral you have readily available. Remember that there are many different types of lending vehicles and only you can decide what the best credit card for home improvements or best home remodeling loan method is right for you. Borrowing money to improve your home will generally raise the value of your home, though the value may not always exceed the amount of money you borrowed initially.

Since the housing crash a lot of people have found themselves in homes that don’t have any equity built up, meaning they have no easy way to pay for the home improvement projects they planned when they first moved into their homes. Though selling a home and moving can be expensive, it can be just as costly to upgrade an existing home in many cases due to the high cost of construction materials and labor.

Most large home improvement projects are simply too expensive for anyone to pay for all at once without some financial assistance. By the same token, home improvements have become much more involved and complex and often entail completely changing a room rather than just replacing a light switch and applying some new paint. Here are some budget-friendly ways you can make paying for a home improvement much easier:

Do A Little At A Time: Let’s face it, some big projects don’t have to be done all at once. A lot of times you can have parts of the project done over a couple years to defray costs. One year you may put up walls in your basement. The next year you may finish up the floors and the year after that you might choose to put in a wood burning stove and a few extra windows. Almost any large home improvement project can be broken into smaller, more affordable, jobs.

Hardware Store Credit Cards: A lot of home improvement stores such as Lowe’s and The Home Depot offer low interest rate credit cards with zero interest or no payments for a limited amount of time. If you’re able to buy all the materials from one of these stores with a credit card you may be able to spead the costs of the home improvement out over many payments, making it much more affordable.

Do The Project Yourself: Not everyone is a handyman, but most people can learn some basic home building and upgrading skills to at least do a little bit of work before hiring a professional. Even demolition work can be done by yourself if you’re careful. That alone can save you a lot of money. If you’re really handy then you might be able to complete your entire home improvement job and save thousands of dollars in labor costs.

Let’s face it: we all want a great house to live in, but that sometimes comes at a pretty steep price. By spreading out the payments and trying to do some work yourself you can save lots of money and turn an expensive house remodeling project into an affordable series of smaller payments. You’ll be surprised at how quickly your current house can become your dream home!