Home Repair and Replacement Reserve Planner

Who this is for

Save ahead for the big replacements a home needs. Each major part of the house gets a line with its age, your own estimate of how long it will last and what replacing it will cost, and the sheet works out the years left, the gap still to save and a monthly amount to put aside.

Homeowners who would rather pay for a new roof, boiler or kitchen from savings than from a loan, new buyers getting to know a house, and anyone whose household budget should include the house itself.

What this helps you track

• The age of each major part of the home and your estimate of its life
• The years left before each one is likely to need replacing
• Your own replacement cost estimate and what is already saved towards it
• A monthly amount to set aside for each part and in total
• Where each life and cost estimate came from

How to use it

1. Write the home, the date you reviewed the figures and where the reserve money is kept.
2. For each part, enter its age in years, from receipts, installer records or a survey, and your own estimate of its life from the manual, the maker or whoever fitted it.
3. Enter a replacement cost from a recent quote or price check and what you have saved towards it, and note where both figures came from.
4. Years left, the gap and the monthly amount are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, divide the gap by the months left.
5. Go back to the sheet after any repair, quote or survey, and whenever you review your budget, updating ages, costs and savings; the browser version saves in your own browser.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Where do the life estimates come from?

From you. Makers' manuals, installers, surveyors and trade bodies give different figures, and a part's real life depends on use and upkeep. Write the figure you have chosen and its source, and change it when an inspection tells you more.

What if a part is already past its estimated life?

Years left shows zero or a minus figure and the monthly amount shows nothing, because there are no months left to save over. The gap is what you would need now; an inspection will tell you whether to repair, replace or revise your estimate.

How is this different from the sinking funds tracker?

The sinking funds tracker holds any savings pot with a target and date you choose. This planner starts from the house: it works out when each part is likely to need replacing from its age and your life estimate, and spreads the gap over the months left.

Should I save for every line?

That is your decision. Some owners put money aside for the costly items only and pay for smaller ones as they come up. Leave blank any line you do not want counted in the totals.