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Shopping around for a house, making a short list and sealing the deal is merely the beginning of creating your new home. A dream home only becomes a dream home when it is personalized by you and your family. It's important to be methodical when setting up your home improvement plan.

Step 1 - The Shareholders' Meeting

Many families leave all the decisions in the hands of the parents, or even worse, just one of the parents. But when it comes to a home improvement plan, all members of the family should be involved in the discussion.

Remember that when spouses and children are uprooted and relocated, it's a great adventure. But it also disrupts the structure of daily life. All family members need to make the new home their own. A home should be a shared anchor.

So gather all the members of your family around the kitchen table and throw ideas around. Brainstorm and assign someone to take notes. Sure, some ideas are trivial, but discussion will separate the wheat from the chaff.

Step 2 - Categorize Ideas by Functionality and Cost

There are several categories that home improvement projects fall into. There will be some overlap but for the most part, assigning projects is straightforward. Try these (in order of importance):

• Structural -- This includes foundation issues, siding repair and roofing. Think of things that will protect your family and possessions from the elements.
• Compliance with homeowners associations -- Some associations will cut you some slack, but others are very keen on fining homeowners for violations. This will just suck funds from your home improvement bucket of money, so be sure that you are following regulation codes.
• Convenience issues -- Some things just make life easier. Do you need to repair the backyard fence so the dogs can romp without leashes? Does that garage door opener only work when it's not raining?
• Cosmetic touches -- Ah, the part of the list where the non-pragmatic among us really shine! Window treatments might top this category if privacy from the outside world is an issue. Aesthetics are important in ensuring the overall quality of living in your home. There are always bedrooms to decorate. Once again, from a psychological point of view, it is very important for youngsters to set down new roots. This should take priority over that new wallpaper in the master bathroom.

Assign a ballpark cost to each project. Are you going to do the work yourself? The do-it-yourself mentality can greatly increase how much bang you get for your buck. For example, laminates are very hot now, and they're simple to install. The money you save on labor will pay for painting the room's walls and a bit of crown molding.

Step 3 - Set Up and Administer a Home Improvement Fund

Don't approach your home improvement plan on a pay-as-you-go basis if you don't have to. If you own a home, the remodeling never stops, especially after you get past the projects in the structural category.

So what's a good plan?

Establish a home improvement fund. Put it in a money market account at your bank where your money can collect interest. Fund projects when you can, and use the money in the account as an additional cushion. This system will give you oversight and aid in planning; overall, it can help you implement your plan.

Finally, keep in mind that most people are much craftier than they think they are. Don't just invest your money in your home, invest your time. If this means shelling out a couple of hundred dollars for a bench-top table saw to install that laminate floor, so what? The tool will come in handy when you get ready to build the deck, and you'll save tons of money doing it yourself.

This article was written by Kelly Smith, a contributor to Relocation.com, a leading provider of moving quotes and information on moving companies.

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