One of the advantages of building up equity in your home is having the opportunity to access it if you need it. A home equity line of credit, or HELOC, is kind of like a credit card. It’s a line of credit with a maximum limit you can access that uses your house as collateral. If you’ve built up 15–20% equity in your home, here are some things you might consider using it on.

Consolidate Your High-Interest Rate Debt

Borrowing money from an institution of any sort inevitably means having to pay interest. A lot of interest rates on things like credit cards, student debt, and medical debt can be pretty high. If you have debt with high interest rates, using a HELOC with a lower interest rate to pay them off may be worth considering. You can take out a HELOC, pay off your high-interest rate debt, and then work on paying off the HELOC. If the interest rate on the HELOC is lower, you should end up paying less in the long run. Keep in mind that your home is the collateral, so if you aren’t good at remembering to make payments on time this might not be a good option for you.

Prepare for Emergencies

Life happens, or so they say. Emergencies tend to crop up without warning, and are often expensive. As much as everyone knows it’s important to have an emergency fund, far too many people don’t have one. If you have enough equity built up in your home to qualify for a HELOC though, you can tap into the equity in your home to cover emergency expenses. Chances are you’ll have much more equity built up in your home than you can access by maxing out your credit cards, and the interest rate will be more palatable as well.

Pay for Repairs

Making repairs to your home is a natural part of being a homeowner. Unfortunately, those repairs can be pretty expensive, often more so than what homeowners have on hand to pay. If you have access to a HELOC, you can use that money to fund repairs. Projects you might encounter include things like foundation repairs, plumbing fixes, replacing your HVAC system, water heater maintenance, and roofing repairs. How often your roof needs repairs depends on the roofing material. The frequency of repairs needed for other projects may depend on how old they are and how much demand is put on the system.

Finance Renovations

Similarly to paying for repairs, financing a renovation can be a very costly venture. This, of course, is dependent on how extensive your renovations are. Renovating your house can be a great way to prepare it for sale, add value to your property, or just make it a more enjoyable place for you to live. The hope is that your project is one of those projects that have a great ROI. That way you can get the best value for the money you spend. If you’re using a HELOC to finance your renovation, this can be a really good thing.

Financing Higher Education

It’s no secret that college is expensive. The average cost of tuition, fees, and room and board for attending a public, four-year institution as an in-state student was $20,770 for the 2017-2018 school year. If attending as an out-of-state student or going to a private school, you can expect that average to be higher. Look at the interest rates for any student loans that might be taken out and compare them to those for a HELOC. You may find that the HELOC offers a better interest rate. On the other hand, repaying student loans often doesn’t start until after graduation. Make sure you understand all the terms and conditions before you make your final decision.

Long-Term Investments

When it comes to investing, in many instances you may need a significant amount of cash to invest, especially when you’re just starting out. A HELOC can get you that cash, which you will hopefully be able to use to turn into more cash. Keep in mind that this approach is definitely a risk. If you lose your money in the stock market, it may just be gone. Purchasing a second home is another common investment. With all investments, do everything you can to make sure that it’s a wise use of your money.

Startup Cash for a New Business

Starting a new business is another endeavor that may require a decent amount of capital to get started. How much it costs will depend on things like the structure of your business, whether you’re part of a franchise, and whether your operations are online, at a physical site, or a blend of both. There are lots of ongoing expenses such as overhead costs, the cost of production, and the need to pay any employees you may have hired. New businesses can take some time to start turning a profit as well, which means you may need to plan to be in the red for a bit when you first start out. Taking out a HELOC to cover a portion or all of those expenses is one option for finding the capital you need.

Retirement Expenses

Retirement comes with plenty of expenses. Hopefully you’ve invested and saved enough to cover those costs, but sometimes you might need some extra cash. Maybe you need to renovate your home to make it more accessible as you get older. Maybe you’re interested in purchasing a rental property to use to boost your retirement income. A HELOC can help you come up with the money for renovations or that down payment.

Having equity built up in your home can be a very useful thing for homeowners. With all of the expenses that come along with living life, some of which may be unexpected, having access to funds to cover them can be a significant source of peace of mind. Make building up the equity in your home a priority so you can apply for a HELOC if you need one.

Read this next: What You Should Know Before Going Ahead With a Big DIY Project

How to Use Your Home Equity Line of Credit

One of the advantages of building up equity in your home is having the opportunity to access it if you need it. A home equity line of credit, or HELOC, is kind of like a credit card. It’s a line of credit with a maximum limit you can access that uses your house as collateral. If you’ve built up 15–20% equity in your home, here are some things you might consider using it on.

Consolidate Your High-Interest Rate Debt

Borrowing money from an institution of any sort inevitably means having to pay interest. A lot of interest rates on things like credit cards, student debt, and medical debt can be pretty high. If you have debt with high interest rates, using a HELOC with a lower interest rate to pay them off may be worth considering. You can take out a HELOC, pay off your high-interest rate debt, and then work on paying off the HELOC. If the interest rate on the HELOC is lower, you should end up paying less in the long run. Keep in mind that your home is the collateral, so if you aren’t good at remembering to make payments on time this might not be a good option for you.

Prepare for Emergencies

Life happens, or so they say. Emergencies tend to crop up without warning, and are often expensive. As much as everyone knows it’s important to have an emergency fund, far too many people don’t have one. If you have enough equity built up in your home to qualify for a HELOC though, you can tap into the equity in your home to cover emergency expenses. Chances are you’ll have much more equity built up in your home than you can access by maxing out your credit cards, and the interest rate will be more palatable as well.

Pay for Repairs

Making repairs to your home is a natural part of being a homeowner. Unfortunately, those repairs can be pretty expensive, often more so than what homeowners have on hand to pay. If you have access to a HELOC, you can use that money to fund repairs. Projects you might encounter include things like foundation repairs, plumbing fixes, replacing your HVAC system, water heater maintenance, and roofing repairs. How often your roof needs repairs depends on the roofing material. The frequency of repairs needed for other projects may depend on how old they are and how much demand is put on the system.

Finance Renovations

Similarly to paying for repairs, financing a renovation can be a very costly venture. This, of course, is dependent on how extensive your renovations are. Renovating your house can be a great way to prepare it for sale, add value to your property, or just make it a more enjoyable place for you to live. The hope is that your project is one of those projects that have a great ROI. That way you can get the best value for the money you spend. If you’re using a HELOC to finance your renovation, this can be a really good thing.

Financing Higher Education

It’s no secret that college is expensive. The average cost of tuition, fees, and room and board for attending a public, four-year institution as an in-state student was $20,770 for the 2017-2018 school year. If attending as an out-of-state student or going to a private school, you can expect that average to be higher. Look at the interest rates for any student loans that might be taken out and compare them to those for a HELOC. You may find that the HELOC offers a better interest rate. On the other hand, repaying student loans often doesn’t start until after graduation. Make sure you understand all the terms and conditions before you make your final decision.

Long-Term Investments

When it comes to investing, in many instances you may need a significant amount of cash to invest, especially when you’re just starting out. A HELOC can get you that cash, which you will hopefully be able to use to turn into more cash. Keep in mind that this approach is definitely a risk. If you lose your money in the stock market, it may just be gone. Purchasing a second home is another common investment. With all investments, do everything you can to make sure that it’s a wise use of your money.

Startup Cash for a New Business

Starting a new business is another endeavor that may require a decent amount of capital to get started. How much it costs will depend on things like the structure of your business, whether you’re part of a franchise, and whether your operations are online, at a physical site, or a blend of both. There are lots of ongoing expenses such as overhead costs, the cost of production, and the need to pay any employees you may have hired. New businesses can take some time to start turning a profit as well, which means you may need to plan to be in the red for a bit when you first start out. Taking out a HELOC to cover a portion or all of those expenses is one option for finding the capital you need.

Retirement Expenses

Retirement comes with plenty of expenses. Hopefully you’ve invested and saved enough to cover those costs, but sometimes you might need some extra cash. Maybe you need to renovate your home to make it more accessible as you get older. Maybe you’re interested in purchasing a rental property to use to boost your retirement income. A HELOC can help you come up with the money for renovations or that down payment.

Having equity built up in your home can be a very useful thing for homeowners. With all of the expenses that come along with living life, some of which may be unexpected, having access to funds to cover them can be a significant source of peace of mind. Make building up the equity in your home a priority so you can apply for a HELOC if you need one.

Read this next: What You Should Know Before Going Ahead With a Big DIY Project