The single greatest invesment most people have is their home. Protecting its value and maintaining its appearance and comfort don't have to be as expensive as you might imgagine. At the same time, home improvement can be a costly matter with the simplest of kitchen and bathroom projects becoming big-ticket items when hiring a contractor. One way to save money while adding to the value and comfort of your home is to use some of that money to purchase your own tools and start with small projects around the house.

Hand Tools - Consider these part of your home improvement survival kit. Everything listed here can be purchased at your local home improvement store for less than $100.00.

• Hammer — This is one place you really don't want to go cheap. Instead of a typical claw hammer, purchase a ripper/framing hammer, These will do fine for pounding a variety of sized nails, pulling nails, and for a lot of general demolition.
• Pry Bar - to spare that hammer and your muscles, a medium length pry bar is necessary for tearing out old boards. Consider a Wonder Bar as your tool of choice.
• Screwdriver sets – Forget the fancy multi-screwdrivers and get a good set of standard screwdrivers that will do a range of functions. Appliance and electronics often require Torx ends while allen wrenches often are called for installing cabinets and shelves,
• Wrenches - While it won't replace a set of open-end wrenches, one quality adjustable wrench will handled a wide variety of tightening and lossening jobs. Open-end wrenches are required when you don't want to strip a nut or finer handling is necessary. A basic set of standard and metric works fine.
• Safety equipment - It can't be stressed too much how important basic safety equipment is. A few things you need include eye protection and gloves.

Power Tools - Do yourself a favor and purchase one set of quality corldess power tools. They are lighter, easeir to handle, and eliminate the need for extension cords. If money is a real issue, go with a good brand with just three tools (cordless drill, circular saw, and jigsaw). Come back later and add a multi-tool like a Rotozip or Drimmel. Both of these are perfect for smaller jobs that require precsion cuts and drilling.