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If you鈥檙e hatching plans for聽home improvements, get ready for sticker shock: On average, a kitchen upgrade costs nearly $20,000, and a bathroom remodel can easily set you back more than $9,000, according to HomeAdvisor.com.聽

But a renovation that adds value to your property can be聽worth every penny. You鈥檒l just need to figure out how to pay for it.聽Here are six ways to come up with the money.

1. Refinance your mortgage

If you financed your home a few years ago and your interest rate is higher than current market rates, a聽聽could聽lower it 鈥斅燼nd your monthly payments. And that could free up cash for your dream renovation.聽

You might also consider a聽to tap聽some of your home鈥檚 equity. Lenders will generally let you borrow enough to pay off your current mortgage and take out more cash, up to 80% your home鈥檚 value.聽

Think carefully before you embark on this type of refinance, though: You鈥檒l be using your home as collateral for a bigger loan, and you鈥檒l be financing short-term costs聽with long-term debt, which adds interest and other fees to the price聽of the renovations. In most cases, a cash-out refinance is only appropriate if聽you鈥檙e improving your home in ways that will increase its聽value.

2. Obtain a home equity line of credit

A HELOC is another way to borrow against the the value of your home, but unlike a refinance, it doesn鈥檛 pay off the original mortgage. Instead,聽you get聽a聽聽鈥� usually up to 80% of your home鈥檚 value, minus the amount of聽your home loan.聽

HELOCs come with a draw period and repayment period. During the draw period, which often lasts about 10 years, you can spend the money in your credit line. Your monthly payments would cover mostly the interest and a little bit of the principal on any outstanding balance. During the repayment period, which typically lasts around 15 years, your monthly payments would probably be higher because they鈥檇 include more principal.聽

Interest paid on both HELOCs and home mortgages is generally tax deductible. But with HELOCs, the deduction is limited to $100,000.

3. Take out a second home聽loan

Sometimes called a聽, a second home loan聽is another way to tap your equity without refinancing. Instead of getting a line of credit, as you would with a HELOC, you鈥檇 receive a lump sum of money.聽A second mortgage could make sense if you don鈥檛 want to refinance your first mortgage 鈥� if it has a very low interest rate, for example. But the interest rate would probably be higher with a聽second mortgage than with a聽.聽Interest payments would be聽tax deductible.聽

4. Apply for a personal loan聽

Personal loans don鈥檛 offer the tax advantages of a refinance or HELOC,聽but they鈥檙e聽an alternative to using your home鈥檚 equity for financing聽and聽putting your home up as collateral. In fact, you may not have to put up any assets for collateral, but you鈥檒l generally need good or excellent credit to qualify.聽

Interest rates are usually higher with personal loans than with home equity financing. There鈥檚 also a shorter timeframe to repay the money, about five to seven years. The shorter window could mean your monthly payments are larger than they鈥檇 be with other options, but you鈥檇 end up paying less interest overall. 聽

If you have good credit but not much equity in your home, or you鈥檇 prefer a shorter repayment period, a personal loan could be a good choice.

5. Use a credit card

Plastic allows you to make purchases if you don鈥檛 have the聽cash up front, and聽certain credit cards give聽rewards for聽every dollar you spend. But you鈥檒l want to make sure you can pay off your balance in full each month, because credit cards generally come with higher interest rates than other types of financing.

6. Save up and pay cash

It may require time and patience, but saving your money until you鈥檙e able to pay outright for a renovation eliminates finance charges. Paying with cash can also make it聽easier to stay within your budget.

This article first appeared at .