When I moved into this flat I found a few problems that I am glad I fixed promptly.
The first was the front door. It was not sealed properly, so it let a breeze in, making the place quite chilly.
$20 weatherstripping made a big difference. It took 10 mins to install and my hallway no-longer has a draft!
Second was my balcony door. It wasn't aligned with the frame, so there was a gap at the top-right. Again, it was letting cold air blow into the living room. 1/
Combined with the front door seals this caused a draft *through* my apartment! Sitting in the living room sucked ass.
Now this I couldn't fix myself. I tried, but I messed up the cover on the adjustment screws, so I called some professionals. They did 20 - 30 mins work, and their rate was ≈$100/hr.
My final fix was upgrading the thermostat. The old type were "set and forget" mechanical ones. Imprecise and easy to forget (e.g. leaving on while we slept.) No good. 2/
So my final step was to buy a nicer thermostat. I didn't want any internet-connected gadgets, I wanted it to Just Work. I decided on a fairly cheap programmable thermostat that cost about $50.
I installed it myself, programmed it, and... it's nice! I don't worry about it. My living room is now warm when I want it to be warm! It turns off in the middle of the day when I'm not there! Huzzah!
Three little fixes and my new place is way more comfortable ^.^
3/
So what's the point?
I thought I was not a "handy person", but I handled 2 out of the 3 problems myself. I'm proud of myself and I am thinking about what other things I can fix-up.
It was also surprisingly cheap. I thought fixing the draft and heating system would take several hundred dollars, but I spent <$200 on this. Not money that everyone can throw around, but also less than the going rate of most "smart" thermostats.
End/
Dan Turner