A few months ago, I had my HVAC system serviced by the local HVAC company. I hire someone from this HVAC company twice per year and they always make sure my furnace and air conditioner are working as they should be. I’m not sure what’s included in their service packages, but I know that they spend over an hour looking at the equipment and tinkering around with it. I’ve never had any serious issues with my HVAC system, which is surprising because it’s so old. My air conditioner is at least 10 years old and the furnace is 12. Every time an HVAC professional services the HVAC equipment, they tell me that everything is running smoothly, but I should prepare for the worst. A lot of HVAC systems don’t work as well after a certain age, and it can be a waste of money to keep running. The HVAC professional who serviced my HVAC system a few months ago was a little different. He told me that despite the age of my HVAC equipment, he was impressed with how well it was running. Normally, he’d recommend that I replace it based on the age, but since it was running smoothly and my utility bills weren’t concerning, then I was fine to keep it. However, he said that if I noticed a significant increase in my utility bills or bigger issues, I’d need to replace the entire HVAC system right away. I appreciated his honesty and I took his words of advice seriously. I’ve been putting money aside ever since.