It is important to prepare a budget for your kitchen remodeling plan before you start implementing it. Without a complete and detailed budget prepared before the kitchen renovation begins, you may get swept into a spending spiral of unbudgeted extras.

Limit spending on the kitchen remodeling to about 15-percent of your home's value.

Be well informed about the cost of each component in your remodeling plan. Surf the Internet, gather product literature, bug friends who've remodeled, read, ask questions and make phone calls. Do everything you can to be informed. The more you know, the better you'll be able to make wise choices.

The cost of appliances, countertops, cabinets, flooring, and so on, will add up to one-half to two-thirds of the total cost of remodeling. Find out the prices for these items and plug those figures into the budget. Similarly, make provisions for the cost of labor, design, contracting services, and permit fees.

The best way to list the items required for remodeling is to write down everything that's installed in your existing kitchen. Visit appliance stores and ask questions to the sales staff. Meet local kitchen design centers, and ask them for samples of work they've done and inquire about the cost. A professional will be able to give out details that you might forget.

For a kitchen measuring about 10x12 feet, a cosmetic kitchen upgrade can cost around $2,750 in products, which include new cabinet doors, laminate countertops, vinyl flooring, a stainless-steel sink and a chrome faucet.

If you want to go for higher-grade hardwood cabinets, ceramic tile countertops and flooring, a coated-steel sink, a faucet with pullout head, new appliances and track lighting, the cost might be in the range of $7,000 to $7,500.

A kitchen with semi-custom cabinets, laminate or ceramic tile flooring, a cast-iron sink, a designer faucet, better appliances, canister lighting and granite or solid-surfacing countertops could cost up to $16,500.