How to furnish your new home on a budget

In some ways, buying a house is the easy part. You’ve found the property you want, you’ve sorted out the finances and you’ve completed the mountains of necessary paperwork, meaning you now own a new house.

All of that can be a walk in the park compared to what comes next – turning your house into a home by decorating it. You’ll want to put your own style on it with paint, furniture and artwork but you could be in for a serious shock when it comes to totting up how much that is going to cost in addition to what you’ve already paid for the property.

According to a summer survey carried out by ForRent.com, the average person spends $8,176 on furniture for their apartment. That’s one person, in one apartment. Imagine how much it will cost to furnish and redecorate your entire new property, especially if it’s a large family home.

Thankfully, you don’t need to try and find 10 thousand dollars down the back of the sofa during the move to transform your new property. Here are several ways in which you can furnish your new home on a budget.

Visit thrift shops

There are two kinds of people in this world – those that love thrift shops, and those that don’t. If you fall into the former category, then you will probably already have a visit to one of the best thrift shops in the US on your to-do list for furnishing your home.

If you fall into the latter category, then now is the time to start shopping in them. Thrift shops will often sell high-quality goods for cheap prices. You can pick up anything from dining room tables to lamps to works of art to cutlery. If you’re willing to shop around, the savings you can make are remarkable.

Shop online

Speaking of remarkable savings, you can also shop on the internet. 79 percent of American’s now shop online but that figure is lower when it comes to buying furniture and other household essentials. Why? Well, if you buy a new couch or comfortable chair off the internet, then you are forgoing the opportunity to see just how comfortable it actually is before you’ve committed to purchasing it.

One way around this is by visiting a furniture shop, finding the items you like in-store and then looking for them online when you return home. You’ll be surprised at how much money you can save on buying a comparative piece of furniture over the internet. If all that seems like too much hassle, then just buy before you try. Most items and sellers now have multiple reviews which can give you a good indication of the standard of what you are purchasing.

Give an estate sale a try

Estate sales are similar to auctions. They’re normally held after a person dies and the family doesn’t have any use for certain belongings or after a divorce or when a person has been declared bankrupt in order to help raise money quickly. Effectively, it is a way of getting rid of a whole household’s worth of goods very quickly. Because speed is often the desired outcome of an estate sale, it means that they are a great place to pick up bargains. You can pick up quite literally anything from another person’s home for a relatively low price. One of the best places to start is EstateSales.net, where there are multiple listings to scan to find exactly what you are looking for.

Make homemade artwork

If your walls are bear and you think the place needs brightening up, then you might turn to professionally produced artwork or photography to fill the gaps. That can be a costly exercise. So, why not take advantage of the artists among your family or friends and ask them to provide you with paintings and drawings instead? Not only will you not have to pay for anything, but you’ll also be getting a unique piece that doesn’t exist anywhere in the world.

Sure, it might not be to the highest standard but that is half the fun – a drawing of your family from your six-year-old daughter or a carefully crafted painting of a happy memory from your best friend can prove to be timeless pieces as they’ve had not just time and effort, but love poured into them to. They’ll also provide plenty of laughter and a great talking point for whenever anyone visits, as you can explain the story of how your brother attempted to sketch your father after one too many glasses of wine at Christmas.

Consider funding options

Although going into debt is rarely a good idea if you are working on a budget, some purchases are essential, and that means they justify the borrowing of money. If you’ve found the most comfortable bed in the world but don’t currently have the funds to purchase it, then you can always borrow the money to buy.

Payday lending is now a $30 billion industry in the United States with 12 million borrowers taking out loans in order to fund quick purchases before paying them off when their weekly or monthly pay cheque arrives. Companies such as helpful Bonsai Finance can supply with your money to buy what you want within a few hours of spotting it, meaning that you could be enjoying the best night of sleep of your life that very evening. Sometimes, borrowing is worth it.

Search for freebies

You might not have to pay anything to furnish your home at all if you are willing to look around. The internet and the idea of the sharing economy has seen a boom in people giving away their unwanted stuff for free to any person who is willing to go and collect it. Facebook is often awash with free items and other websites such as Craigslist and Freecycle also list items that can be yours for nothing. Check out this list of 5 websites to get free stuff, and you might not have to spend a cent on decorating your new home.