Congrats you bought a house. Between the down payment and the closing costs for the mortgage, movers to pay, appliances to purchase and fixes to perform.you aren’t left with a whole lot of money. But you need to furnish your new home.
So, how will you furnish the new home? I have a few ideas.
“Used” means you’ll save money
“Used” doesn’t necessarily mean “nasty.” Pinterest is an ideal place to start. The photos alone will open your eyes to the possibilities. OK you have some ideas now lets go shopping.
1. Estate and garage sales
Both garage and estate sales great places to buy furniture. Estate sale prices are typically higher than those you’ll find at garage sales, but the merchandise is often well maintained.
Check Craigslist for listings of garage and estate sales near you. You may also see signs posted around the neighborhood.
2. Consignment stores
Consignment stores are the intermediary between the owner of the goods and the buyer. The seller uses the consignment store to display and market the furniture. Yes, the store owner receives a portion of the sale proceeds, so bargains are often hard to find in these stores.
Do a Google search for consignment stores in your ZIP code. You can find the occasional bargain so don’t count them out in your search for “new” furniture and home goods.
3. Thrift shops
Thrift stores can be hit or miss on the quality of merchandise offered. The good news is that prices are quite low at thrift stores such as Goodwill Industries, Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore.
4. Online shopping
Craigslist is the granddaddy of inexpensive home furnishings and, the best part is that it’s local. You’ll find home goods scattered throughout the many categories on Craigslist, but start in the “For Sale” section when trying to furnish your new home for less. From there, drill down to the “Free” link. You never know what kind of interesting bargains someone is willing to part with for free.
Below the free section you’ll find a link to the site’s furniture listings. Dealer merchandise is lumped in with consumer items but you can select whether or not to show those by using the information on the left side of the page. You can also search by item name so you don’t have to scroll through listings for everything but headboards, or whatever it is you’re looking for while attempting to furnish your new home for less.
Other sections to check include the Antique and Household sections, further down the list.
eBay offers furniture and other household goods when attempting to furnish your new home for less but, unless the seller is local, the shipping charges may take an otherwise bargain-priced item out of the running. Thankfully, the site has a way to filter your search by miles from your ZIP code. For instance, type “headboards” into eBay’s search box and scroll down the page until you find “Item Location.” You can also limit your search to those items with free shipping.
Etsy is a fun site that sells a lot of interesting handmade items, especially home accessories when trying to furnish your new home for less . Using our headboard example again, type “headboard” into Etsy’s search box. Then, on the left side of the page, under “Refine your Search,” you’ll find the option to “Shop Location,” and a “Choose a Custom Location” link to refine the search even more.
Sure, we’d all love to furnish our new homes with furniture and accessories from the high-end stores, but new houses frequently zap our reserve funds. Shopping frugally allows you to make big, dramatic changes to your new home’s décor without breaking the bank.