Covid-19 may have had an impact on the property market, but now that a coronavirus vaccine is on the horizon, more buyers are investing in their ideal property.
If you’re about to move into your dream home, you’re almost certainly excited about choosing your home décor and picking out furniture.
However, that can be a costly process so you’ll want to furnish your home on a budget. But furnishing an entire house and carrying out essential home improvements can really cause costs to mount up.
So, here we look at how to furnish your first home without breaking the bank.
Equipping your apartment or house and choosing home decor needn’t be expensive.
Read on to discover our top tips designed to help you furnish your house within an affordable price range.
In this article you’ll find:
- How Can I Afford to Furnish My First Home?
- Where Can I Look For Freebies?
- Where Can I Find Great Furniture Deals on My High Street?
- Get Second-Hand Bargains
- Choose the Right Time to Buy
How Can I Afford to Furnish My First Home?
Whether you’ve got student loans, or whether you just need to find a way of saving money after all of the expense of purchasing a property, it may seem as if it’ll be impossible to furnish your house on your limited budget.
Shockingly, the average person spends on furnishings for a one-bedroom property is over £2000 according to a money-saving tips forum.
So, it’s no surprise that some new homeowners are looking at their depleted current account in despair before they’ve even started thinking about furnishing the living room!
Nevertheless, the good news is that you won’t need to use a packing crate as a coffee table, take out a personal loan or max the credit card to buy a sofa or bed frame! In fact, home furnishings needn’t cost the earth if you know where to look.
Read on and discover how you can start furnishing your home for cheap or even completely for free.
Where Can I Look For Freebies?
It comes as a surprise to many people that they can actually get many pieces of furniture without paying any money at all.
If you’re not too picky, you’ll discover that there are several ways to get your hands on local furniture that is being given away.
A surprising number of people will give away an old furniture item that they no longer want or need rather than going through the hassle of either selling it or taking it to a waste disposal site.
For this reason, there’s plenty of different items available online, from small pieces like a bedside table or to bigger essentials for your living room or a dining table.
Some top places to look, include:
- Gumtree – when you need free stuff for your new home, this is the perfect place to begin. Virtually everything can be sourced from this site, and as long as you’re prepared to collect, it’s certainly an option worth exploring.
- Facebook Marketplace – click on your Facebook icon and check out the Facebook Marketplace section of this popular social media site. You can easily verify sellers using this forum and source free items near your home.
- Freecycle – this global grassroots organisation connects people wanting to give away free items with those who need stuff for free.
- Freeloved – this is a listings website with a whole section given over to preloved, free things.
- Free Stuff – this is a classified site dedicated to helping you find free items close to home.
- Swapz – this is the most established, biggest marketplace in the UK, allowing users to deal, sell, trade and swap with others, either locally or nationwide.
Where Can I Find Great Furniture Deals on My High Street?
Even if you can’t find any free bargains near you to help furnish your new place, there are several places on your local high street that can offer you impressive deals, many of which have personal finance options that you can take advantage of:
- Argos – this popular high street outlet has some great low-cost items for homeowners on a low budget. Offering everything from white goods and furniture to home décor items, there’s everything you need to equip your house or apartment.
- Ikea – if you can’t afford your own interior designer, this Swedish retailer could be the perfect choice for you. Guaranteeing excellent quality, affordable prices, and a unique vibe, it’s an excellent way to furnish your property on a budget as long as you don’t mind getting to grips with self-assembly!
- Wilko – click on the search icon on this popular website or visit their high street stores and you’ll discover pretty much everything you could possibly need for a new home including utensils, cookware, lighting and bedding.
Get Second-Hand Bargains
Don’t overlook the possibility of finding your ideal investment pieces in your local charity shop.
Some well-known charities have whole stores dedicated solely to furnishings, and you can pick up all the essential items you need at a bargain-basement price.
Yard sales, boot sales and second-hand fairs are great places to get low-priced furnishings.
You can also check out traditional classifieds and notices in your local newspaper to source cheap items. eBay is another excellent resource when shopping for items for your new home.
Choose the Right Time to Buy
Many UK websites and retailers are now cashing in on traditional American seasonal sales events like Labor Day and Black Friday.
If you don’t have the money save up and choose the right time to buy instead!
You can make an enormous saving on key pieces, especially white goods and appliances.
It’s clear that furnishing your dream home can be an expensive task, but you should never forgo essentials like home insurance to purchase costly products.
When you’re carrying out your financial planning as part of your home move preparation, don’t forget the options that we’ve suggested to help you furnish your home on a budget.
If you’re still searching for the ideal property for you, download the Moovshack app now.
