How To Furnish Your Home On A Budget

Purchasing a home can be a huge financial investment. Feel like you broke the bank a little with the down payment? Are you now looking for ways to furnish your home? Furniture can be expensive, especially brand new furniture! Ever thought about buying used?

Thrifting can be a great way to save money! For all you new home buyers, wouldn’t you rather have some money for other things? Think about it like this: the amount of money you’d be spending on brand new furniture could be put towards experiences in your new area or even saving up for a rainy sunny day, like a vacation!

Explore your local thrift stores! You have probably heard the saying “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure”! That is absolutely true, almost anything you buy wooden can be repainted! It’s time to channel your inner DIYer attitude! Painting can also be very relaxing and rewarding when you can create something in your home… on a budget! Not everything has to be brand new, why not pay to get the house of your dreams and then shop around for used furniture that you can fix up! The thrift store constantly gets new donations every day and it doesn’t break the bank.

Another great way to find secondhand furniture is Facebook Marketplace, the Nextdoor app and even OfferUp. These make secondhand shopping super easy by just being able to online shop and scroll through your phone! There are some things to be cautious about when buying secondhand, ask for pictures and definitely inspect the items thoroughly before purchasing! And it’s probably a good idea to meet the seller in a public area instead of a private home.

Don’t forget to negotiate on price! That’s one thing you cannot do when purchasing brand new. One more thing to keep in mind, is if the furniture has fabric you can easily rent a steam vacuum that has an upholstery attachment. Especially in the time of a pandemic, it is highly recommended to clean the furniture even if there are no visible stains. Once you steam your furniture it starts to feel new again and it’s all yours!

Remember good things take time! The key to furnishing your home on a budget is to remain patient! Again, items are constantly being uploaded to these websites and apps! Being patient means you may not get all the furniture you need right away and that’s okay! It takes time just like everything else in life, but it will be worth it once you have money saved up from not buying brand new. You’ll have the freedom to do whatever you want with your savings! 

Have fun exploring for your secondhand treasures! 

Listed below are some great local thrift stores in Florida, be sure to check them out! 

• Goodwill – Apopka, 1312 E Semoran Blvd, Apopka, FL 32703
• Hope Chest at The Crossings, 28520 Bonita Crossings Blvd, Bonita Springs, FL 34135
• Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 15271 McGregor Blvd #32, Fort Myers, FL 33908
  IG: habitatrestorelee
• Out of the Closet – Orlando,1349 North Mills Avenue, Orlando FL 32803
  IG: outoftheclosetorlando
• Thrift on 46,3442 FL-46, Sanford, FL 32771
  IG: Thrifton46
• Teen Challenge SuperThrift Central FL, 4540 FL-46, Sanford, FL 32771
• Matthew’s Hope Chest Store & Boutique,1027 S Dillard St, Winter Garden, FL 34787
  IG: matthewshope_wg
• Goodwill – Winter Park Boutique,750 N Orange Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789
  IG: goodwillboutiquewp