3 Ways to Furnish Your New Home on the Cheap

Here's how to furnish your new living space without busting your budget.

When my husband and I upsized from our starter home to our current home, we factored a number of different costs into our budget:

• A down payment
• Closing costs for our mortgage (which we wanted to pay up front rather than over time)
• Moving costs
• Storage fees
• Temporary housing

The latter two costs stemmed from the fact that we purchased new construction, and our current home wasn't ready by the time we had to vacate and close on our old one.

But one expense we admittedly forgot to think about was furniture. Compared to our old home, our current home gave us two extra bedrooms, a dedicated office, and a family room (whereas we only had a living room beforehand). While we knew we could take our time furnishing our home, after a while, we got antsy seeing all of those different rooms sitting bare.

Thankfully, we didn't have to take on debt to furnish our home because we bought inexpensive items and ramped up our savings to cover those purchases. But it's not uncommon for property owners to incur debt to furnish their homes. If that's a scenario you'd rather avoid, here are a few options for furnishing your home for less.

1. Buy used items

Used furniture items aren't necessarily banged-up or low in quality. Often, it just means someone no longer has a use for a given item and is willing to let it go at a discount. Check your town’s social media page to see if anyone local is selling furniture in decent shape. You can also use sites like Craigslist to see what's available nearby.

2. See if your local warehouse club has items

Many people join a warehouse club to purchase food and household staples on the cheap. But warehouse clubs sell far more than granola bars and paper towels. Many stock furniture items on a rotating basis, so it pays to see what your local store has available.

3. Buy the floor model

You may decide to go to some local furniture stores to see what their inventory looks like. If you want to lower your costs in the process, don't shy away from buying floor models if the option exists. Often, stores will knock a little money off the price if you're willing to purchase a couch that customers may have already sat on to try out.

Furniture can be expensive, and it's an important thing to save for. If you're on a budget, use these tips to spend a little less. Also, prioritize your furniture purchases. If you have no furniture whatsoever, you may need to buy a kitchen table and living room couch right away. But that doesn't mean you have to rush to furnish your guest bedroom if money is tight. Instead, stick an air mattress in there and call it a day. Buying a home is expensive enough, so don't burden yourself with needless debt because you're in a rush to fill your new space with furniture.