Need to save money! Suggestions??

Question

Michell P. · Answer

google your local wholesaler for items and sometimes you can find great deals.  Lilyanncabinets has good pricing and so does Ikea.  HDsupply has some good deals and if you learn your local homedepot you can find some great deals.  But if you hire it all out your contractors may have their preferred vendors.

And you know if you go through the pro desk at home depot you can get discounts, I think if you spend over $2,500 a purchase.

If you check out your craigslist you can often find interesting sales from contractors selling materials from jobs that have been cancelled.

Goodluck!

Steve B. · Answer

You are going to be exponentially more effective spending your efforts learning how to save on labor than trying to save on materials.

Lisa Monnig · Answer

I agree with all of the comments above.  I just bought a townhouse flip and it's full cosmetic redo so a bit different than your project, but here is what I did:

- Made a very specific list by room of what I wanted to do and budgeted materials and labor

- I'm sticking to that list and cutting where I need to in order to stick to it i.e. bought Pergo instead of hardwood

- Lowe's and Home Depot will run deals from time to time on carpet/hardwood/laminet installs check them out.  Although being so close to Dalton, GA you would think you could get a good deal on carpet :)

- I chose almost all of my finishes at Lowe's. Put together a big order and they sent it to the bid room.  Overall, I saved 15% on the current price of my items.

- For smaller items, I went on Ebay and bought $10 off $50 purchase coupons.  Then placed a bunch of $50 orders for store pick up and used the coupons saving around 20%

- Bought the appliances from Best Buy since the Best Buy stores by us often have out of the box "scratch and dent" appliances. Those prices beat anything I've seen elsewhere.

- Then I'm painting what I'm not replacing i.e. register covers.

- I almost replaced the kitchen cabinets but realtor said that at the price I want to list at there is no ROI on new cabinets vs. painting the ones currently in place.

- I'm using colors and finishes in the house that are nice and will last.  Don't do anything super cheap so that it falls apart for the buyer, but don't fix this house up like it's yours b/c it's not.

I hope this helps and best of luck!

Jake Thomas · Answer

Buy some 10% off Lowes coupons on Ebay and use those to save on purchases at the big box stores. Competitors accept those as well.

For a $160K house realize you don't have to put in high end everything but you can't buy the lowest quality either. Decent flooring, decent cabinets, laminate counter-top, mid grade fixtures etc. Don't design with you in mind design it for everyone else and use neutral colors and materials.

Aaron Linde · Answer

Other advice?  Don't design with only you in mind.  It may have paid off for you last time, but might not the next time.  Design with a 1000 people in mind.

If my mother were allowed to pick colors for the homes I flip, she'd have me putting in Hunter Green carpet with Burgundy walls.  She'd love it, but she is not who I market to.  Neutral palettes are key.  Express yourself in how you stage the house.

I will also echo, "create and stick to your budget".  It might be boring putting in the same vanity or painting the walls the same color over and over again, but it will pay off in the end.

Maricela Chavez · Answer

These all sound like great ideas!  THanks for the feed back!

Need to save money! Suggestions??

Most Popular Reply