Ask My Readers | Saving Money on Home Renovations

Reader Q&AToday’s anonymous reader question is about saving money on home renovations.

We are looking to renovate a house and wanted to get feedback on the best ways to save on everything from new kitchen appliances to windows to bathroom vanities to gallons of paint. Would love to hear any money saving tips.

Can you help out this reader? Let’s talk frugal home removations in the comments section!

Do you have a question about budgeting, couponing, menu planning or anything else? Please send me an email – I love hearing from my readers!

Comments

  1. My husband and I love the Habitat for Humanities Restore places. You can find everything there from flooring, paint, doors, windows, kitchen appliances.

    • We just did a partial home renovation (we moved and house needs some serious talc)

      Onw tip is that Costco sells a lot, such as vanities, faucets, beds…. we bought all of those amd saved at least 50% amd got excellent quality and a Costco guarantee

  2. We recently renovated our kitchen. We saved tons using Ikea cabinets and appliances. We timed it during their kitchen sale and were able to take 20% off of everything!

    • MJ Kanner says

      It seems like tons of work to put together the Ikea cabinets. If you order cabinets elsewhere, the come assembled already.

      Did you put the Ikea cabinets together on your own?

  3. Ask for discounts – politely, with a smile. My husband always asks, “Do we get a discount for being nice people?” And on rare occasion, we do! We replaced our sliding glass doors with French doors. I happened to place the order on my birthday, and I asked the salesman over the phone, “Any chance I could get a discount since today’s my birthday?” And he said, “Sure! I’ll give you $150 off.” Sure enough, he emailed the invoice and it showed a “birthday discount” of $150. So it never hurts to ask! Sometimes retailers will give you “wholesaler” prices, if you call (or go in person) and ask questions about the item you’re considering.

  4. FrugalEngineer says

    I buy DH a $500 Home Depot and $500 Lowes gift card during the quarter when Discover has 5% cash back on home stores. (Tip: Only do this if you have the cash to pay it off immediately!) Then the rest of the year he gets an automatic 5% discount on all the this-and-that he picks up. He’s an impulse buyer and delaying a project for a discount on a widget piece of the puzzle can sometimes derail the project all together. The 5% discount gift card is our compromise.

    However, if he’s getting something with a plan I find a Lowes/HD coupon code, buy it online through a cash back site, then go pick up at the store. Sometimes I have to break my orders up into $50 segments (like if they have a $10/$50 coupon code) but it’s worth it for 20%. (Tip: This method works for car parts at auto stores, too. Recently needed a battery and something else and found an AutoZone $40/$110 code. And they install the battery right there in the parking lot. Seriously, DH was going to take the car to Walmart…)

    These little tips don’t make a huge dent in a house that needs rehab all over, but they add up.

    • Mara Strom says

      We did the same thing recently with a new car battery. Saved a huge percentage that way. 🙂

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