Renovating your home can become costly, especially when the bills start piling up. Many people start small and end up renovating their entire home. Problems arise, time flies and eventually, you’re too far in to stop the work. In this article, we give you an insight into how to renovate on a budget.
Trying to stay on a limited budget can, therefore, be challenging. It doesn’t have to be this way. With a few tips and tricks, you can renovate your home on a small budget. To do this, you will need to put a few considerations in place, especially if you’re going to stay on budget.
Here are a few tips to help you renovate on a small budget
Proper budgeting
One of the vital things you’ll need to consider when renovating your home is your budget. A lack of budgeting can lead to overspending.
You will need to find how much money you will need for all the materials as well as the labour cost. To do this, you must prepare! Prior to starting any renovations, grab a paper and pen or for those who prefer the digital technique, download a renovation app. Ask yourself the following questions and note down your response.
- What changes need to be made?
- What are my skills? Do I need outside help? If so how much will this cost?
- What materials do I need?
- How long is this going to take?
- Do I need a loan to help renovate? If so have I done my research?
You should also put aside some cash for any additional costs that may arise when renovating the home. A contingency fund is important when renovating. If any surprises come about, you need to be able to cover them without leaving a dent in your savings.
Don’t think you know too much
Assuming that you know too much can be detrimental to your renovations. Reaching out and asking for help is important. Learning the process of your home renovation should be something you’ll need to consider doing over time. You will get even to learn ways you can quickly reduce your budget.
You might also find what you thought is so necessary for the renovation isn’t needed. Getting information from home renovations experts will be a better way to do it, but this can be costly. As such, consider reaching out to family or friends that have had similar experiences renovating on a small budget. Additionally, you can also try getting information from online sources.
Choose the right contractor
When renovating your home on a small budget, it is more than likely that you will have to hire a contractor. Finding the right contractor is really important to make sure that the job gets done smoothly. There have been many cases where people hire a contractor that does not deliver on the task. This leaves them out of pocket and dissatisfied with the quality of the work.
When work is done poorly, you may also find yourself hiring another contractor to redo the renovation work. This is the last thing that you want to do. Once again, we recommend speaking to any family or friends. Word of mouth is the best form of review in the trade industry. If looking online, see if there are any reviews. Speak to the contractors and make sure that all agreements and quotations are documented.
Rent and don’t buy
Some tools you will need during the renovation might be useful only for a short period. In these cases, it may be more cost-effective to rent them. For example instead of hiring a commercial carpet cleaner to clean your carpets, consider renting one from Bunnings and cleaning them yourself. Reach out to friends, they may have the same tools that they can happily lend you.
Find the best price
Always try shopping for quality items, but remember to go for the best prices. Shop around different stores knowing the amounts of each time from the various stores and get to compare them. Additionally, try and check with companies that offer even after-sale services as this will save for you too much cost.
You don’t have to buy everything new
You want to upgrade your home to have a better look, not to build a new home. Assess what you already have and the condition it is in. At the same time, there are many second-hand stores that sell anything from white goods, furniture, and electronics. Check out Gumtree, Facebook marketplace and eBay for some cheap second-hand bargains.
Sell your old stuff
Don’t just buy but sell. If there is something you won’t utilise anymore, sell it online. Gumtree or Facebook marketplace allows you to do this. In a matter of minutes, you sell practically anything. The money you will get from selling unused items can be used to purchase other stuff for your home renovation.
DIY
The key to renovating on a small budget is minimising the external costs. Rather than paying some to do something simple, try doing it yourself. Some of the demolition tasks you can do them by yourself like removing the tiles and even cleaning. With YouTube, you can learn anything. Spend some time watching YouTube tutorials. Now, we’re not recommending you learn how to become an electrician online. Leave that to the experts. Learn more simple tasks such as crafting and how to paint. Make sure you’re cautious about whatever task you choose.
Bottom line
Renovating your home can be quite exciting. It is very much possible to renovate on a small budget. If you find that you need the necessary funding to help you get started or finish your renovation; there are options out there. Consider taking out a renovation loan.
