Save Money on Home Improvement

When you’re a home owner your to-do list seems to grow by the minute. Everything needs something and then to top that off you want your home to feel like well… home. In today’s economy, many of us need to get things done without spending a small fortune. For me this meant I had to do some research, get creative, and put in a LOT of elbow grease.

Save money on home improvement by looking for free materials.

Whether driving down the road on trash day to find a pile of bricks or scanning Craigslist many free materials for your home can be found. Have a friend that wants to get rid of something in their yard? Offer to take it. Don’t be shy when it comes to offering to take unwanted items from others. how does that saying go “One man’s trash another man’s treasure?”

Save money on home improvement buy clearance and take advantage of seasonal sales.

Home Depot and Lowes each have clearance sections where you can find items they will no longer be stocking. Opps paint is a great way to paint a room for just a few dollars. At the end of each season, you can find seasonal items you need for the rest of the season or next year.

Buy discounted gift cards and coupons to save on home improvement.

Sites like CardPool.com are a great way to save a little extra money. Did you just move? Lowes has a 10% off coupon for moving. Combine discounted gift cards with sales, and discount coupons for the best deals.

Check for local surplus specialty shops to save on home improvement.

For us we have a pretty cool discount place locally that we can find discounted building materials. Many of these items have small flaws but can be fixed or masked with a little placement and planning. Habitat for Humanity ReStore is a good place to look for things like toilets and window frames.

Save money on home improvement by selling leftover materials.

Have leftover window screen? Sell it. Took out a light fixture to put a new one it? Sell the old one. This keeps materials out of landfills and puts extra money into your budget. If you don’t want to go through the work of selling the items try donating to your local habitat for humanity for a tax deduction.  While your dropping materials off stop and see if you can find any deals.

Barter and perform labor yourself

When it comes to home improvement you can save a small fortune by performing many basic tasks yourself. You can do small tasks entirely on your own. Other projects you maybe limited to the demolition and clean up but every step you can do can save you money. Do you have a friend with a skill you do not have? Good old-fashioned bartering is a great way to save money while putting your own talents to use. Things get done and everyone wins. Grab yourself a good DIY home improvement book for ideas of projects you can do yourself easy.

Get creative to cut home improvement costs

Sometimes they best way to save is to get a bit creative. Want to change the look of a room without spending a lot of money? Why not buy a quart of paint and putting in an accent wall? The room will take on a whole new feel and at the cost of time and a few dollars. Need a fix but find yourself limited on funds? Spend some time finding an alternative. I once replaced a broken window pane using the glass from picture frame. No air coming in, no cut fingers of kids, and it only cost a few dollars at the store down the street for ALL of the materials.

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