Totorus

Photo credit by Tracy27

If are trying to furnish your house on a budget, there are many ways you can save money on furniture. Good quality furniture for reasonable prices can be found in a number of places. Don't limit yourself to looking at furniture or home stores. Instead, consider other sources such as thrift stores, auctions and yard sales, unfinished furniture and do-it-yourself kits, or online deals and coupons.

One great source for used furniture at reasonable prices is thrift stores. Some stores may carry a lot of used junk, but if you keep going back to a few select stores, you may find some quality pieces. Check with your local thrift stores to see which ones offer free furniture pick-up. Stores that offer pick-up service are more likely to get quality furniture if someone is moving or redecorating. Habitat for Humanity Thrift Stores or stores affiliated with hospitals or churches may also be more likely to get quality merchandise. Oftentimes they do not have the space to keep furniture on a long-term. So you may find very good deals at these types of stores.

Auctions, yard sales, and moving sales are also great sources for quality used furniture at reduced prices. People may be changing the look of rooms in their house. Senior citizens or empty nesters may be moving to a smaller place and need to sell furniture that won't fit in the new place. Household auctions can be a great source for quality furniture at reasonable prices. You can buy entire rooms of furniture at inexpensive prices and use what you need and resell the rest. Auctions can be a great furniture source particularly if you have any interest or skill in refinishing. Even damaged antique pieces can be turned into beautiful furniture with a little care. Older furniture may be solidly built with quality materials making it worth the trouble to rehab. Stripping antique furniture and adding some paint or stain can yield a beautiful piece for a fraction of the cost of new furniture.

Unfinished furniture or do-it-yourself kits can be a great way to save money on furniture. Painting and staining with the products on the market today is a fairly easy and error proof. And most furniture kits can be assembled with a minimal amount of knowledge and skill. You can save hundreds of dollars by assembling and finishing the furniture yourself with the added benefit of being able to customize the finish to your tastes.

If you do not have the time to search thrift stores or attend auctions or you are just set on buying brand new finished products, there are still ways you can save money on furniture. Many furniture stores have online deals that may be not advertised in the store. You can type any store name and "coupon code" into a search engine and find out if there are any special online deals. Many places offer free shipping if you spend a certain amount. Also, check stores for "as-is" merchandise. People sometimes return merchandise with minor flaws that a store is forced to sell at huge discounts. You can frequently find pieces with only minor dings or scratches.

Saving money on furniture is a simple matter of searching for deals. Whether you take advantage of thrift stores, yard sales, auctions, or choose a form of do-it-yourself, you can save a lot of money on furniture. Even finished new furniture can be found at discounts by carefully watching sales, shopping the "as-is" section of a store, and searching for online discounts.