How to Buy Furniture on a Budget

Perhaps you are shopping for furniture to furnish your very first apartment. Maybe you bought a new home and want new furniture to go with it. Whatever your reason for buying furniture, you have a budget to stick to. These tips will help stretch your furniture dollar.

Instructions

1. Shop thrift stores. Look for well-built pieces that are still in good shape. Don't worry that a piece of furniture looks dirty, or that the fabric is garish and ugly. A good cleaning or simple reupholstering can give you a beautiful one-of-a-kind piece on a shoestring.

2. The only thing better than cheap is free! Check out Freecycle, where people give away items they no longer want or need, no strings attached.

3. Along the same lines as thrift stores, check out yard sales, classified ads and swap meets.

4. Bring the outdoors in. Look at less expensive garden furniture such as rattan, wicker and wrought iron pieces that might be just right for your home.

5. If there is a furniture manufacturer in your area, check prices there. You might find huge savings! No way to buy direct? Look for outlet stores for deep discounts.

Tips & Warnings

• January and July are known in the furniture industry as sales months. If you can, wait until those months to shop.