If you know me, then you’ll know that one of my favorite things to shop for is home decor. I could spend hours in Home Goods just walking isles and thinking of all the different ways I could use the various things I find. But if you aren’t careful, it can add up quick! When we built our house this summer, we knew our style would be a more modern farmhouse style and we needed to do it on a tight budget because, hello new mortgage payment. So I started looking at all the different places to shop and searching for awesome deals and coupons. Along the way, i’ve picked up a few little tips and tricks to help make your home decorating just a bit more affordable!
Shop all of my linked home decor here-
-Window shop- Go shop with zero intentions of buying. If you must, don’t even take your cash/cards with you so you aren’t tempted. Window shopping lessens the impulse buys that you feel so much pressure with when shopping. So just go to a few stores and get ideas. Take pictures of descriptions and the items and don’t limit yourself. Take all the pictures, every price range. I mean you have no budget for window shopping, right? So then, go home and go through your pictures. On each picture, think of a place in your home you would use that item. Have a definitive spot, not a “maybe it would go here”, it has to have a spot. Go through each item and on the ones you cannot find a spot for in your home or maybe you have a few items you’re deciding between, organize those. Group them by room or space and then look at prices. If you are working with a budget, this part is easy. Simply look at the prices of each item and then decide what you want to spend and pick your choice. But you still aren’t done. Then take that item and google search it for the most affordable prices! I mean, amazon can surprise you! Then once you’ve decided on what you want to buy, go buy it. But only that. Don’t tempt yourself!
-Coupons- This seems like a no brainer, but coupons are life saving and almost all retailers have some sort of coupon to use on your purchases. The only ones i’ve come across that don’t have coupons are places like Home Goods, TJMaxx/Marshalls and discount stores like that. Google for the best ones, ask friends, join facebook coupon groups and glitch groups! You’ll learn a lot! Read the fine print, some coupons are in store only and some online only. Some can be stacked and used with other coupons. For instance, at Target they pretty much always have some sort of home item on sale. Bath, bedding or some category for like 30% off. Stack that with the red card 5% and those awesome buy and get gift card discounts, hello! Always price search though. Lots of retailers will price match even though they do not advertise it. If you can’t get a response from someone at a register, ask for a manager or go to the customer service area. Don’t be rude about it, just simply say I would love to know if you guys could price match, and just check. If they can’t and it’s somewhere else cheaper, then just put it back and order online or wherever you can find cheaper. But most stores will honor the price match!
-Wait for Big Sales- Sales like memorial day, labor day, black friday and more bring HUGE sales on home furniture and decor. Most big furniture retailers always have sales during that time that have really low pricing. If you are looking for making a big purchase for your home like furniture or appliances, almost always waiting until there is a big sale is the best way to go!
-Shop one room at a time- Don’t go in and buy for your entire house in one visit. You’ll end up over buying, over spending and get things you don’t need. Go through your house one room at a time and decide what you need/want. Maybe you’re looking to add some life to a guest room or bring color to a bathroom. Decide on that before you start shopping. Start with what you need and then move to what you want.
-Always always always check the prices online for everything you have in your cart before you checkout. You might be surprised to find things cheaper at other places. Target is big on this. Things ring up wrong so often and most people don’t know because they did not check. Something I have learned to do in target is to use the cartwheel app and scan every item, even things as little as toothpaste. Scan them and see if they are on sale. Just a few days ago my mom had an item ring up $6 more at the register than it did on the app and she didn’t even say anything. I’m like, uh that’s a Starbucks coffee?
-Check the clearance isles- Every single time I walk into a store, I check the clearance isles first. I cannot tell you how much stuff I have in my house that I have found for less than 75% marked sticker price because it was on clearance. Always check!
-Use the website Brickseek.com to check inventory- This website is AMAZING for finding inventory in a store without just walking around aimlessly.
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