Moving into a new house and buying everything you’ll need to fill it can be overwhelming, especially if you are soon-to-be-newlyweds like my fiancé and me. Today I’m sharing some of the ways I’ve been saving money on stuff for our new house.
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Andrew and I are so excited to be first-time homeowners! We closed on our house the end of August and he moved in first. Since then, we have been slowly buying furniture, stocking the kitchen and pantry and decorating.
We are both getting rid of the few pieces of furniture we have, and we were lacking in stuff for the rest of the house. Not to mention cleaning supplies and food for the pantry. There was a lot to buy! Since we are also wedding planning and paying a mortgage now, I wanted to do what I could to save on everything we would need.
Stockpile in the months before the move
If you know ahead of time that you’ll be moving and have the space, stockpiling as you find deals can be a great way to save. Before we closed on the house, my bedroom was packed wall-to-wall with stuff for the house and for the wedding.
Since I knew well in advance that I’d be moving in November, I had been buying items for our house whenever I found them on sale (or clearance!) or had some great coupons. Buying over time meant I didn’t have to shell out as much at once.
There are a few ways you can save extra money while stockpiling. You could watch the sales or take advantage of days like Black Friday or Cyber Monday. You could also check sale groups on Facebook, visit thrift stores or go to garage sales.
Use Coupons
Couponing is something that I don’t do regularly, but I know I need to! Once I move into my house and have more free time, I plan to spend more time on it. But since I knew I would be doing a few big shopping trips to buy cleaning supplies, paper products and items for the pantry, I decided to take some time to sit down and find coupons.
Coupon Closet has an awesome Coupon Database that was so helpful for me! I just typed in the product I wanted and got tons of results. Since I shop at Winn-Dixie, I also opened their coupon app on my phone and searched for the same products on there.
I printed out the manufacturer’s coupons from the database and saved the Winn-Dixie store coupons to my phone. When I did my shopping, I simply handed them the coupons and let them scan the app on my phone. If you add these two coupons onto store sales, you can save even more!
While I don’t often take the time to cut coupons, I do use coupon apps on my phone! Apps like Cartwheel or Ibotta have deals on items you may need for your home.
Take advantage of rewards and points
Before you shop, think about the places you are a rewards member of. You can also think about which of your credit cards you could get the most points on. We do most of our grocery shopping at Winn-Dixie because of their FuelPerks program. I bought a lot of the cleaning and paper products we needed there so that I could rack up FuelPerks.
We also have a credit card that we use solely for groceries because we get the highest number of points when we use it at grocery stores. For the home decor and organization supplies for the kitchen, I mostly shopped at Target. I have their debit Redcard, so I save 5% whenever I use it. I paired that with the Cartwheel app coupons, so I was able to save even more.
For anything I bought online, I first went to Ebates and checked to see if the site I was planning to buy from was on there. I was able to get cash back on a lot of the items I bought online!
Update: Another rebate program I’ve recently discovered is Ibotta. I use it all the time to save on groceries, but they also have rebates for lots of other products. This is a great way to save when stocking the pantry or buying other essentials like toilet paper, batteries, cleaning supplies and more.
DIY & Repurpose
You can save so much money by repurposing what you already have or buying used items from thrift stores or Craigslist and fixing them up.
When it came to the furniture, we first thought about our priorities and what pieces were important to us. We decided not to skimp on the couch since it was the first thing people saw when they walked in. We also spend a lot of time there so we wanted it to be comfortable!
One of Andrew’s friends came over and helped us build a dining room table. It saved us so much money, and we were able to get exactly what we wanted. It’s also more meaningful to know we built it ourselves.
What are some of the ways you save money on items you need for a new house?
Amanda Elizabeth says
That table is absolutely beautiful!! These are some really great tips girl! I am all about using ebates and other shopping sites like that 🙂
Jenna Brussee says
Thank you! I am so happy with how the table turned out. Ebates is awesome!
Jaelan @ Making Mrs. M says
Oh my gosh! Your table looks so amazing. Moving can be so expensive. These are all great tips.
Jenna Brussee says
Thank you so much! It costs so much when you are starting from scratch like us. But fortunately I was able to use all of these ideas to save where I could.
Paige Allison says
As a new homeowner who purchased a home right after a wedding and in between having TWO babies, I can vouch for saving ahead and for using points/rewards systems! Just don’t sign up for new credit cards – especially store cards – because having more than 3-5 open cards (and especially store cards) actually lowers your credit score!
Congrats on the house! Such an exciting time 🙂
Jenna Brussee says
I agree, you have to be smart with credit cards! But finding 1 or 2 good ones that have great point systems can really pay off.
Keelie Reason says
The work in progress on your table is great! Keep it up. I think you have some great tips to help homeowners.
Jenna Brussee says
Thank you! These tips definitely made a difference for me, and I hope they help others as well.
Dani @ Whisked Away says
These are great tips. I am definitely need to try to stockpile myself. I am hoping to move out on my own soon, and I keep telling myself I don’t need to buy anything yet because it’s just going to sit there, but you’re right that buying a little at a time means I won’t have to spend so much money all at once when I do move.
Jenna Brussee says
Stockpiling made a big difference for me! It also meant that on the day Andrew moved in we had the basics so the house was livable.
laurenbtrain says
Love your DIY table and great ideas…we recently moved and I spent way more than I should have. My only tip (that I had to realize myself) was that it didnt all have to happen at once. I like to go in, get it done and feel at home. I am a do-er by nature and once I get it in my mind that I want something done, I get kind of like a bull in a china shop – a nice bull, but still want it done! haha! I quickly realized that at the expense of it all, I had to choose between a new couch or not having food or diapers. LOL. Ours is still a work in progress, but I love how its all come together and we have done little projects along the way for way cheaper than if I had run out and just bought it all. We recently made cornice boards for the living room window treatments and I was initially going to buy it all, but I am really happy that we did it ourselves and saved a lot in the process! Good luck with your move!
Jenna Brussee says
You are absolutely right on that — it doesn’t all have to happen at once! I had to learn that during this move. I’m a do-er as well, so it was hard for me to wait to do a project or buy something even though it wasn’t something we absolutely needed right away.
Kristi says
Great tips Jenna! Cannot wait to see pics of your new home!!!
Jenna Brussee says
Thanks, Kristi! I’m planning to do a kitchen tour soon and possibly more 🙂
Tiffany {A Touch of Grace} says
Great tips Jenna! I don’t coupon either but it can really be a great way to save $$. We also try to spread out our purchases and/or save up for them. When we got a new sofa and chairs last year we saved up for them so we could easily pay cash and not put it on credit.
Jenna Brussee says
I need to get more into couponing! Maybe soon I’ll have more time to do it. And saving up for purchases is the smart way to go! It definitely makes you appreciate stuff more when you wait and work for it.
Cristina says
These are awesome tips! I definitely agree with stockpiling a few things ahead of time. I’d see things I’d like that we needed on sale, and knowing we’d be moving to a bigger place soon, snatch them up! We live near a university, so we were able to get a lot of things for cheap in the spring as students moved out, or people were spring cleaning!
Jenna Brussee says
I did the same thing! It was so nice to have the basics when Andrew moved in.
Joy Johnson says
Great tips! Redcard + cartwheel is the BEST. Every now and then I get a 5% (or maybe it’s 10%?) Pharmacy rewards to use on one day of your choosing at Target which adds up even MORE.
We lived in apartments our first two years of marriage, but recently bought our first house and have been doing these saving tricks as well. It’s hard work to get a house to a ‘homey’ feel! What an exciting time to get married AND have a house together – blessings to you both!
Jenna Brussee says
Target is the best! Thanks, Joy! We are so excited about this time in our lives. Thanks for reading about it.
Kati says
I am a big stockpiler, especially now that I have a house. I have designated storage for things that we use (pantry items, toiletries, etc) so when it goes on sale I can grab a bunch and now I have room to store it! Enjoy the new house, it’s going to be so much fun 🙂
Jenna Brussee says
It’s such a great way to save! I’m glad to have a lot of closet space in my house so that I can buy in bulk when I find sales.
Erica Wagenhauser says
Great tips…I love cartwheel! Also, love the table diy! Well done!
Jenna Brussee says
Thanks, Erica! Cartwheel is awesome. We are loving our DIY table. It turned out so good!
Brittany Bergman says
Great tips, Jenna! I love, love, love your dining room table! I’m having a hard time finding what I want on Craiglist, and I’m thinking of asking a family friend to build one for us instead. What a special piece to have built especially for your new home and family!
Jenna Brussee says
It was awesome to be able to help build this custom table for our space! We were able to get exactly what we wanted and it is so special to know we made it. Plus it’s a great conversation piece!
Abby says
I love using cash back sites! I don’t love Craigslist, but I like secondhand stores.
Jenna Owens (@aSavoryFeast) says
Secondhand stores are great! Have you tried the Facebook for sale groups? I like those much better than Craigslist!