14 Creative Ways to Reduce Home Remodel Cost

When we moved to our home in 2014, it needed some work, not exactly repair work but remodel work. Like painting, some landscaping fixes. Moving dog-bitten plantation shutters out, resealing windows and doors, etc. We could have hired professionals or at least, a handyman could do those things. But we decided to do it ourselves. Firstly, to save some money, and secondly, we wanted to do those. You know, being a first-time homeowner.

But you may not be as lucky as we were. Your home might need some serious repair and remodeling. Unfortunately, not all of us can afford to gut and rebuild our homes to our exact requirements and specifications. This doesn’t mean, however, that you have to just learn to live with what you’ve got.

There are plenty of creative and budget-friendly ways to raise the money you need and reduce the cost of the project.

14 Creative Ways to Reduce Home Remodel Cost

1. Keep Your Existing Structure

It is possible to remodel your home without renovating your home. You can dramatically reduce the cost of this project by leaving the “bones” of your house where they are and simply re-decorating and moving things around.

2. Consider Financing

Use credit, loans, or layaway programs. If you don’t have room on your credit cards you can try using in-store financing or a third-party financier. These financing options typically have lower interest rates than a regular bank loan or credit card.

3. Go Slowly

Instead of trying to remodel everything all at once, take your home one or two rooms at a time. This will allow you to pay off one purchase before making another. And, if you work with a third-party financier, You might find that as you pay off one item, you qualify for a larger amount for the next part of your project.

4. DIY

The more of the project you can do yourself, the cheaper your remodel will be. You might be surprised by how seemingly big projects, like replacing your flooring, can turn into pretty simple (though, yes, time consuming) projects you can do even if you’re relatively new to being “handy”.

In fact, it’s barely doing it all by yourself with a number of free resources you can find for a project you want to do alone. Using helpful websites and blogs which guide you step by step make you nearly a pro! Along with the knowledgeable staff at stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot who are happy to pass on advice

5. Shop at Resale Shops

You know how there are stores where you can buy expensive clothing for less because it didn’t sell the first time around at it’s “real” store (stores like Ross, etc)? These types of stores exist for furniture too! You can find great new pieces at dramatically reduced prices in these stores.

6. Outlet Stores

Sort of like resale shops, outlet stores stock designer items at huge discounts either because the store ordered too many of them or because the item showed up with some sort of flaw. If you’re willing to deal with the flaws, you can get brand new pieces in these stores for a fraction of what you’d spend otherwise. Items like tiles, rugs, curtains, furniture, etc. you can find in these stores.

7. Buy Used

Most of us turn up our noses at the idea of used furniture, but you can get lots of pieces like tables, bookcases, entertainment units, dressers, chairs, etc. through secondhand stores and online portals like eBay and Craigslist. As long as your don’t buy the item blind there is no reason you will get bad quality.

Meet the seller, inspect the items, and make the decision when you want to purchase it, nothing wrong with putting in a little more effort to save a bunch of money! You can even scout local garage sales for treasures. Once we bought a painting which is still being used in our living room and every visitor praises the piece of art.

8. Buy Nothing

The no-spending movement has been sweeping the country. Try searching for your local Buy Nothing group, looking at sites like Freecycle, Rooster, etc. You might be amazed at what you can find for the price of the gas you’ll use driving over to pick it up.

10. Clean, Clean and Clean

Give your home a thorough scrubbing. Wash the walls, wash the floors, have the carpet professionally cleaned, polish the wood, etc. Put everything you own in its proper place. You might be surprised by how little you find you want to change once everything is clean and properly organized.

We borrowed pressure cleaner from friends and washed driveways and patios, pressure cleaning these areas make a huge difference. We are still due with a roof cleaning, though. For that we need to hire licensed and registered roof cleaners.

11. Clean out

Go through everything you own and clear out your clutter. In this case, clutter is anything you haven’t used in the last 12 months and anything that doesn’t have a huge amount of sentimental value (old photo albums, your kid’s baby blanket, that type of thing).

Donate the items you’re not using or sell them to help offset the cost of your remodel. Or, better yet, encourage your friends to do the same thing and then get together and have a “stuff swap.”

12. Paint

A new coat of paint makes everything look new again. You can change the entire feeling of a room just by painting it a new color. You can bring the life back in your property just by changing the wall colors. You can increase your property’s resale value by painting the exterior.

13. Move Stuff Around

Now that your home is clean and de-cluttered you likely have a bunch of “extra” space. Why not try moving around what’s left in your house around? Try new furniture arrangements, have your kids switch rooms, etc. A new arrangement can feel almost as good as a new remodel.

14. Aim for Next Year

Worst case scenario: you can’t afford to spruce up your home the way you want to this year. Period. That’s okay! You can use this year to pay down debts and save up so that when next year rolls around you’ll have a pretty great nest egg built up. For example, every month take 10% of your paycheck and transfer it to a high-interest sub-savings account.

As you can see there are lots of ways to make that remodel more affordable!