Tips on Staying Within Your Decorating Budget

When buying a new home, sticking to a decorating budget can be difficult, especially when there are so many nice things that you want to do in order to make it feel like home. If you are moving to Columbus on a budget, keep these helpful hints from All My Sons of Columbus in mind.

1. Control your urge to splurge. Most homeowners find themselves exceeding their budget because they come across ideas or items that they do not need. Once you create a decorating budget, try to stay away from additional shopping so that you do not empty your wallet on items that are “wants” rather than “needs”. If there is anything that you or your spouse wants, wait until Christmas or a birthday to purchase it. You have to try to maintain sensibility at all costs…literally.

2. Once the work has begun, you cannot make changes. Unless you figure out a way that you can end up SAVING money, stick to your original plan. It may be difficult to plan for unforeseen occurrences but you really have to come to terms with the work once it has commenced. Break the project up into stages and break down the materials needed per stage, and the costs that are associated with each stage. Research the materials and find out what the better buy is, and don’t always go for the cheapest route if the upkeep is going to cost more in the long run.

3. Watch out for rising material costs. Materials can increase in price depending on availability, season, demand, etc. Research when your necessary materials are typically cheaper and buy them then, even if it is months out from your project’s start date.

4. Leave wiggle room in your budget for surprises. You may think that there is beautiful hardwood flooring underneath that carpet in the living room until you pull it up to find termite damaged plywood. If you run into an unexpected fix, determine its cost and make that repair. If you end up not being able to complete your project because of an unexpected cost, put your project on hold until you can save the money to finish. It is best to wait to complete a project than continue and end up spending double your budget.

5. Don’t opt for the cheapest workers. If you spend the money hiring accredited workers to begin with, you can save yourself from hiring someone who does a poor quality job and then having to hire the more expensive workers on top of it in order to fix their mistakes. When you hire a company to do the work make sure that you get everything in writing. If they give you an estimate make sure that they write it down and sign it. This way, you can protect yourself from them trying to raise the price along the way.

6. Don’t be afraid to put your foot down. When it comes to your budget, make sure that you, your spouse, and the workers you hire stick to your budget!

All My Sons Moving & Storage of Columbus wants to make sure that you have the absolute best experience moving and renovating your new home. If you are moving to Columbus, let your local movers help make your move easy and stress-free by following our moving blog tips for everything moving, decorating, and things to do in your new city.