If you are careful with your spending, you will be able to avoid unnecessary expenses and will not need to use your credit card more than it is required or you can afford to repay on time. This will in turn help you to avoid taking out a loan that will surely turn out to be an unmanageable debt if you default. Mind you, a credit card loan can really ‘kill’ your finance, credit and your happiness and peace as well.
Therefore, if you are on a budget and want to decorate your home, make sure you follow a proper checklist that will put you, your expenses as well as your finance on the right track and help you eventually to avoid debt. You will not have to worry about your monthly bills soaring high up every month and scour through different debt settlement and debt consolidation reviews to select between the two options for a fast relief from the stress.
As it is, buying a home for your family on loan can be stressful on its own. In addition to that there are also a few others things to consider such as:
- The fact that you have to deal with the mortgage company
- The regular maintenance cost that is needed to be done
- Your household expenses that seem to be growing every month and
- The cost of decorating your home.
All these can add up quickly and make things downright overwhelming.
Right way to follow
However, when you have completed the process of searching a suitable house you, arranging for the funds and buying it, there is no time to rest, though. This is because the most important thing is still left to be done: turning your house into a home by furnishing it with the necessary items.
This process can be exhausting as well as expensive which is why you will need a few things to keep things simple and less overwhelming. These are:
- A proper plan to follow
- A strict budget to comply and
- A checklist to follow.
This will help you to decide the right way to furnish your new home and at the same time make sure that you do not take on more credit card debt.
When you look at the internet you will find that when it comes to furnishing a new home it tells the same old things that you have been hearing from others:
- You should not spend too much
- You must look for used furniture and
- You must be patient enough to give the process an extended period of time to get completed.
Rushing things will result in impulsive buying which is one of the most significant factors that most people find themselves in debt.
Checklist to follow
All these are great advice but you will hardly find articles and blogs on the internet that will speak about the actionable steps to take and the checklist to follow when you start transforming your new house into your new home. Here is the checklist that you need to have in your hand while furnishing your home.
- To start with, plan out your vision well right at the time when you visit your house before closing. Make sure that you carry a pen and a pad of paper, spend some time in every room of your house including the hallways and foyers and make a list of things that you think each room requires. The list should include two categories: Large items such as beds, couches and chairs and smaller items such as lamps, picture frames and even garbage cans.
- Prioritize things once you have planned out so that you do not try to fill every room at once. This will not only be an overwhelming task but will also cost a huge sum of money that may lead to excessive use of credit card or borrowing money from other sources and fall into a debt trap. Look at your list and rank the items in order of the space where you will spend most of the time.
- Proper budgeting should be the core aspect of your plan and therefore should essentially feature in your checklist. Make distinct allocation of fund for each necessary item that you have prioritized.
When it comes to budgeting you will need to keep a few more things in mind. Furniture should be your priority as 10 to 50% of the price of your home will be spent on furniture. Therefore, your actual budget should have more money allocated for furniture. Since this is a very wide margin you are suggested to keep your savings and checking accounts in mind while determining the amount you want to allocate for buying your furniture.
You must consider all your expenses first for that matter. In this segment you must include all your monthly household expenses, mortgage payment, food, utilities, insurance, taxes, and even your entertainment and other discretionary spending. Once you arrive at a figure, multiply the amount of spending by three to get the three-month savings number.
Any amount over and above this number will be the amount that you should spend on furniture at the first round. After that, when the savings once again gets above the three-month savings mark you must go for buying the next set of furniture for your next room and so on.
Quality over quantity
Finally, quality should always prevail when you buy items to furnish your room. This will prove to be more cost effective in the long run. Therefore, do not go for cheap furniture of inferior quality simply to meet with your desire to fill all the rooms in your home. Quality furniture will last for long and even long enough to last even after you need them to. That is why you still get good quality furniture in second hand stores.
To sum up, it can be said that there is no exact science or a magic formula of furnishing a new home but if you have a clear process, plan and a checklist it may help you to find some peace in mind and avoid incurring debt.
