Living on a Budget

I thought I would share some pictures of things we have done around our house in the last 18 months since we have lived here. I love looking at pictures and watching shows about interior design and I imagine if I had all the money in the world I would spend a lot of it on decorating, but since I'm in school and my husband is a teacher I have found ways to work around our small budget and try to create my own HGTV-type house. Here are some of our savings...

These first two pictures I have already posted on my Blog, but I just wanted to post them again to show some of the savings in this room.

Paint = free!

Flower arrangements = free! (Thanks Becky)

Couches = no cost after selling all the other stuff we bought with them

George Washington picture = $80 saved $520

Red curtains = free!

Dresser for TV (not shown) = $100

Floral Accent Chair (not shown) = free!

I sat down one day and figured out it only cost me about $300 to decorate and furnish my entire front room and although it's not exactly what I would pick, the price is well worth it.

The Boy's Room

Here are some of Gideon's Birthday presents that we got on clearance at Target saving us $40.

Palm leaves, bug night lights and bedding = $10 saved about $140

(I really wanted these palm leaves from Ikea but I didn't want to spend $15 each, then one day while I was walking a lady was selling them at her garage sale for $5 each. I told her I would buy them and she said okay, then told me I could have the leaves, the two sets of matching twin bedding, two twin headboards, the two bug night lights and some other stuff all for $10 if I would just take it home...I said OKAY and now I have matching bedding for my boys.)

Dresser = Wes's old dresser from before we were married (I love reusing things)

Kids love sac = free! (somone left it on the sidewalk outside with a big sign saying free, we picked it up on our way to church one Sunday...I love the saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure)

Mirror and pictures = free!

Plant = $5 saved $20

Bamboo shade = $30 saved about $30

Bunk bed = $50 saved $175

Bamboo rug = $25 saved $75
Paint = $11

Guest Bath Before

Guest Bathroom Now and Our Savings

Mirror = free!

New door = $25 saved $60

Light fixture= $30, I didn't save anything on this, but it was definitely in my budget.

Candle holder on toilet = $0.50

Paint to update vanity instead of replacing it = $10 saved over $100 easy

New hardware for vanity = free! saved $10 - $20

Paint for walls = free! (not my favorite, but hey who can beat free)

New 18 inch tile = free! (Thanks James) saved about $75

New towel hanger = $15

Red shower curtain - $7 saved $7

Dining Room/Office Savings

Dining room curtains and rod = $90 saved about $200
(I could have saved another $30 if I knew how to sew...next time maybe.)

Collage on top of the desk = $3 saved $20

Dining room wall = $40 for everything, saved approximately $300

(The picture of Christ was free, they were going to through it away because the glass broke.)

Dining Room/Office Before

Dining Room/Office Now

Paint = $35 saved $20

Desk = $100 saved $300

Collage and table in the corner = free!

Table, benches and chairs = $250 saved $1250

Wood floors for entire house = $650 saved $900 (We bought them from Ikea when they were having a huge sale, long before we knew we were buying a house.)

Savings = $4200 +

I hope to have pictures of our new bedroom set soon. We first saw it at Oasis Bedrooms and I LOVED it! However it was WAY out of budget. I figured I would try to watch for something similar on Craigslist and to my surprise a week after we had gone into Oasis I found the exact bed for $300, saving us $1300 and then a few days after that someone else was selling the exact dresser and nightstands. I took some slight bargining, but I got the girl to agree on $700 for the dresser and nightstands saving me another $1300. Who knew being patient could have such EXCELLENT rewards!