Update: I wrote this post about our first house a few years ago and it has been a popular post ever since! It’s got a few updates for you. I still gaze lovingly at the “after” pictures of that kitchen. I loved it so much!
When we bought our house, it needed some work a ton of work.
Our county has a program to help first-time homeowners purchase their home. We bought a foreclosure home and then this program paid to have everything brought up to code and to fix things that were a health or safety hazard. It was absolutely amazing. They made our house livable.
However, just because our house was safe to live in did not mean it didn’t need any work.
Every room needed to be painted. The kitchen was ugly and not very functional, and a lot of small updates needed to happen.
It was actually kind of funny because blue is my least favorite color and everything in this house was blue. Blue walls, blue kitchen counters, and blue carpet. I’m glad to say that not much of the blue remains!
How to Fix Up Your House When You’re Broke
Make a List
Everything can be made better by creating a list, right?
A new house is overwhelming! Write down everything that you would like to fix or change.
Even little things like replacing lighting in the bedroom take time and money, so put it on the list. If you need to purchase any appliances, add those to the list too.
It’s ok if your list is five pages long because you’ll decide what’s most important next.
Set Priorities
It’s time to focus.
We had all kinds of ideas for our house about adding a second bathroom and putting on a deck. While those things would have been great, we needed to set our priorities.
Decide what’s most important.
We focused on painting each room first. It’s relatively inexpensive to do and makes a house feel like it’s yours. We also bought a washer and dryer, the scratch and dent ones from Sears, so that we could finally do laundry at home (hallelujah!).
Since we had a tiny income, we lived in our house the way is was for a while after that. We had a long list of projects, though, and the #1 priority was the kitchen.
Create a Project Budget
I did a ton of research to figure out what we needed to do to our kitchen and estimated how much it would all cost. I came up with a budget of $1000 to update the kitchen.
Research what needs to be done and come up with a budget for your next project.
Don’t forget to add in the little things. All of the tiny finishing touches don’t cost much by themselves, but they all add up.
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Save Up
If you already have money saved up for projects, that’s awesome! Stick to your project budget and make it happen.
If you need to save up, start working on that. Work bonuses or tax returns are an awesome way to get money for a project.
I’m all about paying cash. Save up the money beforehand so that you don’t go into debt working on your house or have to stop halfway through because you ran out of money.
Do It Yourself
Do as much of the work as you can by yourself. Paying for labor is expensive!
We’ve been lucky enough to have family help us with most of our house projects, and it is a huge blessing. Some things are best left to the professionals, but you’ll save a chunk of money if you do a lot yourself.
Read some tutorials and watch YouTube videos to learn how to do your project yourself. You might be surprised what you can do and how easy some of it is.
(Sorry for the bad quality “before” pic, but you get the idea, right 🙂 )
Shop Holiday Sales
Hardware stores usually have good sales around the holidays.
We’ve gotten paint buy 1 gallon, get 1 free on Memorial and Labor Day weekends.
If you’re going to order anything online for your projects, check Ebates to see if you can earn cash back. I earned cash back for ordering our washer and dryer, plus window treatments. There are SO many stores that you can earn cash back at through Ebates, so it’s always worth checking.
Even if you’re not ready to do the work yet, start checking the sales for what you need for a month or two before you start. You might be able to save money by hitting up a good sale.
We saved money on our kitchen by shopping the sales at big hardware stores and buying stock cabinets and counters. If you buy what’s in stock, it’s always much cheaper than choosing custom finishes.
Shop Resale Stores or Free Sites
Just because someone else didn’t want it doesn’t mean it’s bad!
Shop around at resale shops, especially at a Habitat for Humanity resale shop, for materials. There may be discount home improvement stores in your area to check. We’ve seen nice bathroom vanities, lighting, and doors going for a fraction of what they cost new.
Austin’s uncle redid a bathroom with materials from the free section on Craigslist. He got some nice stuff, and it turned out great.
The more time you have leading up to a project, the more time you have to be on the lookout for good deals.
A tight budget doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with your house the way it is. By setting priorities, doing most of the work yourself, and finding ways to save money, you can do quite a lot!
Related Posts:
Living on $2500/month: Look at Our Actual Budget
The Huge Financial Benefits of Staying Home
How & Where to Cut Your Budget
⇒ How have you saved money on home improvement projects?
Free Customizable Budget and Spending Tracker Spreadsheet
Stress less about your finances today with the spreadsheet I use each month to create our budget and track our spending!
Great tips!! A couple years ago I remade some old dressers that were in my parents garage that they weren’t really using. They looked pretty horrible and just had a few random things inside. They thought I was crazy when I said I wanted them but they turned out AMAZING! All I had to pay for was a little paint, sand paper and new knobs.
That’s awesome, Katie! I love a good furniture makeover like that.
Great advice! I agree with shopping sales regardless if you are ready. We saved almost $1,000 on our appliances by purchasing them during a Labor Day Sale! We stored them for a couple of months, because we did not want to miss out on the sale!
Wow! That’s some big savings Erin. Awesome!
This post is so motivating and there are a lot of useful tips!
Great tips! Houses are SO expensive where I live so I’ll have to keep this advice in mind if I ever manage to buy a house of my own.
Thanks Nellwyn! I like owning our house, but sometimes renting sounds like a lot less hassle and less to worry about.
I am so jealous that you had that program! Our house was completely unlivable but it was really all we could afford. We purchased a short-sale home! We have put in A LOT of work and we still have so much more to put in! Hopefully we will be able to fix it up more and then sell it soon!
It was definitely an awesome program. There was mold in the basement and all kinds of nasty stuff going on, so we are grateful!
Wow! That’s impressive! I need allllll these tips! We are fixing up my boyfriends house to rent asap, getting ready to sell mine, and then buy another and who knows what they one will need! Ahhhhh
O my goodness, you have a lot going on, Lauren! Good luck!
You’re kitchen looks fantastic now! We just bought a 1942 house that needs some love. Lots of things right in it, but lots of things wrong too. I love all your tips and totally agree on needing to prioritize and do as much of the work yourself as you can.
Thank you Paula! It’s nice to be able to make a house how you want it.
Great tips! I love fixing up houses, furniture, etc. great hobby. Thanks for posting.
Thanks Barrie! It’s super exciting to make something look new and snazzy.
What great ideas and so helpful! I’ll be pinning this for later!
Thanks so much Terryn!
I love all of the additional finishing touches you’ve made to style it after remodeling. I think those little extras really make a difference! It looks great! I look forward to seeing the other areas of the house as you work on them!
Thanks Emily! My favorite part is the cup shelf between the counter and cupboard.
Just curious, what is the program called that you used to purchase your home?
The program was through a community services nonprofit that only operates in our county. The funding they get is available all over though, I think. So you might have to do some digging, but check local community foundations and county services to see if something similar is available where you are.
Thank you for the info. Where did you get the counter tops….or were they already there? Counter tops and back-splashes are where it gets pricey. Any suggestions please?
Our countertops are just laminate. We bought what was in stock at Lowes. They have hundreds of options that you can custom order, but you’ll save a ton of money if you pick what they keep in stock. We don’t have a backsplash. Our counter goes up a few inches and then I used semigloss paint so that it wipes clean easily. It’s not perfect, but it gives a nice, updated look.