About Me

January 14, 2015

Building a New House on a Budget.

 That should be the name of my blog. As we are
new to the building process, one of our worries
was the cost. Especially after talking with friends
& family, & hearing how the budget starts at
one end (comfortable) & then ends up at the
complete opposite end (over budget). We vowed
to not fall into the trap of having to pay more for
what we wanted to create our dream home. And
our builder said he's never met a couple who was
so conscious of cost but in a good way. He's been
so good to work with & helped us stay in the
budget we're all working with. The two things we
went over we knew we would but still managed to
negotiate the additional fees into our comfort zone.


So how do you build a new house on a budget?
You make very frugal choices that look good!
Case in point, our fireplace mantels. These were
listed for $1,950 plus taxes & shipping from 
the manufacturer to our home, for both mantels. 
Made of stone and sealed, we love the look & 
chose two different styles to complement two 
different rooms in our home. The total would be,
in Canadian dollars a hefty $2,160 each, with a
grand total of $4,320. A big cost but we like them!


Two different popular home renovation stores carry
these mantels online. I've been watching these mantels 
since we first found them last spring. Recently, the one 
store reduced the price. It was time to order! We were
going to order from the one we often shop at but only 
one was available immediately. The other is back 
ordered & when I pressed order today, it came up 
with a note that there was an issue & the back order
was "indefinite". So I went on to the competitor's 
website, only to discover the fee was higher but they
had them in stock. Then I noticed the disclaimer
that they will match prices. I called the listed number
& just a few minutes later, we had an order # in
hand. So here's the best part. Our price, you wonder?
A lovely $1,890. Isn't that sweet. Before you start to
do some calculations, I want to clarify that price is
for both units, with taxes & including shipping.
We saved $2,430 for the same products, same sku
numbers, same colors, nothing had changed. And 
all it took was a few minutes of being online to
check out our options. Then picking up the phone
to ask for the matching price deal, which was granted
to us, without hesitation, argument or negativity.
Easy peasy and we get exactly what we want, at a
very frugal price from what we originally budgeted.
We keep coming up with deal after deal for the items
we'd like to include & feel so good about taking
the time to investigate what our best price will be.
Time consuming but in the grand scheme of things,
so worth it! And I have fun getting my "deals"!

Have you ever built a home on a budget?
Or renovated and stayed within your funds?

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