As we head into fall, now is a great time to take stock of your home furnishings. Especially if your apartment is now your home office or your nursery doubles as a conference room, your spaces might need a refresher. At The Financial Gym Advisors, we always want your money to align with your goals and we know building a home office might not have been part of your original 2020 goals.
We’ve rounded up some of our Certified Financial Trainers’s favorite places for frugally sourcing gently used home furnishings and more! We love these options because they’re often reselling at a fraction of the retail value, not to mention they’re avoiding “fast furniture.” When we say “fast furniture,” we don’t mean quickly delivered or easily put together, rather home-goods that are manufactured quickly and cheaply. The production of these items takes a large environmental toll, plus their cheaper quality often results in replacements more quickly than higher cost quality made items.
This site connects you within your local area to give away any “stuff” you might have laying around. Similarly, you can find stuff locally as well, all with the ultimate goal of keeping reusable items out of landfills.
“Buy Nothing” Groups on Facebook
These Facebook groups allow you to post anything you’d like to give away, lend, or share within your own community! We’ve seen posts ranging from children’s books and tupperware containers to desks and even snowboards. The best part-everything listed is free to have or borrow! Since this group is set up to be micro-local, other users often have suggestions for where to donate or buy something in your neighborhood if you’re unable to source within the group!
OfferUp
Similar to the networks listed above, OfferUp also sources locally and allows you to browse items for sale nearby. You can then negotiate and set up a meeting point all within the messaging in the app. OfferUp recently combined with LetGo, another app you may be familiar with, so if you’ve been using LetGo now is the time to migrate over to OfferUp.
Nextdoor is essentially a digital bulletin board for your community. You can find all kinds of gems like information about lost pets, what’s happening with the new restaurant on Main Street, news from local agencies, and of course, free and for sale items! The app allows you to filter by many categories including homes decor, furniture, baby items, electronics, and more.
Upcycling can take a little more work than going directly to your favorite website and clicking “add to cart.” If you have the luxury of time or you’re looking to ensure you get the best bang for your buck, trying your luck at one of these sites can really pay off!
