Is the money-guzzling reputation of an old home stopping you from renovating it?
If so, you’re probably not alone in this financial battle.
With an average renovation project costing $41,600 in 2024, saving money while renovating may seem an overwhelming task at the start. But, with a proper plan and financial strategy in place, you can give your home a smart makeover without breaking the bank.
Whether it’s fixing a dripping ceiling or a full renovation, the key to success is starting from scratch and taking one step at a time. In a zeal to make your home the most beautiful house on your street, homeowners like you end up underestimating the cost of renovation.
With 20% of homeowners significantly overshooting their budget in 2024, keeping a renovation project on budget is a tough battle to win.
Due to the rising cost of labour and construction materials, even a small alteration can prove costly. The need of the hour is following a plan, budgeting your project, and using the right tools to reduce your expenses without compromising on quality.
6 Ways to Save Money When Renovating Your Home in 2025
For those planning to bust the budget myth, we’ve listed six ways to save money when renovating your home in 2025.
1. Use Interior Designing Software
Whether you want to add a new patio, give your kitchen a makeover, or landscape your garden, communicating your ideas to the construction worker helps turn your dream into reality.
But, without providing visuals of your requirements, it becomes an uphill battle to bring your ideas to reality. And, hiring an interior designer would add an unnecessary financial burden.
That’s where an interior designer program comes to your rescue.
With such software or programs in your arsenal, dreaming up a new home has never been easier. From colour planning and room measurement to space utilization and building material, software like Foyr helps accomplish all your home renovation goals without spending a dime.
It comes with a 14-day free trial. During the trial period, you can play around with numerous colours, textures, tiles, and room layouts and give a final 3D layout to the construction worker.
Benefits of Using Interior Designing Software
- Communicate your design idea with a level of precision
- Adds a WOW factor to your renovation project
- Experiment with different styles and layout before starting the renovation work
- Reduces costly design mistakes
Additional tip: Interior design software increases the value of your home as the layout is meticulously planned
2. Create Your Budget and Adhere to It
What will you do if you run out of cash in the middle of adding a new patio? It would be heartbreaking to stop remodelling. Therefore, budget your renovation even before you contact a construction agency. A tile around a new patio may cost $5 per square foot, but if your patio covers 200 square feet, you just added $1,000 to your finances!
Budgeting is not synonymous with choosing the cheapest from the lot; it aligns your financial spending power with your requirements. While it’s tempting to choose a wood window replacement over a vinyl window replacement for obvious reasons, the difference in the cost could be over $3,800.
Though it’s practically impossible to create an accurate budget, it’s always a good idea to get an estimate. Look for home renovation catalogues, visit a showroom, consult renovation companies, and search online for an estimate. Budget estimation prevents you from financial shocks when your home renovation is underway.
Additional tip: Based on your spending power, you can decide all your renovation activities.
3. Reuse and Recycle Material
With 70% of renovation material being recyclable and reusable, you can save hundreds of dollars on reusing the existing material. Before dumping anything in landfills, think about reusing it differently.
For example, when renovating a window, change panes and reuse frames. Or use old wooden cupboards to store your shoes or gardening equipment. If planning to change your house’s wiring, sell old copper wires as it’s worth 95% of newly red copper.
The mathematics here is simple,
The more you reuse and recycle = more money you save.
From concrete, glass, Gypsum, and metals to masonry, appliances, plastics, and wood, you can reuse or recycle a heck of a lot of things.
Apart from saving the cost of buying new material, reusing reduces transportation and disposal costs. It also results in energy savings and a reduction in carbon emissions. You contribute to the Earth in your unique way!
Additional tip: Refrigerators that are more than ten years old contain more than 120 pounds of recyclable steel. Recycle every appliance to save money!
4. Get a Renovation Permit
Renovation work such as kitchen expansion, electrical, plumbing, load-bearing wall removal, garage conversion, and other significant design changes requires a renovation permit.
Lack of a renovation permit could result in the following:
- Attract legal consequences, and you may have to pay hefty fines.
- You may have to undo the entire renovation.
- Your insurance company may refuse to update your home insurance policy.
- It reduces the resale of your home.
- You may build an unsafe structure.
All in all, a renovation or building permit is the lifeblood of a renovation project as it lays down all construction rules and regulations. Getting one not only protects you from legal repercussions but also ensures you build a safe home.
Getting a renovation permit may be a time-consuming process, but when you look at long-term benefits, it’s worth every effort.
Additional tip: Without a building permit, your local building official may halt your renovation work. Also, safety hazards are six times more in unpermitted and licensed work than in permitted work.
5. Try Some DIY Projects
If you’re looking to save extra money, roll up your sleeves and try out some work on a DIY basis. Tasks such as painting, polishing, and tiling are comparatively easy to pull off.
While you may not be confident at starting, watching a few YouTube videos and reading a few DIY tutorials should get you going. With the help of your family members and friends, you can instantly brighten up your home.
With 49% of homeowners stating that they prefer painting and decorating their home themselves than paying a professional – DIY could be your money-saving tool.
Painting your home isn’t rocket science. It just requires some hard work. If you’re ready to put in effort, you can give your home a fresher and newer appeal at a fraction of the cost of hiring a contractor.
Additional tip: It’s best to avoid work that requires licensing, even if you know how to execute it.
6. Pay in Cash
Whether you’re living in your home for more than a decade or just a few years, it will require renovation and remodelling at some point. Undoubtedly, renovation projects are costly, and you may not have a sufficient bank balance to build a beautiful home.
To achieve your desired renovation, you may be attracted by financing options like home equity, mortgage financing, personal loans, and credit cards. When you choose one of these options, you lose a significant amount of money on interest.
That’s why paying in cash for your renovation project is the best option.
There’s no point in getting a new pool worth $30,000 when your bank balance is only $5,000. By taking a loan or paying on credit, you add unnecessary financial burdens, which you may bear for a long time. Unlike selling a home, there is no return on investment when you use payment methods other than cash.
Commence your renovation project only when your pocket allows. Otherwise, it’s best to wait for a few more months. After all, it’s not every day that you renovate your home.
Additional tip: Many contractors and construction workers give an instant discount on cash payments.
Conclusion
As Ernest Callenbach rightly said, ‘Once you accept that spending money doesn’t equal happiness, you have half the battle won.’
Home renovation is a blotting paper that absorbs as much money as you want to spend. This makes sticking to the original game plan difficult for homeowners.
When the renovation is underway, unexpected expenditure is likely to come knocking on your door. While you may be tempted to overshoot your budget, remember that the consequences far outweigh the benefits.
Nothing is worth the misery that comes with a lifelong debt – not even your dream house. Therefore, before embarking on your home renovation project, weigh all your options and see where you can cut down on the cost.
Distinguish between necessity and luxury. If you’re strict on a budget, carry out only necessary renovations and skip the others for later.
Home remodelling gives a facelift to your home, and by using these six ways, you can boost the home aesthetics without burning a hole in your pocket. By using interior designing software, budgeting, DIY-specific tasks, and reusing materials, you can avoid many costly pitfalls.
How much money did you save while renovating your home? Do let us know in the comments section!