The Thrifty Student Saves The Money

By Francine Fluetsch on September 7, 2014

This article is brought to you by CORT, a subsidiary of Berkshire-Hathaway and the world’s largest furniture rental and relocation services company. To learn more about how we can help college students like you, click here.

image via www.huffingtonpost.com

So you’ve got a place off campus and you’re super excited, but you’re worried about all of the extra cost.

Sure the dorm prices are way too high for what they are, but at least they came furnished. It can be a little overwhelming when you think about all the things you’ll be responsible for paying for, but I promise it will be okay.

Take a breath and read through these ideas for getting cute, cheap furniture the thrifty way (okay, maybe I can’t promise cute, but I can promise cheap and usable).

Borrow:

You don’t need the furniture forever, so if you can find someone who has an extra couch or bed lying around, why not take it off their hands? At least for a little while. From your siblings to your grandparents, I’m sure you’re bound to find some furniture that doesn’t have a “home.”

This is actually how my roommates and I got most of our stuff.

Mary Medeiros, a third year MCD Biology student at UC Santa Cruz, was able to borrow her aunt’s old dining table (that came with chairs—score!) and it is now sitting in our little dining area. Talk about a money saver.

She was also going to be able to get a big T.V. that her parents didn’t need, but her brother got a hold of it before we could. Gotta watch out for those siblings, huh?

Our couch: photo credit-Lindsay Banks

My other roommate, Lindsay Banks, a third year psychology student at UC Santa Cruz, was able to snag a couch from her parents. We definitely dodged a bullet on that one, because couches are crazy expensive.

I then bought a cheap beanbag to give an extra seat to our living room, and voila, we got it all furnished for a great deal. The biggest cost was the transportation.

Buy from other students:

We have a Facebook Group for UCSC called “free and for sale,” where students can post things they are trying to get off their hands.

If your school doesn’t have a page like this, make one; it will definitely be worth your while. This is where you can score some totally awesome furniture for dirt cheap, or if you’re super lucky, for free!

Yes, you read that right: FREE. A lot of seniors want to get rid of their stuff ASAP, and so they will say it’s free as long as you come get it before a certain time.

You’ll be able to find pretty much anything on there, from beds to small kitchen appliances and even a pet goldfish.

Can someone say Craigslist?:

Craigslist is a great way to take care of all of your furniture needs.

Illiana Arias-Carrillo, a third year art student at UC Santa Cruz, was able to get her twin bed from there. Her house actually came furnished but the beds were too big for her and her roommate to fit all their other things so she had to improvise.

Why pay full price when you can get a perfectly fine item of furniture somewhere else?

A lot of students will actually even feature their for-sale items on there, so you’ll be able to steer clear of the sketchy people.

Street furniture:

Sure, this might not be your first choice, but just because it’s on the street doesn’t mean it’s in bad condition.

Some students may not have been able to get rid of their stuff in time, so they opted to leave it as a free-for-all by the curb. You obviously want to inspect the piece of furniture to make sure it is still usable and not gross (wouldn’t want some rat living in your couch) but if it looks fine, why not?

The great thing is you can always spruce it up by putting a throw over a couch, or repainting a bookshelf you found. You can make a little DIY project out of it, and by the time you’re done, it will look good as new.

I’ve seen some people that are artistically inclined make some awesome art pieces out of dressers and things like that, so if you can’t paint, ask a friend to help out.

U-Haul it:

Considering that you do have furniture in your room at your parent’s house that isn’t being used while you are at school, you could consider taking that up, so acquiring room furniture will be one less thing to worry about.

A U-Haul is definitely cheaper than buying a new bed, desk, dresser, mattress, nightstand, and whatever else will be needed in your room. So instead of having to find someone who doesn’t need their stuff, you can give yourself stuff.

I brought up my desk, chair, nightstand, desk lamp, and storage bins from my old bedroom. Saving money will make the moving process less hectic, and will give you a bit more to spend on the décor!

Let’s talk décor:

Speaking of décor, I actually saw someone selling all of their old posters on the Facebook group today. From wall art to picture frames, you could score some neat decorating tools from other students, so you’ll be able to make your room cute without feeling guilty.

So whether you picked your couch up on the curb or bought it off a fellow student, you’ll be able to make your new place absolutely adorable and affordable.

Looking for a more convenient way to furnish your off-campus apartment? Rent stylish furniture from CORT and save time and money. For more information on furniture rental packages, click here.

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