To any of you Dave Ramsey fans out there, I am a hunter – I love to hunt bargains down, I love to research and make sure I am getting the best deal, and then go in for the kill. I can spend hours becoming a virtual expert on a subject, just so I know that what I am spending our hard earned money on, is the best thing for us, and is worth it.
This whole kitchen remodel process has been no different. I have put the effort in to obtaining quotes, and finding out they best way to stretch my dollar. I obtained quotes for contractors to do all the work, some of the work and then worked out how much it would cost to do it ourselves. DIY was the most budget friendly!
Here are some of my top tips for a kitchen remodel:
- Buy off-the-shelf cabinetry – it will cost you approximately ¼ of custom cabinetry.
- Shop around for granite, once you find the color you like call granite slab yards in your area to get the best deal. If you have a friend who is a contractor see if they will help you get a contractor rate. We saved about 40% using a contractors rate.
- Buy open box appliances. Find your local scratch and dent appliance outlet and shop there. Or try Best Buy or an equivalent store. We saved between 50% and 80% on our kitchen appliances shopping this way, and two of the three were new open box items with minor imperfections.
- Haggle! Check all stores online prices before you go, most brick and mortar stores will meet their online stores prices, and will price match, or price beat a competitor.
- Cabinet hardware can vary greatly in price. Make sure you shop around, consider buying knobs in a cheaper material, or in a bulk pack to save money.
- Use coupons – when you move house the change of address packet at the post office (and online) gives you a 10% off Lowes coupon. And you can sign up online for one from Home Depot. You will also get an addition $10 of $50 purchase from Lowes in the mail, and if you sign up online in your email. We saved more than $400 using these coupons. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for a discount even without a coupon. If you are paying cash the store will not have to pay fees on that transaction and are more likely to negotiate. (Note – Lowes take HD coupons and vice versa)
Next week: Hear how the kitchen is coming along, and hopefully see some picture of our new floor and granite!
Food columnist Emma is a dear friend of Gidget’s and a wife and mom, who lives in Southern California.
