5 Tips On Renovating Your Home On A Budget

So you’ve been saving those picture-perfect home renovations and decoration ideas on your Pinterest. But before you start day-dreaming about the perfect house you want, you need to consider how best you can approach it with a realistic budget in mind.

Buying an apartment in Singapore is no cheap endeavour, but most people get caught up with how much financing they need to buy it and forget completely about the renovation part. This is why you need to start thinking about your renovation budget even before you start. We’ve listed some renovation financing tips below and some budget hacks to help you get that dream home designed within your designated budget.

Average Cost of Home Renovations in Singapore

The cost of home renovations can be far and wide, depending on a number of factors such as the type of property, age of property, scale of project and type of material chosen.

For build-to-order HDB, the average spend on renovations is between S$34,000 to S70,000 in 2024, depending on the size of the BTO flat, whereas the spend for resale flat is around 50% more. With such a huge amount of money required (on top of paying for your new home), this is why the following points will be helpful to prepare you for the upcoming financial cost.

Related: Average Cost of Home Renovation in Singapore 2024

Set a budget

Setting a budget for how much you are ready to spend on your home renovations is the first step. Using the average price range, look at your finances and think about how much you can afford.

There are also renovation loans available if you need one. Most renovation loans in Singapore only allow you to borrow up to S$30,000. This means that you might want to already start saving a sum of money for this even before you start house-hunting.

The fact is most people may not foresee that renovation costs can come up to this much. Beyond the S$30,000, you can however, consider personal loans too. Do note that renovation loans come at a lower interest as compared to personal loans. Comparatively, your renovation loans might cost slightly less than a personal loan as there are more restrictions on what you can use the loan on. Hence, it is usually best to take up a renovation loan first.

Be very cautious about taking too many loans though, since you will presumably already be servicing your mortgage loan on top of the renovation loan and the additional personal loan.

Related: 3 Tips on How to Get Rid of Your Piling Personal Debt and Credit Card Balance

Be Realistic About Needs And Wants

Once you’ve set your budget, you need to now fit your “wants” into that guideline.

Differentiate between what is a need and a want – the former being something that is required to make your home functional, whereas the latter is something belonging to the vanity category.

Even within your needs, like a kitchen counter, you can also choose between a range of materials and designs to suit your budget. Doing this will help you rein in your spending.

Related: 5 Points to Consider Before Renovating Your Home

Compare Quotations

Now, you can use your Pinterest boards to help you decide which interior design firms suit your theme and budget. It can be tempting to choose someone based on price, but remember, sloppy work will cost more in the long run. It is always helpful to visit forums and read up on reviews of these firms.

Shortlist about three to five interior designers and set aside time to meet the firms. Communicate your requirements clearly and ask for a quotation. This is when you compare quotes to ensure they fit within your budget.

If you like the design of a certain firm but they are out of your budget, looks for ways to negotiate – changing a certain material or reducing the “vanity” part of things can help fit them into your budget.

Related: Should You Engage a Contractor or an Interior Designer For Your New Home?

Consider D.I.Y

While we are definitely not experts when it comes to home renovations, there might be certain tasks you can do on your own to reduce the total cost. For instance, you might want to paint the walls yourself, choose wall-shelves from IKEA instead of having them custom-made or buy some of the items like bathroom fixtures on your own.

Be Prepared To Exceed Your Budget

Well, this is more a precaution than a tip. Most people find that they exceed their initial budget! So instead of frantically looking for extra funds to complete your renovations, keep this in mind when you look through the quotations.

What this means is that If your initial budget was S$50,000, it doesn’t mean that you have to spend all that $50,000. Be more conservative about your spending, and try to cut as much cost as possible so that you’ve got some extra buffer if you need to pay more later.

You can also use the following steps to reduce the chances of busting your budget:

Since money can be tight during this period, you might want to fund your purchases with credit cards so that you can save your cash in case you have an emergency. Just remember to pay the bills on time to avoid any interest charges.

If you find that you are just short of a small amount, such as a few hundred or thousand dollars, you could also ask to pay the shortfall with your credit card. It gives you more flexibility if you have to make decisions quick, instead of having to wait days of weeks for a new personal loan application to go through.

Some credit cards may also offer cash rewards and rebates, so make good use of these, especially if you are going to be spending quite a large amount in the next few months.

To learn more about the best credit card offerings on the market, check out our credit card results page below!

Read More:

• A Guide to Finding the Best Loans
• 6 Things To Know Before You Embark On A Home Renovation Project
• Just Bought Your First Home? Here’s What You Need to Know
• Buying A BTO Flat In 2024? Here’s A Complete Cost Breakdown
• How Much Do You Need To Earn Per Month To Buy A Condo in Singapore?

Cover image source: Unsplash