Need a great home office to do your work in, but don’t want to spend an arm and a leg? If you’re just starting out and don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on equipment, furniture and electronics, you don’t have to. Instead, use these tips to set up your office on a budget.
=> Comparison Shop for Electronics
Use websites like Pricewatch.com and NewEgg.com to comparison shop for electronics. You’re almost guaranteed to get cheaper products than if you were shopping in local retail shops.
Also try shopping on sites like Overstock.com, which sells leftover products from other wholesalers.
=> Buy in Bulk at Costco or Sam’s Club
These consumer-oriented wholesalers often sell products like paper, ink cartridges and other office supplies at much lower prices than you’d get at Best Buy or Office Depot.
Shop around a bit before making your purchases. You’ll usually find that wholesalers have lower prices than retail shops.
=> Try eBay
EBay is great for buying all kinds of products. That’s especially true for non-electronics.
Buying things like computers or hard drives on eBay can be more risky because you don’t actually get to physically touch the product and make sure it’s okay.
That said, in the last few years eBay’s really made strides to make electronic sales more secure. Make sure you’re buying from sellers with solid feedback and thousands of sales and you’ll be fine.
=> Get Used Furniture
Don’t buy furniture new. New furniture is incredibly expensive and can really cut into an office budget.
Instead, get high-quality used furniture. One great place to find used furniture is Craigslist. There’s often free furniture listed as well as lower-cost used furniture. You’ll often be able to find some very nice pieces if you have the patience to go through listings and wait a week or two as you shop around.
Also check out the various used furniture stores in your area. Goodwill is one such store in almost every major city, though Goodwill furniture tends to be of lower quality.
Spend some time shopping around for furniture. Buy it used. You can get very high-quality pieces at very low prices this way – sometimes even free!
=> Don’t Buy Things You Don’t Need
Do you really need a fax machine? Or can you replace it with an online fax service that will receive faxes and email them to you?
Do you really need a Xerox printer, or can you just get a $25 printer from Costco? Do you really need new ink cartridges for $30, or can you just refill your old cartridges for $6?
Lower the cost of stocking a home office by just buying less stuff. Make sure everything you buy are things you really need.
Stocking a home office doesn’t need to be expensive. Use sites like eBay, Pricewatch, NewEgg and Overstock to find products cheap. Buy from Costco or Sam’s Club rather than retail stores to save money on products you need to buy in person. Cut back on product purchases. When you combine all of these money-saving habits, you’ll quickly find your home office stocked – Without having to spend tons of money.
