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Turning a new space into a home can be daunting. By far the hardest part of furnishing a house from scratch is figuring out where to start. One good first step is deciding on a budget — ideally, before you move out of your old place.

However you proceed, recognize that it’ll take some trial and error: At some point, you’re going to realize that something you had your heart set on is not what you want to spend your money and time on after all.

Whether you’re a minimalist or maximalist, we’ll show you tips for furnishing a home on a realistic timeline and budget.

6 Tips for Furnishing a Home

The key to finding the right home furnishings is to follow your instincts. There isn’t one universal definition of good taste. This is your taste, and your home. Here are a few guidelines.

1. Consolidate Your Stuff

Before you set a budget for new home furnishings, walk through your old place and identify what you want to keep (if anything) and what you’ll need to purchase. A new home is the perfect opportunity to say goodbye to pieces that don’t suit your lifestyle anymore. (“What would Marie Kondo do?” is still a good mantra.)

Start with the key pieces of furniture you’ll need for your home to be functional — beds, couches, dining table, area rugs. Did you recently purchase your dream bed, or have you had the frame since college? Decide what to move and what to chuck.

You can sell or donate furniture, depending on value.

2. Prep Before the Schlep

A rule of thumb for interior decoration: Pulling up carpeting and painting the walls are much easier to do before any furniture is brought into the house. Before move-in day, create a list of any changes you would like to make to the existing interior. Ask yourself if you want to include minor home repairs in this budget or create a separate one.

Here are some basics to consider before furnishing a house:

•   Walls and ceilings: Choose a paint color, patch holes, remove popcorn ceilings

•   Floors: Remove or add carpet, put in hardwood floors, refinish floors

•   Appliances: Select kitchen appliances, bring in a washer and dryer, install ceiling fans and lighting fixtures

•   Kitchen and bath upgrades: Redo the kitchen counters, choose a backsplash, retile the bathroom

•   Laundry room: A laundry room remodel can create a more efficient space or a room with a dual function.

Once you’ve made the list of potential changes, determine what needs to be tackled now and what can wait. You may be able to live with the blue tile in the kitchen, for instance, but the pink walls in the bedroom aren’t going to cut it. Next, determine what you can do yourself and what will require professional attention. You may want to research reliable contractors in your new neighborhood before you need one.

3. When Buying Furniture, Start with Key Rooms

The living room and main bedroom are two places you likely spend the most time in, so these are good rooms to prioritize. You don’t need to have a fully organized pantry before you have an acceptable place to sleep.

A bed and a couch may be worth spending extra money on in order to get something that will last for years and tie the room together.

•   Bedroom: A good bed frame and mattress are wise investment pieces. And it can be a good idea to choose a whole bedroom vibe before buying new pieces so that you have a cohesive theme.

•   Living room: A couch is the centerpiece here, so that’s the investment piece (and a good decor starting point). Consider size, comfort, and color. A big TV or entertainment center may also be part of the equation.

•   Home office: You may be able to offset some of the cost with a home-office tax deduction.

4. Keep Things Organized While You Unpack

The two elements that really shape the feng shui of a home are organization and decor. An organized pantry or closet makes life easier, while a curated bookshelf can subtly affect the feel of an entire room.

See what you already have that can be functional — baskets, bins, and such. As you unpack your belongings, use these tools to stay organized. Depending on your lifestyle, organizational outlays for your new home could range from slimline hangers to a closet remodel.

5. Little Things Add to the Big Picture

Lay out all the decor pieces you own, including art, books, family heirlooms, photographs, trays, candles, and vases. Ideally, you’ve gone through most of this stuff in the consolidation phase and kept only things that are meaningful to you or fit your home’s aesthetic.

Once you see everything in one place, begin picking out things that go together. There are no wrong answers here — you might choose travel books for your office and a series of family heirlooms and photographs for your bedroom. This is the most forgiving aspect of interior decoration because smaller decor pieces can be easily shifted.

Once all of your belongings are in place and the art is hung, you can browse online to find some great pieces that resonate with you and your space. Now may be the time to frame that print you’ve been hanging on to, or to splurge on the perfect pillows for your couch. These may seem like small additions, but they can make a huge difference.

Recommended: Four Ways to Upgrade Your Home

6. Space Out the Purchase of Big-Ticket Items

It’s OK if your home looks like a work in progress for a while. Once you’ve consolidated, organized, and decorated, you may want to buy your investment pieces. Pick three or four non-negotiables — perhaps a bed, sofa, television, and live edge dining table — and get those into the house. Then focus on buying art, rugs, and lights you’ve been eyeing.

How Much Does It Cost to Furnish a House?

One way to estimate interior costs is to set a budget that’s a percentage of your home’s price. This can range from 10% to 50%, depending on your finances. For a $400,000 home, for instance, you’re looking at a baseline of $40,000.

Remember, that includes any painting, flooring work, and minor updates in addition to new home furnishings. That figure also accounts for all interior-related costs in your first few years of home ownership: the inexpensive starter pieces you tolerated until the perfect item materialized, the well-intentioned mistakes, and so forth.

If you don’t have a separate fund earmarked for new home furnishings, it can be hard to come up with a chunk of cash right after closing. One option is taking out a personal loan. In fact, funding home updates and furnishings is one of the most common uses for personal loans.

There are different types of personal loans. Typically, you can borrow between $5,000 and $100,000, and pay it back in equal installments over a term of up to seven years. Fixed interest rates for personal loans tend to be lower than for credit cards.

Here are some cost ranges for key pieces to help you create a budget.

Recommended: Personal Loan Calculator

Painting: $966 and $3,071

The cost of paint supplies will depend on the number of rooms, amount of trim for doors and windows, and the quality of the paint. Paint is about $20-$30 per gallon, but a designer brand can cost much more than that. A gallon of paint covers about 400 square feet, and two coats may be recommended. Factor in all the myriad paint supplies to buy if you DIY.

Expect to pay a painter $2 to $6 per square foot for labor and materials, according to Home Advisor. For a 2,300 square foot home, you can pay from $4,000 to $11,000.

Bed: $200 to $2,000 and Up

Simple bed frames are available from IKEA or Wayfair in the $100-$200 range. Inexpensive bed frames and headboards are also easy to find at thrift stores and yard sales. While you may not want to furnish your entire house with thrifted pieces, one or two second-hand items can free up a lot of cash to put toward a couch or higher-end mattress.

You can also find mid-priced selections from $300 to $1,000 at those retailers as well as more design-driven vendors such as West Elm, Raymour & Flanigan, and Crate and Barrel.

Mattress: $300 to $2,000 and Up

Mattress-in-a-box brands such as Zinus, Allswell, and Nectar offer mattresses starting at a few hundred dollars. Higher-end brands like West Elm, Raymour & Flanigan, and Tempur-Pedic can run upwards of $3,000.

Sofa: $200 to $3,000

The IKEAs, Wayfairs, and Targets of the world offer many starter pieces for a few hundred dollars. Midrange selections run from $300 to $1,000 from these and other retailers, such as Ashley Furniture, West Elm, Raymour & Flanigan, Crate & Barrel, and CB2.

At the higher end of the spectrum, more sophisticated designs are available at Roche Bobois, Ligne Roset, Design Within Reach, and other luxury brands. And don’t forget second-hand designer marketplaces — such as Apt Deco, Kaiyo, 1st Dibs — and antique stores.

Dressers and Wardrobes: $200 to $5,000 and Up

Bedroom furniture can be found at the same kinds of retailers and run from modest to extravagant. While coordinating bedroom sets used to be de rigueur, in recent years they’ve been replaced by a less matchy-matchy aesthetic.

Recommended: 25 Tips for Buying Furniture on a Budget

Rugs: $30 to $1,000 and Up

Rugs are a cost that’s easy to forget about, and they can be a lot more expensive than you expect. A high-quality Persian rug can run thousands of dollars, but some of the midrange retailers discussed have area rugs starting at $100. Look out for Labor Day and Black Friday sales, too.

Organizational Pieces: $20 to $300 and Up

Baskets, bins, storage ottomans, and closet systems can bring order to chaos. The Container Store offers inspiration.

What Home Decor Style Fits Your Personality Quiz

The Takeaway

When furnishing a home, start with a budget. One rule of thumb suggests putting aside 10% to 50% of your home’s price for interior decorating. Before you move, cull your belongings and prepare the new space for move-in (pulling up carpet, redoing countertops, remodeling a closet). Then identify initial key purchases. Many homeowners today choose a mix of high- and low-end furnishings, plus second-hand items from thrift stores and online designer dealers.

Think twice before turning to high-interest credit cards. Consider a SoFi personal loan instead. SoFi offers competitive fixed rates and same-day funding. See your rate in minutes.

FAQ

What is a good budget for furnishing a new home?

Some experts recommend setting your home furnishings budget as a percentage of your home’s price: say, 10% to 50%. That includes any cosmetic work done on the interior before you move in, as well as new home furnishings and decor pieces.

Can you furnish your home with a personal loan?

If you have an emergency fund tucked away and feel comfortable making another monthly payment on top of your mortgage, a personal loan can be a good option. In fact, home furnishings and updates are one of the most common uses for a personal loan. Just be prepared to prove to lenders that your debt-to-income ratio will remain below 36%.

Can you furnish a new home with a $10,000 personal loan?

A personal loan can be a good option for covering new home furnishings. Just make sure $10,000 will cover your costs — you can’t add to a personal loan amount after the fact. One rule of thumb suggests budgeting 10% to 50% of your home’s price for furnishings and interior updates.

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SOPL-Q324-028

Money affirmations are phrases you repeat aloud or write down to help promote positive thinking and good financial habits. Some people find these mantras to be a helpful tool in reducing money stress. That can be a good thing: In one 2024 survey, 88% of respondents said they were experiencing financial stress, with 65% noting that money was their single biggest source of worry.

Here, learn about what money affirmations are and how you might find them useful.

What Are Money Affirmations?

Affirmations about money are positive statements about personal finances, from the dollars that pass through your hands (or are growing in your savings account) daily to long-term goals. Some people value these as being a step towards visualizing and achieving financial success. Some points to know:

•   An affirmation can be as simple as “My finances will get better.” That can be a motivating and calming message if, say, you are a recent graduate who is struggling to find a job. Looking on the bright side in this way can encourage a positive attitude as you learn how to become financially independent.

•   Fans of finance affirmations say that repeating them can help you believe in and actualize (or manifest) them. By keeping such thoughts top of mind, you might avoid impulsive or unwise money decisions, such as splurging on a vacation when it isn’t in your budget. 

That said, others may not believe in money affirmations and question if there’s proof that this kind of positive thinking works. It’s a very personal decision whether to implement these affirmations or not.

Recommended: Personal Finance Basics for Beginners

What Is the Law of Attraction?

When exploring money affirmations (or any kind of affirmation, for that matter), you may hear the phrase “law of attraction” used. This principle says that by focusing on what you want to attract into your life, you can help yourself actually attain those goals. To put it another way, by envisioning what you want, you can guide your thoughts and behaviors to achieve that vs. dwelling on what you don’t have. 

For instance, if you want to retire by age 50, you would push away negative thoughts of “I’ll never have enough money to do that.” Instead, you might regularly conjure up the image of leaving your job to pursue your passions at age 50 and say, “I am on a path to save enough money to retire early.” That could perhaps help you pass up impulse buys and instead save money to help you realize your dream. That can be a valuable step on the path to financial freedom.

25 Money Affirmations

If you want to give affirmations about money a try, here are 25 examples you can try out (whether you say them aloud, internally, or write them down) to hopefully build a more positive approach to your finances.

1.      I control money; money doesn’t control me.

2.      I can become financially free.

3.      I have the power to be financially successful.

4.      My income will exceed my expenses.

5.      My hard work will bring in more money.

6.      I am worthy of making more money.

7.      I am a magnet for prosperity, and it flows toward me effortlessly.

8.      I deserve the money coming to me.

9.      I have more than enough money.

10.      My finances will get better.

11.      I accept financial success.

12.      I will achieve my financial goals.

13.      I deserve financial success and happiness.

14.      I will use the money I earn for good.

15.      I am wise with my money.

16.      I can make smart financial decisions.

17.      I have the ability to overcome reckless spending.

18.      I can make my dreams a reality.

19.      My future self will thank me for being wise with money.

20.      Having wealth is integral for life.

21.      I can achieve my financial goals and more.

22.      Debt will not stop me from reaching my financial goals.

23.      Saving money is a challenge I can accomplish.

24.      My investments will pay off.

Do Money Affirmations Actually Work?

There’s no guarantee that if you repeat money affirmations, your financial well-being will improve. No matter what you see online, read in books, or watch on YouTube, no one knows 100% whether money affirmations, even if repeated 100 times, will truly improve finances and build wealth. 

That said, proponents believe in them, so whether to use money affirmations is your call. One note in favor of money affirmations: They might help you focus on the positive and alleviate some money stress, which can be a good thing. 

One recent survey found that almost half of respondents (47%) said money negatively impacted their mental health, and that included causing stress. Reinforcing positive self-talk with money mantras might relieve worry and result in a calmer, steadier, more productive financial mindset. 

Money Affirmations vs Money Mantras

The phrases “money affirmations” and “money mantras” are typically used interchangeably. They are also sometimes called “abundance affirmations” or “wealth affirmations.” Occasionally, a money affirmation may be distinguished as being a sentence vs. a money mantra being just a phrase (like “less spending, more success”). 

Whatever you call them, money affirmations for financial abundance may be a way to boost your positivity when it comes to managing your cash. The words are meant to help you stay the course in reaching your financial goals.

Recommended: Tips for Overcoming Bad Financial Decisions

How to Choose and Write Your Money Affirmations

To choose and write your money affirmations, first identify negative beliefs about money that may be holding you back. Perhaps you see yourself as an impulse shopper, incapable of resisting sales or making frugal decisions. Maybe you’ll decide that “I am wise with my money” would be a good affirmation to try because it could counteract negative money self-talk.

You can also write a money mantra based on your personal challenges to state your goals as if it is already true. For example:

•   If your checking account is often lower than you’d like and you’re tightening your budget, the negative statement, “I will not order food delivery ever this year” may be discouraging and hard to live up to. 

•   A better affirmation might be a positive phrase, like, “I will budget well and spend my grocery money mindfully.” That way, when you do order the occasional pizza, you will likely have planned for it and can feel good. 

Your money mantra can help you focus on the positive.

How Do You Use Money Affirmations?

Those who believe in affirmations suggest using them in whichever way feels comfortable and meaningful. 

•   You might say them aloud or to yourself. 

•   You could jot them on a sticky note to post on your computer, mirror, fridge, and/or car dashboard. 

•   Some people like to put the words on their phone lock screen.

•   Others may prefer to write their phases (whether that’s “I am working to increase my bank account” or “Abundance is flowing my way”) in a notebook or journal.

Saying or writing your money affirmation daily can be a good practice, but it’s up to you to set the cadence that works best for you. The goal is to repeat the affirmations often enough to impact your outlook, enabling you to visualize financial security and move towards it.

Recommended: 7 Tips for Improving Your Financial Health

The Takeaway

Money affirmations, aka money mantras or abundance affirmations, are sayings that people can repeat to replace a negative money mindset with a positive one. They can express a financial goal or good habit. Some believe that saying or writing these words can help banish negative self-talk and instead create an optimistic outlook that can encourage good money management and financial wellness.

Another aspect of financial health is choosing the right banking partner. 

Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.

FAQ

How do I choose the best money affirmation for me?

Choosing the right money affirmation is a very personal decision. You may want to opt for (or write) a money affirmation that counteracts negative thoughts. So if you often tell yourself, “I will always be in debt,” a good money affirmation might be, “Every day, I am moving towards eliminating debt.” 

What is the affirmation number for money?

Each person can decide if they believe in affirmation numbers (or “lucky numbers”) for money and, if so, what it might be. Some think the number eight is associated with building wealth (say, in numerology), though it’s unlikely to find scientific proof of such a connection.

How often do I need to say my money affirmations?

Money (or wealth) affirmation fans say you should repeat the phrases as often as you need to so that you believe in them and they can help guide your financial habits. That could mean saying your money mantra daily perhaps. If you choose to write down your money mantras, the general advice is to post your affirmations where you will see and read them often. A couple of good spots might be on the refrigerator or mirror. 

When is a good time to repeat money affirmations?

An ideal time to repeat money affirmations can be when you’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed about your finances. For instance, if your credit card payment is late, rather than sinking back into negative self-talk, you could repeat your money mantra. Doing so might help you accept your current burden and refocus on your goals. Other people may find they like to repeat money mantras in the morning, to encourage a positive money mindset all day.

Photo credit: iStock/s-cphoto

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