Home Good Sale Shopping Calendar

Shopping can be hard. Especially when your shopping for expensive things. Few things are more complicated to shop for than home goods. It’s easy to go to cheap and end up having make a return or start again. This can quickly gets complicated if you're buying something large or if it's a faulty appliance. Plus you may not get a refund on the money you’ve shelled out;  meaning you’d have to start over but without the money you already spent. Alternatively, you could overspend on something and end up eating sandwiches for a month on a stove that isn’t all that great, and you won’t even be able to enjoy until you can afford groceries again. There is no need to despair over your shopping woes for there are glorious things called sales that exist; but how are you supposed to know which ones are worth your time and your money when the market is oversaturated with advertisements and fake sales where the prices have been jacked up so they can be brought back down to the same price? Well, you’re in luck, here’s a month by month list of when you can find the best sales for whatever household good you’re looking for.

January: After Christmas sales trump the Christmas sales almost every time.

Storage Stuff (good for organizing all the stuff you accumulated over the holidays), Bedding and Linens (the white sale strikes again! (If the store is out of what you want in stores you can probably ask for it and get what you actually want at the discounted price)),  Major Appliances (Stores are trying to get in new inventory, which means there are good sales to be had on last year’s model of whatever your looking for), Flooring and other Renovations (Most people don’t do any major work on their house during or just after the holiday season so those jobs are going to be cheaper during this season), Paint (again nobody likes to do stuff during holiday season, they’re just happy you’re buying something), Roof (Who gets their roof done in winter? You now), Furniture (New furniture is coming in February so it goes on sale January).

February: Good for buying more than just leftover pink and red stuff from Valentines day

Mattresses (Presidents day has arrived and brought sales with them. You get major sales on mattresses around this time!), Roof (You heard me).

March: The Spring sales are starting!

Winter Stuff (You know when winter stuff is on sale? When you don’t need it anymore. Snowblowers for everybody!), HVAC Equipment (When you don’t need a heating system installed? The spring, so I guess it’s time to buy one),

April: Spring sales in full swing!

Winter Stuff (You know), Vacuum Cleaners (New models come out in June so the old ones go on sale to make room). HVAC Equipment (Same).

May: End of the Spring Sales

Mattresses (Memorial Day, second verse same as the first. Major mattress sales!), Vacuum Cleaners (I already told you why), Paint (I don’t know, it has something to do with mercury), Roof (Materials are at their cheapest at this time).

June: Here comes summer.

Power tools (Apparently dads like tools so they go on sale for father’s day).

July:

Grills (no, not in time for the 4th,  right after it. You missed the holiday and now grills are on sale in time for you to enjoy the second half of the summer), Furniture (New furniture is coming in August so it goes on sale July).

August:

Grills (Just when you have one month left to enjoy it), Storage Stuff (good for storing all the summer stuff you’ll need to put away over the next season).

September:

Plants (People don’t usually garden as the season are turning colder but that doesn’t mean you can’t. Research what plants will thrive if you buy them in September. You’ll get them between 30% and 50% off )

October:

Major Appliances (Stores are trying to get in new inventory, which means there are good sales to be had on last seasons models of whatever your looking for), HVAC Equipment (Moderate temperatures mean not a lot of work for HVAC people… so it’s a good time to buy one).

November:

HVAC Equipment (Moderate temperatures mean not a lot of work for HVAC people… so it’s a good time to buy one).

December:

Powertools (Apparently dads like tools so they go on sale for the holidays), Flooring and other Renovations (Most people don’t do any major work on their house during or just after the holiday season so those jobs are going to be cheaper during this season).

Flipping Houses: Instant Equity

So, you’re taking on flipping a house. Good for you, taking on a project that others weren’t willing to and seeing the potential that nobody else was willing to see in a property. Beyond replacing backsplashes and appliances what do you do? You’ve found yourself the right property. Good location, right price, but you bought a fixer-upper and it’s time to get to work. Where do you start?

You need to start with some instant equity projects. These projects always add good resale value to the property (and cost money and require professional help) and are totally worth the price.

Start on the outside and work your way in. Curb appeal always bumps the value of the property. First important instant equity project is:

A New roof - This improves the house on the inside and the outside, nobody wants to buy a house that has a roof that’s already leaky when they get there. An old worn down roof is also a visible eyesore, pealing, curling shingles, not cute and not comforting. This project will cost you around 7,500$ and the return should be approximately 109% or around 8,150$.

Replace the Siding - Here me out, vinyl sidings. They are more durable than they used to be and it’ll never have to be painted again. A new, fresh looking siding on a house instantly bumps the curb appeal adding instant value. This will cost around 13,000$ and will get you back around 10,000$. This is about a 75% return.

Hardwood Flooring -  There is nothing more coveted, more classic, as easy to clean as hardwood floors.  If you pull up the old crusty carpet and find a hardwood floor you’ve struck gold. It’s worth installing even if it wasn’t already there. Hardwood floors add instant value and are a highly sought-after feature. The return is pretty good too. Around 100% return rate to refinish and around 90% to install. 

If you get a good deal on the property and are able to make updates with good returns and stay inside your budget, you should get a good profit from this project. If you’ve done your research on the neighborhood, know what houses in the neighborhood are going for, the features on those homes compared to the one you’re updating. Determine your budget based on the market value of homes in the neighborhood. Spend under that number and sell as close to it as you can, a little higher if at all possible. That’s the art of flipping. Find a deal on the property, renovate under expect to sell for, put the house back out there, make a profit.

How to Start Flipping Properties

So, you’re taking on flipping a house. Good for you, taking on a project that others weren’t willing. Property flipping, however, is more than replacing backsplashes and kitchen appliances. What do you do? Where do you start? With the property.

First, you start with the price. Don’t pay full price for a property that isn’t fully put together. Do the research, what are other houses in the neighborhood going for? What are the features of those homes compared to the one you’re looking at? Determine your budget based on the market value of homes in the neighborhood. That’s what it’s going to sell for. Don’t count on getting any more money than the highest price in the neighborhood. So don’t put more in than you’re going to get back out of the property. Also, remember that the price of the home is not going to be your only cost, it is only part of the project.

Next, consider what needs to be done to the house and on the property. There needs to be several opportunities for instant equity, things that would get you a return on your investment if you had to sell the house right after you did the repair or upgrade. Stuff like a fresh coat of paint, some curb appeal projects, upgrading kitchen appliances. Then you need to evaluate what popular features will enhance and compliment the natural beauty of the house as well as adding fiscal value to the home. Things like fireplaces and hardwood floors are very popular and worth the money to install.

One last important thing to consider, time. Time, and honestly your patience. Do you have the time and patience to invest into the property? If not, then don’t waste your time or money starting the project at all. Renovations take time. Each and every project you take on will take you time and money whether or not you hire someone or take on the renovation yourself. So, it’s time to do some soul searching. If you don’t have the time, money, and patience to throw into in-depth landscaping then don’t bother doing any of this at all.

Well… happy hunting, hope this goes well for you and all that. Enjoy the process or don’t do it, those are your two best options. Good luck.

Adding a Fireplace

Ready or not it’s winter! The solstice has come and gone. The days may be getting longer but it’s still gonna be cold out for the next two months. What better way to wait out cold winter days than in front of a fireplace? So what if your house doesn’t actually come with a fireplace. You can always get install one. Yes, I just told you to install a fireplace in your already fully built house.

Here’s the thing, we’re deep into the late 2010s. You don’t need to take out part of a wall and build a chimney to get a fireplace if you truly desire one. It’ll definitely cost money, a lot of money… it’s an investment. Think of a fireplace as a slightly risky investment, an investment you can enjoy and could, maybe payoff.   

So, fireplaces are a desirable feature. Almost 40% of homebuyers said they would pay extra for a house with a fireplace. The best way to maximize the payoff of a fireplace is to ensure that the price of the fireplace is proportionate to the overall value of the house. A fireplace isn’t calculated separately in a professional home appraisal a $10,000 fireplace holds its value in a $1 million house because buyers expect this feature in an upscale home but a $10,000 fireplace won’t be such a crucial component of a $100,000 house. The fireplace is not going to be the main draw of a lower scale home… so maybe focus on other stuff, like curb appeal.

Also, put it somewhere it’ll actually be used, like a den, family room, great room, etc. Equip your fireplace with energy-efficient glass doors and an exterior venting system that prevents heated air from being pulled out of rooms. If you want fireplaces for smaller rooms, if you are so inclined, to think about a small gas fireplace that’s easy to maintain.

Firepit Types

Do you love spending time outside? I can’t relate. However, if I must be outside, I must
be comfortable, and nothing quite says outside comfort like a firepit. Especially, if you
must be outside in the winter, when it’s cold outside there’s nothing quite like sitting in
front of a firepit. So, if your thinking about building a firepit here’s a couple of styles you
could get.

Naturalistic Firepits

Rock Firepit: It’s traditional and pretty simple to DIY. You know what I’m talking about.
It’s the circle of rocks that you place the wood in middle and voila, fire pit. If you live
somewhere where you can get decent sized rocks it would be easy to forage them for
yourself and you can, in fact, buy rocks and Home Depot or something like that.

Pond Firepit: Did your property come with a nice, quant little water feature that you’re
completely unwilling to upkeep? Fish are a lot of work for living decoration. Turn that
pre-existing, rock-lined, hole in the ground to a firepit.

Salvaged pit: This kind of pit uses things you find in your own yard. Rocks, stepping
stones from a path you didn’t really want, leftover bricks and stuff from a build or the
construction of the house if you’ve just built. You can use salvaged wood to build
benches or other features.

Constructed Firepits

Tree Ring Firepit: Simple DIY build. If you don’t know, cause I didn’t, there are these
curved brick like fence… thingies that go around trees. They’re super good and
convenient material for building a quick firepit in about an hour. Make two circles, one
inside the other, Use the scalloped ones so they’re easy to stack, bottom facing up,
top facing down. You can use a small grill in the middle if you're super lazy.

Outside space: If you’re really going for it than go for it. Select a good amount of space in your yard, and section it off. At this point, if you’re really going for it, look at google images and Pinterest and get inspiration. Really build out the entire area. Stone floor, brick pit, built-in seating, etc. REALLY GO FOR IT.

See, mostly simple and can kind of be done on a whim. If you’re going to be outside, be warm and comfortable outside. Gathering around a firepit can also be great for parties with friends. If you get no other pleasure from a fire pit at least think about the s’more possibilities, you’ll gain. There’s nothing like a good excuse to make s’mores. Your taste buds and probably your friends will thank you.

Fireplace makeover

Baby it’s cold outside! So what’s better than a fireplace!? I apologize for the bad
pun but seriously, fireplaces are amazing in the winter time. It’s just an objectively
great feature to have in your home… unless it’s ugly. Unfortunately, it is very
possible that your fireplace might be ugly or maybe it just doesn’t go with your
aesthetic. Let’s face it, fireplaces often show the decade the house was built more
than any other piece of architecture, and sometimes… those decades sense
of interior style are garbage.

Decals! You can legitimately use decals. You’re going to have to put in a lot of
thought to make sure that the design your going for, goes on right but if done
right decals on tile could look amazing. Besides the mental energy it’s a pretty
simple project. It’s also a super cheap way of doing a high impact upgrade to
your fireplace.

Another DIY upgrade you can make to your fireplace that should be simple and
relatively cheap is painting it! You can paint just about any surface, not sure that
you should (don’t paint marble or granite, I’ll disown you), but you can! Tile, just
takes a little bit of forethought, a little bit of primer, and some acrylic paint and
you’ll have a brand new look. You can paint brick. You can do a wash over the
brick in any color you please to give the room a modern trendy look.
Continuing the color onto the walls, up to the ceiling can also add height to the
room! So that’s a really cool treatment that could enhance your entire space.
Uneven or stacked stone would probably look wired but you can knock yourself
out trying.

One other thing you can do to brick is dye it! This isn’t quite as easy as painting
but it looks more natural, like it was the bricks original color. You can go from a
classic brick red color to something softer like grey or vice versa.

Don’t have a fireplace? That’s to bad. You can check out our article on installing
your own fireplace. However, if you’re just looking for the aesthetic you can also
get a fireplace façade! Pick up a faux fireplace and make it interesting. Fill it to
the brim with logs or books or other interesting things. Go wild! It’s not a
permanent part of the house anyways.