As promised, I am excited to take you on my home decor journey, as I settle into my new apartment. I’ve already bought a few pieces of furniture and right now I’m using the same key points I gave my readers in my last blog, to create space within a small floor plan, and turn the place I live into a place I love. I must admit, I have had a few surprises while purchasing furniture; some interesting circumstances that I will be sharing with you later. The main take-away from this home decor journey is that I am doing all of this and remaining credit card debt free! There are so many beautiful, high quality home furnishings that you can find and purchase without pulling out that credit card. So stick with me as I create a place I call home. Oh, and I am still contemplating on where to set up my art studio within the modest square footage of my apartment. It’s gonna be fun!
Let's Talk Budget
So, lets talk budget for a minute. As many of you know who have been following me, I retired early at the age of 56. However, before I retired, I planned for it three years in advance. Covid was a huge eye-opener for me and I realized that I needed to secure my financial future. I was working remotely, unsure if the school I worked for would have to shut down from the repercussions of the pandemic. First, I looked at my retirement plan and requested an estimate letter to determine my monthly reward for retirement at 56. Next, I looked at my savings accounts: investments, personal savings, and even my vacation time that I was fortunately able to cash out upon retirement. I understand that everyone’s situation is different, but this is what I had to work with. I developed a plan to pay off all of my credit cards in three years, and did so. My biggest expense, which was my car challenged me the most. But with consistent increased payments, I paid down my car loan by $6000 in three years. Once, my vacation-time was cashed out, I used a portion of that money to pay off the last $5000 of my car note.
These three years took hard work and commitment. I paid off debt, saved, and hustled at my art and design business. My current mindset is that I worked too hard to get here, only to fall back into destructive, old habits with credit cards. Hence, my new journey of creating a home for myself, without credit cards. Now, on to furnishing this cozy, 1042 square foot apartment.
My 1st Purchase!
My first purchase was a sectional sofa. I am sharing this apartment with my sister, and I wanted seating that allowed us both to put our feet up. The space in the living room area is small so I opted for a sectional instead of a sofa and love seat. Just as I planned for my retirement, I also planned for this move…CASH ONLY! I have a furniture budget and my sister has her own furniture budget to furnish her bedroom and help furnish the common areas such as the kitchen and living room. We started looking at places online, like Walmart, Living Spaces, etc. I saw this sectional sofa on Walmart’s website for $439.99 with a double chaise…What?! I read the reviews and ordered it.
Now, I was expecting this beautiful sectional sofa to be delivered in one piece. Ummm…remember when I mentioned earlier that I had a few surprises while purchasing furniture? Well, my first surprise was when this sofa was delivered, not in one, not in two, but in three boxes! Yes, I said boxes! First, I thought a mistake was made. I went back to the online description of the sectional sofa and as I was reading the description…ALL of the description…I read that the sofa would be delivered in three boxes. Now, I’m kinda old school, y’all. Never have I seen a complete sectional sofa, cushions and all, air-compressed and packed into a box. Surprise!
Once, the shock wore off I must say that I was very happy with this purchase. As I cut open the air-compressed packaging, the cushions rebounded nicely. The assembly of the sofa took me about an hour with just some screws and an L wrench. I LOVE this sofa! To help define space, I added this beautiful, gray, machine washable rug, which nicely compliments the gray sectional sofa. I also purchased these adorable, round, nesting tables that fit perfectly in front of of the sectional. My sister and I both love the color scheme of gray and aged-looking wood-finish. The color is bright enough to make the space seem roomier, while adding texture and character.
My retro-style tv cabinet!
Since my faith in Walmart’s product line was restored, I purchased this fabulous, retro-style tv cabinet next. Yes, I’m a happy girl! I LOVE all things retro. My sister likes our purchases as well and has already had some good naps on the sofa. I promised her no pictures…lol!
Dining
Our dining area is small so I wanted a simple bar-style table to go in this space. No, this was not another Walmart purchase. Instead, it was a house-warming gift from mom and dad.
“Thank you, mom and dad!”
I picked out the style and chose a wood-finish that was similar to the tv cabinet. Can you believe all of this came in one box? Yes, another box!
The assembly was so easy though and it fits perfect in the dining space. Oh, and we got it from Amazon. (Link will be at end of this blog). My only drawback is that the bench seats weren't cushioned. So I ordered a set of gray cushions that fit the seats perfectly. Again, I'll add link for these very comfy cushions at the end of my blog.
More to be done!
There’s still a lot to do in our apartment, such as wall decor. Being that this is an apartment that we are renting, we want to be mindful of nails in the walls. I’m sorry y’all, I tried those adhesive strips and they just don’t work, in my opinion. I used those strips to hang family photos in my parents house and I’ll never forget watching one of those photos fall from the wall and come within an inch of hitting my dad on the head. I’m just not a fan. If y’all can recommend a good brand you’ve found success with, let me know in the comments. I do have some of my renter’s-friendly, peel and stick wallpaper I bought from Spoonflower. Hint, hint…lol.
I’m still deciding on how I want to use this fresh, retro design, I created, (Image E) for one of Spoonflower's design challenges.
All in all, we are creating a home on a budget and doing so successfully. What a great feeling to be able to pay our monthly bills and not have credit card debt! I haven’t talked much about where I’m going to setup my art studio. But I’m definitely working on it!
My friends, times have been tough these last five years for so many people. The rising cost-of-living, without an increase in pay has forced many of us into moving in with our adult parents and other family members. This is what happened to me. In 2019, I found myself living with my parents again. Others have had to take on additional jobs to pay the bills. I pray that in 2025, things will start to get better for you, for us all. Furthermore, I hope that you will be inspired by my journey of moving from my parents home after 5 years, to moving into a beautiful apartment in December of 2024, which I’m turning into a home, all without credit card debt.
Happy New Year,
Yoli Fae
Amazon Purchases
Bar Table and Chair Set: https://amzn.to/3DQOsf8
Rectangular, Non-slip, Bar Stool Cushions: https://amzn.to/4hewQYS
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