<p>does anyone know the approximate cost of furnishing a completely UNfurnished apartment? </p>
<p>where do you go to college - how much did it cost you to furnish your apt?</p>
<p>any info on second hand furniture and other savings, etc?</p>
<p>Go to Garage sales. They will save you a lot of money if you are willign to put in the time to search them out and stuff.</p>
<p>Craigslist.com <-- tons of people moving out or whatever list their furniture there, quite cheap or even free</p>
<p>Ikea is heaven...cheap, but chic. i'll be moving into my own studio apartment in the fall (i go to NU) and i'll have to get everything--and almost everything i'll get will most likely come from there.</p>
<p>check out goodwill. they usually have couches for like ten bucks.</p>
<p>If you want new furniture: Ikea is heaven. If there isn't one near you.. Target, Walmart & Kmart.</p>
<p>If you don't mind used furniture: Garage Sales, Thrift stores, Dumpster Diving, Craigslist.</p>
<p>salvation army sometimes has 50% off sales near holidays... so, it's cheap to start with, then you get 50% off. My coffee table cost me $2.50. If you are even cheaper than that, you can go around to different apartment complexes near a big school at the end of the year... as people move out, they will just dump unwanted perfectly good furniture by the dumpsters.</p>
<p>Most of my furniture came from my parents - they were conveiniantly moving to a smaller house when I was moving out so I got a ton of furniture they just didn't have space for anymore. So, I can't give you an approximate amount. There are some real deals out there if you look around. I did buy a new mattress (a used one sounded gross)... JCPenny on sale for $400 (full size, mattress/boxspring set)</p>
<p>This year we moved into this apartment completely unfurnished and with absolutely no furniture that we brought from home (we weren't fortunate enough to have any relatives moving or anything).</p>
<p>We went about furnishing our place as comfortable and cheaply as possible. The first thing we did was find things all about Westwood. We picked up a small couch that had been left in front of my friends place for free. Not in the greatest condition, but it did have a fold out bed, and it was pretty comfortable and could be cleaned. We found 2 dinner table chairs and a recliner left in our apartment complex. Sometimes you just luck into it.</p>
<p>The rest of the things we found mostly through the Internet. We found a very very nice barely used couch on Craigslist for about $180. Our dinner table and a set of 4 chairs was another $100. I bought a TV stand off a guy back home in Long Beach for $10. Split between 6 guys, the cost really isn't too bad. It also helps that we had most of the kitchen supplies on us already and didn't need to spend much money there.</p>
<p>It's whatever you set the budget at. I put my budget at $400 and stuck to it. Go dumpster diving--ideal times are in May, when students move back home and leave stuff on the curb. I got a desk, a couch, and a chair (which turned out to be a valuable antique) that way. Patrol neighborhoods looking for tag and estate sales -- my parents' neighbor moved back to NYC, and gave me a Le Creuset skillet, a full set of glassware, and a set of Hickory chairs for free. Craigslist is also great; I found an IKEA daybed there for $25. It had been slept on once. </p>
<p>If there's an IKEA near you, great. Before you shop for anything, go to the As-Is section. Many times already assembled items, items that are just a little scratched, etc., are available for at least 50% off. </p>
<p>If you must buy new, buy in August/Sept. This is when stores put their furniture on sale; to make room for the new stuff. If you have to buy one thing new, make it a mattress and don't overlook the virtues of foam mattresses. These are more popular in Europe, but IKEA sells them here and they do wonders for your back.</p>
<p>Finally, this is morbid, but read the obits and then scout out the properties. From what I gather, most antiques dealers get alot of their stuff this way.</p>