Getting your own place often feels like a multi-step process as it involves lots of budgeting and financial planning in advance.
Whether you're renting an apartment or buying a new home, there are lots of factors to consider for your budget.
Not to mention, furnishing the place takes up a sizeable chunk of your budget as well.
However, you may not realise that there are some ways to ease the load on your wallet (or bank account) and here are some tips that you can use.
Replacing televisions with projectors?
We've seen an increasing trend in young homeowners trading out their fancy big television screens for projectors.
There are many reasons for that — some prefer to free up space, some prefer to have bigger screen real estate, some like the flexibility of having a portable 'TV screen'. For 33-year-old Ron, he wants that "in-house cinema vibe".
The director of a consulting firm added: "The main reason is for the best screen-to-dollar ratio, and the ability to use some of the designated walls in the house as a screen."
And if you're in the market for a projector, why not consider BenQ's GV30? At just 1.6kg with a modern circular design, the projector is not only portable but it fits in anywhere.
The GV30 has a 135-degree rotating lens and can automatically correct the picture when projected from oblique angles or even when the projector is set in a corner. You can square up the image via auto vertical keystone, and then sharpen the image quality using autofocus.
Powered by CinematicColor, GV30 delivers a film's authentic colour with a colour performance that can reach up to 98 per cent coverage of the Rec.709 colour gamut. With 720p native resolution and 300 ANSI lumens brightness, GV30 also provides great resolution and contrast.
This portable projector is the first with 2.1 channel built-in speakers, featuring dual 4W midrange tweeters and a powerful 8W woofer for immersive cinematic sound.
A full battery charge is enough for most films unless you're looking at Avengers: Endgame. But if you run out of juice, you can also charge it with a powerbank.
As for your entertainment choices, GV30 (like other BenQ projectors) comes with AndroidTV and it has over 5,000 native apps. Furthermore, the wireless projection function allows you to cast your favourite entertainment apps, movies, TV shows, music, games, and sports directly from your Android or iOS device.
Of course, a projector isn't a direct replacement for a TV but you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Letting your kids 'paint' your wall
Now, this is an interesting one. Instead of opting for some fancy design on your wall that will take more time and money, why not let creativity run wild?
Richard, who is self-employed, has a space in his house where the wall is just covered in 'creations' from his kids. The 38-year-old said the walls are covered in paintings and drawings from his two kids and while it might not be the most artistic, it holds meaning for him.
There's even a portion of the wall where there are handprints from the entire family of four.
"They are a very active bunch and it was a good way for them to release that energy. Besides, it was just a white wall and I didn't know what to do with it," he said, adding that visitors usually pay no heed to it.
You can even do it yourself if you don't have kids or are single. Of course, if you're renting a place, you might want to think twice.
DIY furniture
No, we don't mean physically assembling your furniture from a certain Swedish furniture company. But, you can physically assemble furniture from items that most people would otherwise discard.
If you just take a look online, you can find living room tables made out of wooden pallets and crates.
Sure, it might take up more of your time to source the materials and put them together, but it will definitely be cheaper than buying a brand new table. If you're still planning for your new house or waiting for the keys, now might be a good time to start looking.
Wait for online sales and coupons to maximise savings
This is pretty much a no brainer as Singaporeans love a good deal. The upcoming Black Friday sale is a rite of passage by now and depending on what you get, you can save quite a bit.
Case in point, electronics are usually the way to go as the flash sales (plus coupons) can easily save you more than $100; assuming you're not trying to get the latest and most fancy ones.
'Beg, borrow, steal whatever you can'
For first-time owners (or even those who are renting), furnishing the apartment can be a Herculean task. And no one should be forced to eat instant noodles for months just to have a decent living space.
So don't be afraid to get hand-me-downs, which is what Smith Leong did when he got his first flat 10 years ago.
"For a first-time homeowner, beg, steal or borrow whatever you can. I lived 'cheaply' for my first home. A lot of my things were like hand-me-downs from my parents and in-laws place. Since it was my first home, I knew I would eventually upgrade and move out, so I did not spend too much on the renovation," the 37-year-old marketing manager said, adding that there were more Toyogo boxes than furniture and cabinets in his place.
On that note, you might even want to consider buying a place (if you're going for secondhand apartments) with most fittings already there. That way you can save as you don't even need to renovate the place, especially if they're rather new.
Want to save more? The BenQ GV30 is going for $799 (U.P. $869) at Shopee and Lazada from Dec 12 to 16. And remember to grab their $30 voucher before making payment — that's over $100 in savings. Run, don't walk.
This article is brought to you in partnership with BenQ.
bryanlim@asiaone.com