As the Chinese New Year approaches, many people not only want to buy New Year’s goods but also intend to purchase some home soft furnishings to bring a fresh look to their homes. When they open shopping websites and calculate the total cost of the items they want to buy, they find that their wallets are about to take a big hit. But how could this stump today’s young people? By searching for ‘money-saving groups’ and ‘money-saving tips’ online, they can find a wealth of young people’s wisdom. No matter what kind of home items they desire, with a little creativity, affordable alternatives will come to mind. And the best part is, the price can be one or two times lower!! Without further ado, let’s take a look at the affordable alternatives that thrifty young people have.
Enamel Board VS Baked Enamel Iron Sheet If you have children at home and want to create a whiteboard wall or a magnetic toy wall for them during the New Year. When you search for enamel boards online, they often cost 200-300 yuan per square meter. Even a small wall can be several square meters, which means it will cost several hundred yuan. Moreover, the installation fee for enamel boards is also relatively high. Merchants generally do not include installation, and hiring an installer will cost 100 yuan per square meter, and drilling holes in the enamel board costs 10 yuan. Is the enamel board such an expensive high-tech material? However, it’s not. It’s a common enamel material applied to flexible steel plates. After being installed on the wall, it can become a magnetic board. Another way of thinking is that if you buy some magnetic toys, can you replace the whiteboard with an iron sheet? Search for ‘baked enamel iron sheet’ on the shopping website. For the same size, the price is only one-tenth of that of the enamel board. It is not only practical but also easy to install. After buying it, you can directly stick it on the wall with nano glue. It’s both cost-saving and useful. It’s really great. Art Painting VS Painting Core + Business License Frame During the New Year, many people want to make their homes look different and will inevitably decorate them. So they go online to buy artistic decorative paintings. However, the price of an ordinary finished painting is either over 100 yuan or a few hundred yuan. As young people who are great at saving money, how could they spend this unnecessary money? A finished painting generally consists of two parts: the painting core and the frame. Since finished paintings are too expensive, let’s think differently – buy them separately. Search for ‘painting core’ on the shopping website, and there will be a large number of paintings with low prices for you to choose from. There is an even better way. If you don’t want to buy online, you can download the electronic version of the painting and print it yourself. In this way, the cost of a painting core is only a few yuan. For the frame, search for ‘business license frame’. The same thing with a different search term has a huge price difference. It turns out that what makes us spend money like water is not the product but the information gap. Lamps and Lights VS Lamps Wholesale, B&B Lamps We all know that the lighting at home determines the atmosphere of a home.As the Chinese New Year is approaching, I really can’t stand the plain white lighting effect at home. I want to add some lighting fixtures to enhance the layering of the home lighting. Lighting fixtures are generally not cheap, and some uniquely designed ones can cost over a thousand yuan. Although there are many ‘price assassins’ on the way to an ideal life, each generation has its own money-saving tricks.
Let’s see who doesn’t know yet. As buyers, the lighting fixtures we usually search for are expensive. So, let’s try searching with a different identity. Search for ‘lighting wholesale’ and ‘lighting for homestays’. There are also many styles to choose from. Just pick the one you like. After such an operation, you can directly save half of the money. The price is thus brought down. Since I learned this search method, my mom no longer has to worry about me wasting money. Sofa Covers vs. Coral Fleece Fabric Covers At the end of the year, the sofa that has been used for a year is inevitably a bit worn out or dirty. Although we can’t just replace the sofa at will, changing a sofa cover is still very easy. Sometimes, changing a sofa cover can have the same effect as getting a new sofa. A random 3- or 4-seater sofa cover online costs either dozens or over a hundred yuan. Following the principle of ‘ saving whenever possible and never spending more than necessary’, we must find a cost-effective alternative to the sofa cover. What we call a sofa cover is actually a relatively large piece of fabric. Many winter sofa covers have the texture of flannelette. So, we can directly search for ‘coral fleece fabric sofa cover’ online. As a raw material product, coral fleece fabric only costs a few yuan per square meter at the source. The fabric for an entire sofa will not cost more than 30 yuan. Since I discovered this great alternative, I feel like I’ve found a loophole in the consumer world. By spending just a small amount of money, we can achieve the desired lifestyle, greatly reducing the cost of living while improving the quality of life immediately. Hole Boards vs. Perforated Boards In 2024, if we talk about the most popular storage item, it must be the hole board. The hole board is truly a god in vertical storage. Merchants have also targeted this booming market demand and developed various styles of hole boards. Of course, as a new favorite in storage, the price is naturally not cheap. A quick online search shows that they can cost several hundred yuan. However, young people who pursue cost-effectiveness won’t let the price hold them back. They start to find alternative ways. If you want an acrylic hole board, you can search for ‘fish tank partition board’. It can be used as a jewelry organizer and is very inexpensive. It can store jewelry and various small items. Placed in the bedroom, it looks extremely beautiful. If you want a metal one, search for ‘perforated board’. The price is almost one-tenth of that of the hole board. To be fair, the shape of the perforated board is relatively simple, and you also need to measure the size in advance and customize it with the manufacturer. Carpets vs. Sofa Scarves + Anti-slip Mats + Crawling Mats I’ve wanted to match a carpet for the sofa for a long time. The reason I haven’t bought one is that good carpets are indeed a bit expensive, and I’m worried about formaldehyde in ordinary carpets.Whether there is formaldehyde depends on the material of the carpet. If the material is a pure wool carpet, such as wool or wool blend, the formaldehyde content is generally within the safe range. If the carpet material is chemical fiber, such as polypropylene, polyester, or acrylic, the formaldehyde content will be relatively higher. In addition, some color fixatives in carpets are also synthesized from formaldehyde. Carpets using color fixatives will also have formaldehyde residues.
Once when browsing Xiaohongshu, I saw the wisdom of netizens: using a sofa cover + anti-slip mat + crawling mat. Choose a chenille sofa cover, which offers a more comfortable foot feel when walking. The anti-slip mat can improve the flatness of the carpet and prevent wrinkling when walking. For the crawling mat, choose a foam floor mat, which is odorless, environmentally friendly, and offers high cost performance. It can directly replace the living room carpet. Not only is it convenient to disassemble and wash, getting rid of the trouble of formaldehyde, but the key is that the total cost of the three is less than 200 yuan, saving thousands of yuan directly. If the style of your home is minimalist, you can directly buy a bamboo mat to replace the carpet. It is not only good-looking but also easy to take care of, and can really save a lot. The consumption principle of contemporary young people: save where you can, spend where it matters. You can buy expensive things, but never overpay. Eight-grid boards VS kindergarten bookcases In the homes of online popular home bloggers, we often see the figure of eight-grid boards. Whether in the living room or the bedroom, placing a row of eight-grid boards can be used as a bookcase, or to display hanging paintings, ornaments, and green plants. It is simply a magic weapon for creating an atmosphere, while also serving the function of storage. Ordinary eight-grid boards cost at least hundreds of yuan, and sometimes even several hundred yuan. There is a saying that when you are out, your identity is self-given. When we change our identity and search for “kindergarten bookcases”, we suddenly feel that we have opened up new ideas. The eight-grid bookcases in kindergartens cost from dozens of yuan to one hundred yuan, and they are made of solid wood, with super stability. You can get one for less than one hundred yuan. It’s really a great deal. Spend little money to do big things. This generation of netizens has plenty of energy and means. Bedside tables VS outdoor camping storage boxes In recent years, it has become more and more popular among young renters to abandon traditional bedside tables. The reason is that traditional solid wood double bedside tables are bulky, have a single function, and the key is that they are expensive. In a small-sized house, the space is already tight, and we should pursue the maximization of space utilization even more. In fact, the function of a bedside table is to store small items before going to bed, such as mobile phones, glasses, water cups, etc. Thinking this way, there are really too many things that can replace it. Some people only use a stool as a bedside table; some people bring a laundry basket to the bedside. Believe it or not, with proper soft decoration, it also has a nice atmosphere. Among them, the storage box bedside table has become a popular choice for many young people. First of all, the storage box has strong storage capacity. In addition to placing small items on the tabletop, it can also undertake the storage function. Secondly, the storage box is light and easy to carry, convenient to move. Adding a universal wheel, it can be smoothly pushed and pulled, and it is also very convenient for cleaning.The most crucial aspect is affordability. Why spend hundreds when you can achieve the same with just 30 yuan? Life is about personal comfort; we should live it in a way that suits us best.
Today’s share concludes here. ‘Searching for alternatives’ is like a glitch in the consumer world. Whenever there is an item, there is always a more affordable alternative. It is in the process of finding these alternatives that we realize how much money we have unnecessarily spent. Some prioritize practicality and functionality, while others insist on paying for aesthetics and brand names. Regardless of the consumption method, as long as it allows us to live the life we love, the money is well spent. We have collected more alternative keywords to help you save money. Feel free to come and get them. Do you have any other money-saving wisdom? Please share in the comments section.
