Home renovations can be incredibly expensive - but one woman has revealed how she managed to do up her first property on an incredibly tight budget - using a £5 furniture hack.
Louise Wallace, 29, moved into her first home this year after being homeless for four years.
After being handed her first paycheck, she moved into a new property - which she was desperate to make her own.
"I decided to go shopping that day because I'd just got my first home after being homeless for four years and it was my first pay check from work so I needed bedroom furniture for my room," she expained.
The young carer from the Wirral, managed to pick up a huge homeware haul from B&M Bargains for £150 less than the asking price.
Louise bought everything from a chest of drawers and bedside tables to a mirror and cushions, and every single item had a huge reduction.
She says the secret is all in the B&M app - which has a clever barcode scanner that tells you about discounts even before staff have changed the labels in store.
Louise only discovered the tool after being told to download the app by a fellow shopper while browsing the store's aisles.
"I didn't know anything about the app until a lady in the shop told me about it," Louise explained.
"In total, I saved over £150. I am not a big bargain hunter but I was absolutely made up when I found out how much I’d saved," she said.
"I have now started on my Christmas shopping and spent over £150 on toys and other bits when the total price without sale would have been over £400. I've also bought 50 pairs of pyjamas at £2, which will be donated," she added.
"My tips for other shoppers would be to download the B&M app and to check out their sales online too. If you download the B&M app, there is a barcode scanner on the app that is really useful for saving money."
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk - where Louise posted her savings - said: "It's a bit of a secret but if you use the B&M app it has a barcode scanner tool. Use it when you're in the shop to find extra discounts.
"I spoke with a store manager who said Wednesday is the best time to go because this is when new items get reduced."
Louise's shopping haul
- Chest of drawers x2 down from £29.99 to £10
- Bedside tables x2 down from £10 to £5
- Cube shelving down from £15 to £5
- Bedside lights down from £8.99 to £5
- Lamp shade down from £4.99 to £2
- Mirror down from £9.99 to £5
- Cushions down from £8 to £4
- Throw down from £5 to £2
- Picture frames £1
- Curtains down from £15 to £4
- Rug down from £39.99 to £10
- Louise also bought other items bringing the total savings to £150.
How the app works
B&M's app, which is available to download for free on any smartphone, has a handy scanner tool that you can use to check for up to date prices.
It also has a personalised service that tells you when discounts land before they go fully public.
To use it, all you have to do is scan the barcode of the product on your phone to see the price current price of the item.
-
The app is available to download for free on both the Google Play and Apple Store
-
Once downloaded onto your mobile device, open the app.
-
You will be given the option to register, sign-in or skip. For the purposes of using the Barcode Scanner Press Skip.
-
Along the bottom of the app, you will see several options with the final option displaying more.
-
The 'Scan The Item Barcode' tool will show you the item price and reduced price if the item has been discounted further.
