Amanda at Frugal Confessions mentioned her costs of the first year of home ownership in this post and my reply made me realize how lucky my husband and I really got.

Apparently, the average first year spending on a house built after 2004 is $12,332.  I could totally see that based on what our house contained in that first year, but most of what we had were hand-me-downs, gifts, or things we brought from our apartment.

Thanks to all of that and patience (it’s still patience, even if it is because you feel broke…), we only spent a total of $735 on our house in that first year.

We bought:

• Garage Door Opener and Installation – $225
• Lightbulbs – $50
• Ceiling Fans – $175
• New locks – $60
• Miscellaneous little stuff like handles for the cabinets and whatnot – $125
• A/C compressor that busted – $100

We were gifted or given:

• All appliances were house-warming gifts from my parents.
• Our Sealy Posturpedic bed was a wedding gift from my parents too.
• Our leather couches were hand-me-downs from my parents.
• Our two recliners were hand-me-downs from my husband’s grandparents.
• Kitchen supplies were wedding gifts from almost everybody…I love my 4 slice toaster and our primo stainless steal pots set and Chicago Cutlery knives!
• Patio furniture was a hand-me-down from his grandparents too.
• Office desk was a wedding gift from my aunt, uncle, and cousins.
• Office chair was a hand-me-down from his parents.
• Office couch was a hand-me-down from his grandparents as well.
• Guest bedroom bed was my husband’s college bed that his parents bought from Ikea.
• Throw rugs were the same ones we had in our apartment.
• Kitchen table was a hand-me-down from his aunt and uncle.
• Blinds were a housewarming gift from the in-laws.

We had everything else that we needed and waited a year or two before we added wood laminate flooring ($2200 a year later), paint and new fixtures ($430 a year later), lawn scaping ($150 a year and a half later), and a new Tempurpedic bed and wooden bedroom set ($6000 last year).

Do you remember how much you spent the first year you owned your home?  Do you know how much you spend each year now?  Do you have any suggestions on how to keep costs down for the current and future-homeowners in our group?

If I get enough tips together, I’ll make it into another post and link to you too…bribery works, right?