Furnishing Your Apartment on a Budget

An empty German flat — and they are often genuinely empty, down to the missing kitchen and light fittings — can swallow thousands of euros in furniture if you buy everything new. The good news is that Munich has a thriving second-hand culture, a few money-saving customs newcomers rarely know about, and plenty of ways to fit out a home for a fraction of the retail price. This guide builds on our furnished-versus-unfurnished post; here we focus on doing the furnishing cheaply. Here is how.

Start with new but affordable

For the basics, big-box retailers set the floor price. IKEA is the obvious starting point for beds, wardrobes, sofas and kitchenware at predictable low prices, with stores on Munich's edges and delivery available. Discounters and chains like XXXLutz, Höffner, Roller and even the weekly non-food aisles at Aldi and Lidl cover the rest cheaply. Buying new makes sense for mattresses and a few essentials; for everything else, the second-hand market usually wins on price.

The second-hand goldmine

This is where the real savings are. Kleinanzeigen (the classifieds formerly called eBay Kleinanzeigen) is the dominant marketplace for used furniture, with people across the city selling good pieces cheaply, especially when they move. Facebook Marketplace and local expat groups work the same way. Search by your district to minimise transport, message politely and promptly, and be ready to collect quickly — the best items go fast, just like the flats themselves.

Free furniture if you look

Some of the best finds cost nothing at all. Watch for listings marked "zu verschenken" (to give away) on Kleinanzeigen, where people offer furniture free to anyone who will haul it off. Munich also has a tradition of leaving usable items on the pavement (Sperrmüll, bulky-waste day) for others to take, and Sozialkaufhäuser (charity department stores) sell donated furniture and appliances very cheaply while supporting a good cause. A little patience here furnishes whole rooms for the cost of a van rental.

Flea markets and the seasonal rhythm

Munich's Flohmärkte (flea markets) are worth building into your search, from the big regular markets to neighbourhood and charity sales, where you can haggle for everything from lamps to crockery. Timing helps too: the end of the semester and the months around summer see a flood of cheap and free furniture as students and others move out. If your own move is flexible, arriving into that turnover gives you the widest, cheapest pick of second-hand goods.

Take over the previous tenant's things

Sometimes the easiest deal is the one already in the flat. An outgoing tenant frequently wants to sell furniture, lamps, or curtains rather than move them, and an Abstandszahlung — a one-off payment to take over fittings — can hand you a furnished flat in a single transaction. Inspect what is on offer, agree a fair price in writing, and you can skip much of the hunting entirely. This is especially common with the kitchen, which is the costliest gap to fill.

Solving the empty-kitchen problem

The kitchen deserves its own plan because it is the biggest single expense. If the flat has no Einbauküche, your cheapest routes are taking over the previous tenant's via an Abstandszahlung, buying a used kitchen on Kleinanzeigen and adapting it, or assembling a modular IKEA kitchen, which is far cheaper than a custom fitted one. A simple free-standing setup — a few cabinets, a worktop and second-hand appliances — can be perfectly functional for a tenancy without the cost of a built-in installation.

Spread the cost and keep it flexible

You do not have to furnish everything at once. Prioritise a bed, somewhere to sit, basic kitchen function and storage, then add the rest as you find good deals. Keeping receipts and boxes makes reselling easy when you leave, and choosing modest, resellable pieces means much of your outlay comes back to you — turning furniture into something closer to a deposit than a sunk cost. Build the flat up over your first weeks rather than draining your savings in one weekend.

Furnishing on a budget in Munich is mostly about patience and local knowledge: start with affordable new basics, lean hard on the second-hand and free-stuff scene, and have a clear plan for the kitchen. Do that and you can turn a bare flat into a comfortable home for a few hundred euros rather than several thousand — leaving your savings where they are needed most, on the deposit and the rent.