There’s no question about it, we’re all looking for ways to slim down our budgets. During a time of lots of change in the market and inflation, even people who are financially secure are more comfortable finding areas where they can wisely reduce costs rather than boost them. One area where people are realizing gains is through the use of convertible furniture.

While sofa beds may evoke a creaky, uncomfortable image in your mind, the modern convertible sofas, chairs, and beds are all created to be stylish but also great for their multiple uses. Here are just some of the benefits of opting for convertible furniture.

Buy a Smaller Home For the Same Functionality

When you’re deciding the space you need, the unfortunate calculus tends to revolve around the furniture you need to “fit” into it. If you can avoid needing an extra bedroom and can instead effortlessly offer guests a living room that converts to a comfortable sleeping area, do it!

Buying a home during a season of high-interest rates and still-high prices means something has to give, and a great way to feel the pinch less is to buy a lower square footage home. The benefits continue after buying a smaller home: rather than heating and cooling a dedicated guest room or office, you can convert a living space or bedroom using your convertible furniture, ensuring it gets used much more often.

These kinds of conversions are commonplace in big cities where costs are high, but they are just as helpful in less populous areas this year.

Downsize From a Larger, Less Affordable Home

Plenty of people arrive at a point where they realize that the biggest line item in their budget is a mortgage or rent that is just too much – the next items may still be associated with the home, like growing HVAC costs or electricity bills.

In all cases, a great way to handle your need to downsize is to re-envision how you really use your space. Figure out where you spend the most time, and figure out how you can “convert” those most useful spaces into your semi-used spaces.

For example, if you only host guests a few times a year, you may need one less (or two less!) bedrooms than you have in your less affordable, larger home. By selling this home and buying one where you’ll use convertible furniture to create the spaces you need, you’ll save a ton and be happier with the bottom line.

Experience Spaciousness and Comfort

People assume that downsizing will make them feel cramped, but that doesn’t have to be the case. If you replace single-use furniture with multi-use furniture that features storage, bed conversion, or can be easily wheeled or folded out of the way, you’ll actually have more space than before!

The goal is to choose thoughtfully-selected items rather than just all the furniture you’ve ever bought. Consider how you can sell or donate the furniture that isn’t really serving you for anything but bumps as you try to wiggle through your rooms now, and instead, make an investment in the much-fewer pieces you actually need for your home.

This can be done in stages, but you’ll love the comfort and sleek look that you get as a result.