All the blood had drained my body and I thought, “Dear God. I’m in the wrong business.” I then asked him, “What’s the average budget for people who shop for pool tile?” He very coolly replied “Sixty thousand.”

Who are these millionaires?

I then thought — wow, I bet there are other people out there who have even smaller budgets that are currently looking for tile RIGHT NOW. They might not be looking for their pool, but all tile is deceptively expensive and can run you deep into debt.

I’ve gathered my favorite options below — all for less than $15 per square foot. While this is not exactly CHEAP, it does offer an alternative to all of those $25 and up per square foot options you see all over the magazines.