Starting Up a Household - OldStyle

squeaky

Yes! My local Comet has a returns and shop display area, as does my B&Q. Well worth popping in regularly if you're passing.

mookybargirl

WestonDave wrote:

I'm sure there's plenty better qualified than me on the furnishings/equipment front, but here's a "bloke" tip.

Get your car serviced and checked out before you move, or at least put aside £500! I bought my first house on a very tight budget, only to find the exhaust had blown two days after moving day - took it to the garage who also discovered that two of the tyres needed replacing - as I recall the whole lot came to an eye watering amount especially in my newly impoverished state.

My exhaust fell off the day I picked up the keys for our house so I agree on this one.

Paulie'sGirl

I knew you guys would be fantastic - and you are!!

WestonDave - I will certainly do this, I hadn't really considered that aspect of running the car. Thank you!

Katglasgow - with whom are your websavers? My bank will only allow me to have one savings account, but I like this idea of saving seperately for specific things. Many thanks!

How do people feel about washing machines? They seem fairly exensive to buy new, is the efficiency thing an issue here?

Any specific suggestions on the fridge freezer thing?

BWZN93

If you can get to an ikea easily, they always usually have a bargains corner which often have things like sofa's, tv units, dining tables etc, and all are really cheap because they are either display items or danaged packaging etc, and this corner is updated regularly! Last week there were 3 sofa's (without covers) going for a song and there was nothing wrong with them - I would personally buy one when I need a new one and find my own fabric to make removeable covers - its a cheap way of getting exactly what you want.

Also, when buying from shops, try haggling, there are a few threads around where people have managed to get discounts by understanding their pricing, and going in on the last day of the month when they have sales targets to meet.

Freecycle is excellent, as are charity shops and its amazing what you pick up for free. Focus DIY does a 10% discount card for people who are moving house/who have moved inthe last 6 months, and will allow you to get some discount on paint etc if you need to redecorate.

Another thing I would say is to save and buy quality rather than buy cheap as its false economy and you end up replacing stuff quicker. Thats a lesson I learned with a cheap Argos drill and a cheap Tesco Iron.

Also, its worth checking out local amenities to your new pad, so you dont die of boredom through poverty! Ive just joined the local library which is less than a 10 min walk, and Lidl is right by it so I dont have to use a car and can get out some books etc for nothing. Its also worth checking whether you can get to work cheaper on a bus rather than drive - down here the buses are much cheaper than driving and parking as we dont have free parking at work.

Finally, please please please make sure you have contents insurance as ive heard many a horror story from customers at work who learned the hard way that replacing a house full of stuff after theft etc isnt cheap and is incredibly frustrating. A good policy can insure £20k of stuff for anywhere between £6 and £20 a month and the peace it gives you when you leave your house is immense!

Jo x

Austin_Allegro

gentlepurr wrote:

lots of sound advice to go on!

i would just like to add, if you earthly, possibly can afford to buy that house, go for it in preference to renting. in the long run you cant fail with property, just make sure you have a thourogh survey done if it sounds too cheap to be true.

good luck pg xx

The important thing is not to overstretch yourself just to 'own' property that in effect, the bank owns

If you have an affordable repayment mortgage (not interest only) that can withstand a few interest rate rises, and you have enough put by for things like repairs and maintenance, then yes it's probably ok to buy.

If not, I personally would stick with renting until I was in a better position to buy.

dannahaz

Very good starting list

I would add:
TV Licence £130 per year
Birthday presents/Christmas Presents
Car Tax, MOT & Servicing/Tyres etc (someone already mentioned this I know)
Holiday savings (unless you're going to do without for a while)
Misc spend on household items/garden items etc

The DebtFree Wannabe board will have loads of info and budget planners that you can use.

katglasgow

Hi paulie's girl. I am with the Bank of Scotland/Halifax I think nyou can have 5 websavers and you give them all a different name, but if you are with a different bank there are all sorts of regular savings accounts you can have regardless of where your main bank a/c is. For example I have a monthly saver a/c with the BoS also where I get a good rate of interest but only if I dont withdraw the money more than once a year (so I do this every November), its a pass book account which also makes it even harder to break into!

I am also a big fan of scratch and dent furniture. I would like to manage without a washing machine tbh unless I could make use of family very regularly however I bought a washer dryer combined and have hardly used the dryer - so wouldnt recomend that!

Paulie'sGirl

Oh wow oh wow!!!

I just called an IFA, and my dreams could well be coming true!! A mortgage for the amount I need isn't just possible, it will be at a lower interest rate than we thought, and the repayments will be £100 pm LESS than we thought!!!

I'm SOOOOOOOOO glad I sent off for the Mortgage Guide - these people manage the whole process for you! (Apologies to those of you who knew this already - I'm well chuffed!!)

justruth

Hi,

Another big tip, and I don't want to preach to the converted here and I am not up to date on your personal situation, but save 3 months worth of income, in an easily accessed account in case you should ever get sick. Clearly repaying debts is a priority but if you can put some aside then do it asap. I recall in my first home, being in bed with glandular fever and the gas meter had run out and I had no money coming in as I had been off sick and suffering without heating.

As for the washer and the fridge freezer, freecycle for them, I have 2x given really good ones away as I couldn't store them when I was between homes.

Oh and good luck, xx

justruth

Hi,

Another big tip, and I don't want to preach to the converted here and I am not up to date on your personal situation, but save 3 months worth of income, in an easily accessed account in case you should ever get sick. Clearly repaying debts is a priority but if you can put some aside then do it asap. I recall in my first home, being in bed with glandular fever and the gas meter had run out and I had no money coming in as I had been off sick and suffering without heating.

As for the washer and the fridge freezer, freecycle for them, I have 2x given really good ones away as I couldn't store them when I was between homes.

Oh and good luck, xx