Buying your first stuff

phoebe1989seb

19lottie82 wrote: »

£1800 for a sofa bed from ikea?! wish they had spent more?! :eek:

Whoops, apologies that should have read £800 not £1800 Although I agree, that's bad enough......when DH and I first bought a flat we had an old Art Deco three piece suite from my uni days that cost about £80

PasturesNew

On telly this week there was a programme where they bought a sofa for £350 .... looked all right it did.... it was the new programme called something like Secret Removals.

My last, cheap, sofa, I sold after 17 years and it still looked as good as new.... but I do look after things by not acting daft with them.

jimjames

PasturesNew wrote: »

On telly this week there was a programme where they bought a sofa for £350 .... looked all right it did.... it was the new programme called something like Secret Removals.

My last, cheap, sofa, I sold after 17 years and it still looked as good as new.... but I do look after things by not acting daft with them.

Last year we finally bought a (our first) new sofa. The previous one we had was second hand from parents in 1994 when we moved into our first house and they'd had it for around 10 years before that. It seemed pointless replacing it when the kids were young as it would get immediately trashed. We still have a coffee table that parents bought new in 1960s, now looking trendy again!

Other than the things already mentioned if you have an intranet or noticeboard at work it is worth checking. I've bought and sold items via ours that have been bargains both ways.

BobQ

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

As long as you have the absolute essentials all sorts of things could come your way with very little effort. Most especially if you put the word out with family, friends and work-colleagues if you're clear that you'd be grateful for almost anything..

I was about to make this point. In addition try asking your parents to ask their friends if they are buying new furniture etc and keep an eye out for neighbours with deliveries or tidybins. Some larger firms allow staff to put unwanted goods on a website or noticeboard for sale. Again, its worth asking people you know who work to keep an eye out on these opportunities.

Also if you know someone who is moving house, they may be thinking about disposing of stuff they will not need (or persuading the new occupant to take it off their hands).

Many people buy new things because the can afford to do so and discard useful goods simply because they do not know anyone who wants it or do not like the idea/hassel of trying to sell it.

BitterAndTwisted

Ebay can be fantastic for good quality second-hand furniture if you have access to transport. I got my hands on a really beautiful Sofa Workshop three-seater for fifty quid which would have cost well over a couple of grand new. The rather wealthy young owners were replacing it with a black leather one and needed the space, pronto. I've had it for five years now, have treated it with care and it still looks like new.

British Heart Foundation stores can be a superb source for good-quality furniture and white goods. There's a Salvation Army place not far from me that's really good as well. Plus the usual Gumtree, FreeCycle and Freegle. Three are all sorts of ways you can acquire things cheaply until you've saved up for the things you really want.

poppy_f1

also dont rule out places like poundland, home bargains B&M for cheap household stuff like all the stuff you dont think about when moving like clothes pegs lol

i sat with the argos website and went thru everything working out what i needed and make a spreadsheet with rough pricing of what i wanted to pay as mentioned most of the electrical stuff was bought from argos when they had the voucher offer on
i got stuff from the likes of asda, ikea but 2 years on i havent really needed to replace things
luckily i was left a tumble dryer, washing machine, cooker and fridge(that had to be replaced about 6 weeks later) but still saved me a bit of money not having to buy them

Clearlier

MSE has a little tool for finding things on ebay which are pick up only and local to you (fewer bidders so usually cheaper price): http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/local-ebay-deals/bh65hu/20-miles/all/ends/#results

Also, take a look at the local newspaper. There are sometimes bargains to be had there.

Oh, and I'm another to endorse the buy second hand now and take your time about choosing quality lifetime pieces of furniture.

londonlydia

Hi,

yup I'm thinking of putting out a Facebook message to my mates when it gets to nearer the time. Definitely not going to get anything before completion though- read some horror stories on these boards (unless its small easilt storable stuff I happen to see going cheap)!

@Poppy, dont worry, Poundland is high on my list! I'm a girl Guide leader, and I relied on it for my last camp....they're camping ranges are insanely good...so I'd definitely repeat for my house bits and bobs.

lazer

I moved into my house about 6 months ago, and like you was first time buyer moving from parents

I had lived in afurnished rented flat for a few years, so had all the crockery etc.

The only new thing i have bought yet was my bed, and only becasue i wanted it delivered the day i moved in. Finished up getting great deal on a bed, and the original idea was that i was going to buy a cheap new bed, which would eventaully be the spare bed, but TBH - the bed is great, and i will be keeping it as the main bed, got a secong hand one for the spare room now.

I had the white goods built in, so no hassle for me there.

In total i have spent around £700 on furniture and nik naks over the last 5 months

I would also see what friends and family have - i got a sofa and TV from my aunts - was in her attic!

My main expenditure was
Bed - £250
Sofa - Bed for spare room - £150 (Gumtree)
Outside lights (replacements) - £50 (not really essential, but the front lick flickered and annoyed me!)

Don't forget that all the small bits add up.
I went to poundstretcher one day to get the small bits and spent around £100. This included Brush & shovel, hoover, clocks, dish drainer, pegs, oven gloves, mop & bucket, toilet brush.

Other than that the majority of my funriture was second and froma charity shop - Wardrobes - around £50 for one the the more old fashioned units (2 double wardrobes with a dressing unit bit in the middle - i spilt this and use one double wardrobe in each room!), TV Table (£25 charity shop), dining table & chairs (again charity shop).

One thing i did before moving in was create a frivilous fund, bought one of the tin money boxes and threw whatever money was in my purse at the end of the month into it, and opened it the day i bought the house. This was then spent on teh things to make the house look more homely - mainly pictures and 2 vases (highly recommended, as people will buy you flowers when you move in!)

Good luck with the move and jsut remember everythign doesn;t need to be perfect!

lazer

One more bit of advice - order a home delivery shop for the day you complete.

It saves a lot of bother - and include light bulbs, toilet roll, fairy liquid, cleaning clothes etc!