Buying your first stuff

hazyjo

If you have a Wilkinsons near you, check that out. Just bought a cordless kettle for just over a fiver. They do a great budget range of household bits 'n' pieces. Steam iron for just under £6, toaster for a fiver... (don't all appear to show on website).

Jx

Julia_Villerman

great post im in the same situation....just bought a lovely new 3bed house in ilford essex...first home lol (im so chuffed) an have now hit the hurdle of decorating it.......i got a grat deal when i bought...(fantastic )but any tips on greAt deals for other stuffff!...... as you may have noticed by the sticker im a newbie an im desperate from some suggestions ....(coz im on a budget and pretty tight by nature lol)

jb32hss

my partner is in the process of buying his first home (should be completing wihtin the next 3 weeks!)

he says he would hate to save up and buy things bit by bit, but the deposit will wipe his bank account clean lol.

the house comes with a fitted kitchen which includes intergrated fridge, cooker and washing machine (this saves money on the more expensive and neccessary stuff) so this would be a good thing to look for.

the seller is also leaving behind a sofa and bar stools and few other things (not recieved the fixture and fittings list yet) so you can get quite a lot of this stuff with your purchase.

the house is fully refurbished, so only needs repainting to nicer colours! and some funishings. my partner is therefore getting a loan of around 5k so that he can do the house up asap and then can just pay the money back bit by bit each month (this will only work if you have money left over after all bills) of course there will be interest on top but thats the price to pay.

personally i wouldnt spend the money before i had earned it! but its his house at the end of the day

JB

paddyrg

Cheap modern furniture from Argos, Ikea etc costs about the same new as vintage/antique furniture which has already held up for 50-100yrs, and will easily last another 100+ yrs. If you want classic instead of high fashion, you'll be doing your pocket and the environment a favour by buying stuff that will last, not end up in a skip in 5 yrs. My experience, anyway.

marathonic

In the same position having had a phone call from the bank saying the mortgage offer is in the post today

I've been looking at Gumtree and found a super kingsize mattress (the bedrooms are huge and anything smaller would look silly) for £200 - it was reduced from £750 and was a mail order where the buyer bought the wrong size. It still has the plastic wrapping on it.

A local furniture store went bust a few months ago and I got a coffee table and TV unit for £200. That sounds expensive but they're new, solid oak, extremely heavy and will last a lifetime. The TV unit had an RRP sign of £799 (who would pay that :eek:) and a reduced sign of £399. There was no sign on the coffee table but I'd say they were selling it at the price I got both for.

I already have a TV and a sofa and will, obviously, be buying bed linen new.

The mattress will be on the floor until I spot a good second hand bed.

I want to buy good quality second hand stuff and am willing to pay the same as medium quality new stuff. It'll take a year or so to get the place looking half full of furniture but I've no problem with that.

It's easy to pick up second hand stuff when you have to buy EVERYTHING but, when I've only a few things left to buy, I may buy new.

motherofstudents

There is a Marks & Spencer furniture outlet in the Lowry shopping mall, Salford. Don't know if they have these anywhere else. As above try friends and family first. I gave one of my sons a leather sofa which was in perfect condition but we wanted a change, also gave him some side tables, lamps and cushions.

There are also quite a few places where you can get cheap electrical appliances which maybe have a dent in them but are otherwise new.

One suggestion I would give is don't buy too much stuff. I have downsized and still have too much. Also I think it was PN who said you don't need a tumble dryer but I would not be able to manage without one. You don't want to cause condensation by drying on radiators !

Good luck, it's an exciting time.