Moving House/Credit for new furniture

anoncol

Just get cheap stuff from Argos/Ikea etc.

I cant believe people now a days getting into debt just for furniture!

marathonic

gimathon wrote: »

I've only been using credit for the past three months (and only then because I realised I wasn't able to get credit easily) So I have to question whether the credit I'd look for (rewards, 0% purchases) would touch me.

On this point, what sort of deal does your own bank offer on credit cards? Like you, I have only been using credit for a brief period. However, I got approved for a mortgage last December and the bank that approved the mortgage approved me last month for a credit card with interest-free purchases for 6 months.

I'm using this to buy things for the house but am not really going on a spending spree. I've got a second hand sofa and will probably furnish most of the rooms with good quality second hand items as opposed to new stuff from the likes of DFS (where I seen a really nice sofa interest-free for £18.72 a month over 4 years - and I'd probably be paying this for quite a while after the sofa needs replacing).

My second hand sofa isn't what I would class as second hand as such - it's an old, heavy, good-quality frame that has been reupholstered.

I have to admit, I completely kitted out a single bedroom with new furniture. The rest will be done second hand, and over a long time-period.

I also put all my curtains on the credit card. I'll figure out in 6-months whether I want to shift the debt to a new deal or pay it off.

I totally get where you are coming from - but a new house is a money pit and you need to be careful (I'm already finding my balance on the interest-free card coming close to the limit but I'm unwilling to get into more debt).

I find myself asking, 'is this purchase for practicality purposes, to avoid being a talking point with visitors or just a luxury?'.

For example, I put a lawnmower on the credit card because it's needed and I replaced the cream carpets with red wine stains because it was in the living room and one of the first thing guests would see. However, I also looked at a surround sound system for the TV. I decided that, at this point, this is far from a priority.

marathonic

Just to add, my opinion, and what I've been doing to date, is that you should buy the best quality or else the absolute cheapest.

Do not buy middle-of-the-ground stuff that you'll end up looking, or having, to replace anyway. It's wasting money.

The bedroom furniture I bought is extremely heavy and I don't envisage it EVER needing replaced. As for Ikea furniture and the stuff I looked at in the likes of Dreams, I can't see it lasting more than 3-4 years unless it's in a rarely used guest room.

Also, I'm not sacrificing my emergency savings just so I can buy stuff. I'm well aware that my boiler could break down the week before Christmas and repairing or replacing it there and then will be much more important than any new sofa or floor-lamp that I buy now.

Edit: Although, there is a great sale in DFS. It's ending soon - and has been ending soon for the past 10 years

100saving

i would just buy the stuff you 100% need then add to this as your live your life.

i find its all about shopping about. ikea do have some good stuff that will last years and years but they also have stuff that will not last a week! this is the same for many business now days.

i tend to go for either the best i can or the cheapest i can get. otherwise the middle of the range stuff i get for things that don't get that much use like a bedside table yet the wardrobe would be top notch.