help with furnishing my new flat?

newdave1975

i wonder if anyone could please offer me some advice. ive recently split from my partner. she held the tenancy so i moved out, freinds sofas etc.. anyways ive got myself a flat and get the keys next week... however i have no furniture, or white goods, nothing. ive got £70 to my name until my JSA is processed... any advice on where i could go with help furnishing my flat?

many thanks

dave

paragon909

newdave1975 wrote: »

i wonder if anyone could please offer me some advice. ive recently split from my partner. she held the tenancy so i moved out, freinds sofas etc.. anyways ive got myself a flat and get the keys next week... however i have no furniture, or white goods, nothing. ive got £70 to my name until my JSA is processed... any advice on where i could go with help furnishing my flat?

many thanks

dave

Normally in situations like this the local council may be able to help by offering a community care grant, But they get you the items you ask for, That's if your successful in getting the grant of course.

newdave1975

from what i hear the criteria is very strict, ie your not on any disability benefit or need special care needs your unlikely to get help. i am a former kidney transplantee and take special medications every day, could help, but im not on any disability benefits.

Caz3121

have a look on freecycle

paragon909

newdave1975 wrote: »

from what i hear the criteria is very strict, ie your not on any disability benefit or need special care needs your unlikely to get help. i am a former kidney transplantee and take special medications every day, could help, but im not on any disability benefits.

Am not sure what the law of community care grants are in England or any other parts of the UK, And me being in Scotland we have rules such as.

(2) “Qualifying individuals” means individuals who have been or, without the assistance,
might otherwise be—
(a) in prison, hospital, a residential care establishment or other institution, or
(b) homeless or otherwise living an unsettled way of life.

(1) A local authority may use its welfare fund only in order to provide occasional financial
or other assistance to or in respect of individuals for the purposes of—
(a) meeting, or helping to meet, an immediate short term need—
(i) arising out of an exceptional event or exceptional circumstances, and
(ii) that requires to be met to avoid a risk to the wellbeing of an individual, or
(b) enabling qualifying individuals to establish or maintain a settled home.

Although you would probably need to check your local councils website to see their guidance, The text i provided is from Welfare Funds (Scotland) Act 2015.

Owain_Moneysaver

Try the Salvation Army or local furniture recycling places.

Also you might be lucky on freecycle, gumtree etc as there can be a lot of stuff either free or very cheap.

newdave1975

thanks for all your replies, some good starting points there

BlueEyedGirl

Try your local council to see if they have a recycling centre for furniture / white goods etc. Mine does and they offer a discount to people on benefits.

Prinzessilein

You might like to look at Charity Shops...some of them have furniture stores.


A few years ago I moved and got my sofa, rocking chair and assorted tables/cupboards from our local British Heart Foundation Furniture Store...........Second Hand, but all clean and in good condition - and very cheap (actually there was a little haggling over the rocking chair!)....My mother has also bought stuff from there including a lovely coffee table that I covet!......They also do small electrical goods (microwaves, kettles, even on occasion small TVs).

HappyMJ

In my area we have a charity run by YMCA which gives out free furniture to those in need. But....you don't get to select any of it. You get what you're given and it's usually whatever didn't sell in the shop in a reasonable time period so you would really want to replace it over time. It's a start though.

re: whitegoods - I know it's not ideal but you can get most goods and even furniture on HP. If you can't pay they take them away but they do repair and maintain them when required. Some things are worth it and some are not. Try getting as much free stuff as possible before thinking about HP.

If you don't have a washing machine I would seriously consider just using a laundrette and hand washing as much as you can until you can get a washing machine of your own.

The only essential items in my mind are a bed and a fridge. Everything else can be acquired over time.

TattyG

Ask friends and family too - we had a friend in similar circumstances and when people heard he needed help they were really forthcoming with stuff he needed - especially bits like sheets, towels, pots and pans.

Local FB groups also sometimes have bits on for free or cheap.

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