Moving from parents into new house - have to buy everything

HampshireH

British heart foundation have furniture stores which often have some great stuff in them. You may also find local charities have furniture shops too seperate to the clothes shops.

Personally I worry about 2nd hand white goods.

That said I have had a 2nd hand freezer (undercounter) that I paid £50 for from someone on a selling site 8 years ago. It's still working absolutely fine. So my worry isn't really rational.

On a side note: I rented for years. In this house (which we now bought) my then landlord had put in an undercounter fridge. Last year I removed it to get behind it and saw that the lead had been extended with a junction and wrapped in tape so it would extend behind the washing machine. That worry returned and I immediately bought a new fridge for peace of mind. So you cant always trust other peoples new stuff either.

Pennywise

You don't actually NEED to fill your new home with new appliances and fit it out with all kinds of furniture, especially at first and especially if it's your first home together and therefore much higher risk of a split.

When we got our first home, we just begged and borrowed. Second hand fridge, freezer, cooker, dryer, etc. Cheap unbranded microwave, toaster, kettle, etc. The only new white goods was the washing machine. Cheap crockery & cutlery, pans, etc from discount shops.

For furniture, we didn't even get a proper sofa for a year - we got a second hand sofa bed, borrowed a dining table and chairs from family, used a portable tv I brought from my parent's house, borrowed a coffee table from my sister, used cheap clothes racks from Argos instead of wardrobes. Only furniture we bought new was our bed.

My nephew is the world's worst for splashing out whenever he gets a new girlfriend and they rent their first home. It's new absolutely everything. Then after a year, he has to chuck it all in the skip when they've broken up and he can't afford the rent and returns home to his mother.

You really don't need to fill your home nor have new stuff. Especially if you don't really know what you want, how to research, etc. Nothing like experiencing a fridge freezer first hand (used is fine) to work out what YOU want in terms of comparative sizes of the fridge/freezer sections, how many shelves you want, etc etc. Likewise, you won't know what size washing machine you'll need until you start doing the washing for you both. Just get begged, borrowed, second hand to start off with and then replace once you've settled in properly and have more experience/knowledge of what you actually want.

dunroving

mihaicraciunph wrote: »

My partner and I are moving from living with our parents to living together - all good an we're actually not paying much more by living alone, but...
WE NOW HAVE TO BUY EVERYTHING
i've been researching ebay for some nice dining table, so the only thing i'm dishing more money on is a sofa.
regarding appliances, cutlery, crockery, etc...i'm generally quite good with getting good deals, cashback, using vouchers, etc, but i'm not that great with "what fridge/washing machine/ tumble dryer" would be suitable. The seller is leaving her cooker so that's one less worry.

I'm thinking of using groupon too if I find some good products reasonably priced (microwave,kettle,toaster sets), and costco has some really good stuff and deals,
but what's a good place to start looking for the following items?
- Fridge
- Washing machine , tumble dryer
- Cutlery, Crockery, Iron boards, hoovers
- BED...i want to get a good mattress and i like an ottoman bed- but realistically i don't think the storage space will get as much use as i'm thinking.

I'm obviously thinking currys and argos but they just show all the products with filters so I'm not sure how moneysaving/good they are - so is anyone able to at least recommends a few good brands for home appliances? I'm also thinking of trying John Lewis for the extra warranty

For your first home, the emphasis should be on USED goods - Gumtree, eBay, Facebook Marketplace, charity shops, Freebay.

We live in a consumerist society where the pressure is to buy new and keep replacing. Not very MSE! Save your money for other things - a deposit on a house, emergency fund, etc. I think I lived away from home for about 20 years before I bought my first new piece of furniture (and I still trawl online for used items, at the age of 61!)

elsien

I moved into my new house with a bed, chest of drawers, tv and garden chairs to sit in.
Had to get a cooker, fridge, freezer and washing machine which came from a factory seconds shop so still had the full warranty but was much cheaper. Is there anything like that near you?
Other items donated by friends/family or picked up from the car boot. Electrical items from charity shops have to be PAT tested so will be safe.
Some of these I liked so much I kept them and still have , others I replaced over time as I saw things I liked and couid afford them.

Captain_Kirk427

If you insist on buying new, try Bootskitchenappliances. If you have a boots advantage card you get lots of points, and I found they were the cheapest amongst most online retailers I researched.
However, facebook marketplace, ebay, gumtree, freecycle often have good stuff in for a fraction of the price!

Owain_Moneysaver

Pennywise wrote: »

My nephew is the world's worst for splashing out whenever he gets a new girlfriend and they rent their first home. It's new absolutely everything. Then after a year, he has to chuck it all in the skip when they've broken up and he can't afford the rent and returns home to his mother.

In other words, an entire houseful of stuff for FREE :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

shortcrust

I know people are talking sense but when they recommend used stuff, but buying new things for my first house was great fun! I love shopping but it's usually accompanied by a bit of guilt so it was great to shop for things I actually needed. That said, I'd saved hard for years and had the budget for it.

dunroving

shortcrust wrote: »

I know people are talking sense but when they recommend used stuff, but buying new things for my first house was great fun! I love shopping but it's usually accompanied by a bit of guilt so it was great to shop for things I actually needed. That said, I'd saved hard for years and had the budget for it.

A decent compromise is to get one or two pieces of new, quality furniture, etc. You then keep these and build on them over time. Especially if it's not upholstered (which can age/become unfashionable) it can become a family heirloom piece of furniture. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

LadyDee

mihaicraciunph wrote: »

My partner and I are moving from living with our parents to living together - all good an we're actually not paying much more by living alone, but...
WE NOW HAVE TO BUY EVERYTHING
i've been researching ebay for some nice dining table, so the only thing i'm dishing more money on is a sofa.
regarding appliances, cutlery, crockery, etc...i'm generally quite good with getting good deals, cashback, using vouchers, etc, but i'm not that great with "what fridge/washing machine/ tumble dryer" would be suitable. The seller is leaving her cooker so that's one less worry.

I'm thinking of using groupon too if I find some good products reasonably priced (microwave,kettle,toaster sets), and costco has some really good stuff and deals,
but what's a good place to start looking for the following items?
- Fridge
- Washing machine , tumble dryer
- Cutlery, Crockery, Iron boards, hoovers
- BED...i want to get a good mattress and i like an ottoman bed- but realistically i don't think the storage space will get as much use as i'm thinking.

I'm obviously thinking currys and argos but they just show all the products with filters so I'm not sure how moneysaving/good they are - so is anyone able to at least recommends a few good brands for home appliances? I'm also thinking of trying John Lewis for the extra warranty

When I bought my first home, the only new thing I had was the mattress on the bed, and small kitchen things. Everything else was family-donated or secondhand shops. No ebay, no Gumtree, no Preloved in those days. Check out Freegle, Gumtree Freebies and the free section on Preloved.

I then (shock, horror) saved up and paid for things as stuff wore out - no credit, no overdraft. That felt tons better than buying a suite on tick and it being worn out before it got paid for!

Fire_Fox

IKEA and Wilko are amazing for first homes or those on a budget IMO. TK Maxx and Home Sense if you are happy to pop in regularly.

Do not buy a sofa you have not sat on. Many young people simply don't use a dining table and it gets in the way/ gathers dust.

I have a Which? subscription and it is very helpful, depending on your budget and the specific product. A huge proportion of fridges and freezers tested have a 0% Which? rating due to safety concerns (fire hazard). They particularly advise getting ones with a metal not plastic back.

Washing machines and tumble dryers are some of the biggest fire risks, I would not buy anything too old or well used.