To spend £1,900 on a rug?

Haven’t read the thread, but I think no matter what our circumstances, every house needs something we go slightly over our budget because we love it so much/investment purposes.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1766009314/?ref=share_ios_native_control

this is similar! It would be insane to spend nearly £2k on a rug with your financial situation. Surely there are other similar options with the same aesthetic. It is a beautiful rug though, I see where you’re coming from.

You should also enquire with your local JL branch if you can purchase as ex-display.

With wool rugs and carpets, you have to be wary of moths, especially under furniture, and especially wicker, jute etc. They ate my wool carpet under some jute storage baskets. Best to have furniture on legs and vacuum regularly.

Honestly if I felt this passionately I'd be making it happen with my actions not by taking on debt.

I'd be on Vinted and saving the cash from sales.

I'd be looking to have money from the food budget

I'd have probably taken a bar job or some kind of side hustle.

In this economic climate you'd be nuts to spend that much on a rug when you are not motivated to save more than £40 pm

Just get it. It'll make you smile every day.

If it's taken you a year to save 500.quid then how are you going to afford 100 a month?

Seriously dude it's out of your financial range. I understand, I went past a shop with this rug in the window. It was love at first sight. It was only 150 quid though.

Sorry op it’s not a good decision to spend that much on a rug. It may be worth that much and may make you happy in some ways, but the high cost will make your life hard in other ways and take away choices. It would not be a sensible purchase.

OP, to be blunt, you cannot afford this rug. You don’t earn enough. If it’s taken you ages to save £500 then surely that tells you you can’t afford it?

I wouldn't not on credit. It will be marked or damaged long before you have finished paying for it.

It sounds good quality and should last a lifetime. So, a good investment. Generally, if you love something, you’ll always love it.

But if you still have another 1k to find, how long will it take to pay off? Some clever accounting may help. Take the John Lewis interest free credit, pay off as much as you can afford each month. Then, if you still have a balance outstanding when you become liable for interest, take out a credit card where you can transfer your balance with zero interest for another year etc.

Could any family loan you the remaining money once you run out of free credit (grandparents, parents)? If you set up a standing order to pay them back each month.

Honestly, I understand the allure, but my rug from Next for £230 has just about survived 2 dogs. Do not spend a months salary on something that you’ll be terrified of spilling your coffee on and thus never really enjoy!

I just bought an expensive (to us) rug. I was going to be my usual sensible self but the ones in our preferred price range were horrendous & cheap looking.

I refused to pay the (equivalent of) £1400 for it, though. The shop assistant quickly halved the price and admitted it was going on sale the next day. So it pays to ask. She wasn't going to offer if I didn't say the price was a deal breaker, and there's a massive mark up.

I don't regret it, but also we're more careful around it, so don't enjoy the space as much as we're worried about getting it dirty. We could afford it too, which makes the difference. If we didn't have spare money I would have gone the cheapie rug. It's just stuff.

Surely it would be more sensible to put the money already saved into an account for emergencies?
At the end of the day a rug is just ‘stuff’ and your family wellbeing is far more important than stuff.

Go for it.
you’ll see it every day
it will make you happy every day

If you had £1500 and all the bills were paid, then I’d encourage you to get it. Especially if you can’t stop thinking about it. Every time I’ve told myself that I don’t really need it, I’ve regretted it. I’m still thinking about a giant watermelon bowl I saw in TK Max in 2006. I don’t even like watermelon but it was beautiful.

But I don’t think you can afford the repayments. It doesn’t matter if it’s not the same rug that has been linked to; if the price is the same then the repayments will be the same. Keep saving and pray that it goes in their sale.

In the 90s all big home purchases were this much of an investment. We earns less, we bought lasting quality.

There is nothing worse than buyer's remorse, when it is not rectifiable - when you can't return it. Also, this is not the sort of a thing you would regret not having bought ages down the line. Usually you regret not having bought something which is a one-off (and this is mass-produced from a shop) or an insane bargain - like a painting that would increase in price, etc. But this is not this sort of a rug. The ones that will cause regret at not having bought them, cost in the thousands.

What about the regret if her boiler breaks or she's of work unexpectedly unwell not only with 0 savings but a grand and a half in debt over a rug?

You want to buy a rug on a payment plan that it would otherwise take you four years to save for? And it's more than your monthly salary. Just no. Can you even afford the repayments?

It sounds mad. That's without the constant worry about spills, etc.

It’s a lot of money to spend on something that will live on the floor, you can’t really afford it if it costs over a month’s wages and you’ve not even be able to save 1/3 of its cost in a year. It would be so easy for a rug to get damaged, especially if you have kids or pets; stains from food/ drink spills, footprints, sickness etc. You will be constantly anxious about anybody ruining the rug so that you won’t actually be able to enjoy it or the room it’s in and if it does get stained or damaged, which is likely with a rug, you could never afford to replace it and will probably feel hugely upset at the money spent. I don’t think spending this much on a rug will bring you the happiness you want, I think it will bring anxiety and regret.

as long as it’s good quality, you are not being unreasonable

Honestly, a UK holiday cottage in peak season is around the same price. Replacement windows, a new boiler, a few essential pieces of non flat pack furniture are more. Getting things in context, it's a good buy.

Buy the rug! I searched high and low for a rug, found the perfect one at £1800, debated for WEEKS whether to buy it or not - bought it and don’t regret it one bit, I LOVE it!

Are you prepared for your children, your adult family or friends to spill or drop stuff on it?
Do any toddlers or pets ever enter your home?

I don't think you can really afford it if it's taken you that long to save £500, so I don't think you are going to be relaxed about it getting possibly damaged by everyday life with a young family before it's even paid for in full.
If you have an unexpected bill, are you okay with the hit to your credit record if you can't make the payments?

If you have a robot hoover it can wear the edges off your rug over time if it's made of wool.
I've got 2 wool rugs that need one edge rebinding on each where the hoover climbs up onto them - took a couple of years for that to show the wear but it's becoming a little obvious now.

Then of course, there is the risk of moths.

Can you really afford, not just in money but emotionally, to treat it like a cheap rug once you've actually bought it so everyone can live their lives not stressing about Mummys rug?
If not I'd look for something lower in cost.

Right now, you could buy a much cheaper rug and have some money left to either treat yourself or your family with from your savings.
Or you can take on debt for something you will struggle to pay for.

@Theyalwaysknewbest has saved 500, which is all they could save…