I can only have two of these three things. Help me choose?

[AngeloMysterioso]

DH and I have just over £300 in JL gift vouchers left over from our wedding. I also have £240 “treat money” from this year’s bonus with which to get something “for myself”. So here are my options-

Thing 1 - £229
We recently moved into a fairly small flat which has largely been furnished with hideous, chunky, black Ikea furniture - bought when DH was furnishing his bachelor flat (before I showed up). At the moment we are stuck with a dining table not dissimilar to this, with 4 matching chairs. We can’t fit all 4 chairs under the table at once and DH is using the table as his desk atm (new one due to arrive in a few weeks and it will go in our bedroom) so his office chair is in the sitting room and two of the chairs are currently in our bedroom.
One of the three things I have my eye on is this table and chairs set- it is pretty perfect for us in that it folds up nice and compactly and will look much nicer in the space than the awkward black one we have now. If I used the gift vouchers to get it we’d have roughly £80 left.

Thing 2 - £449-£675
I have wanted a Vitamix for so long. At least 7 years. I have watched the videos on YouTube more times than I’d like to admit. I have a Pinterest board full of delicious recipes I would make with one. Baby DS is also weaning at the moment and I would love to be able to make lots of lovely homemade things for him. I know there are other, cheaper blenders out there but I want one so badly!!
The Explorian is out of stock at JL atm so in order to get one of the more expensive better ones I would have to combine both gift vouchers and treat money. If I wanted the most fancy pants one I’d have to save up a bit more on top as well. DH is happy for me to get one with the gift vouchers and would probably use it too but to him any blender would do so he’s not fussed really.

Thing 3 - £240
I recently completed my first half marathon 5 months after having my first baby and have well and truly caught the running bug. I’ve been using my phone for tracking, listening to music etc but would love a proper fitness watch, and really like the look of the Garmin Vivoactive 4S. Of the three things, this is the only thing that would really be just for me is. The dining table, while being something only I really want, would be used by the whole family, the blender too but the fact that it’s a Vitamix is what makes it a treat for me.

My options are

A- get the table and the watch, spend the remaining vouchers on a shitty cheaper blender and continue to lust over a Vitamix for the rest of my days.

B- wait for the cheapest Vitamix to come back in stock, get that and the table or watch

C- combine vouchers and treat money for a more expensive Vitamix, make my peace with the ugly table, get a cheaper fitness watch for my birthday in a few months time.

What would Mumsnet do??

Get your watch with the vouchers and use the money for a better table & chairs

I’d go option C. But only if I was certain I’d definitely use it a lot.
The table and chairs are pretty similar to ones you could get elsewhere for cheaper, and paint white if you really wanted to.

Op.

Go Onto eBay and buy the lot!!
Spend vouchers on something totally frivolous

Ps that table and chair set is a total
Hazard for a toddler ... you should get
Something more supportive for you and with a full back

A or D

Def sell the vouchers, get a better table and chair set, sell the current set, don’t waste the money.
Use most of it, for when you move to a bigger place.
I did with house refurb get a lovely table and chair set with leather chairs, oak furniture land, paid s fair bit, will last ages tho.

Option B, whilst I wouldn’t go for the most expensive one I would be completely lost without mine, it was perfect for baby foods and we still use it on a daily basis over 13 years later. They are soooo worth the money and the do last, when I got mine I was a skint single mum and to this day I still think it was a brilliant buy 😊

Buy the watch and look for a nicer table in JL. The vitamix is emperors new clothes, you can buy a decent blender for well under £100, you’ve fallen for the brand. Your baby will be weaning for a couple of months, you won’t get your money’s worth and it will live in a cupboard. I say that as a top of the range, barely used after a few months, KitchenAid owner.

If you went for a kitchenaid you could get the stand mixer and blender attachment for around the same as the vitamix (I do not get why anyone would spend that much on a blender, no appeal at all).

@AngeloMysterioso whatever else you do get the bloody Vitamix. It is AMAZING. ExH used to have health fads, juicing etc and then move onto something else (a bit like his relationships really ) when he left there was a cupboard full of stupid electrical stuff. We started using the vitamix and OMG, I can't believe how useful it is. Icecream from frozen fruit, nut butters, humus, pestos..... I freaked out when I saw he'd paid £500 for it, but he's been gone 10 yrs and we must use it 2-3 times a week. If it ever breaks (unlikely) I will replace it in a heartbeat!

Yes I also have a cheap £20 hand blender that does soups etc fine, easier in fact as they stay in the pan - but the Vitamix is in a class of its own for power.

A, then ask for more vouchers for your birthday, save them and get the fancy pants blender in black Friday sale

Option B. I love my Vitamix, I've had it for 6 years or so and I'm still so happy I chose to get it.

Vitamix. They're excellent.

I bought a Kitchenaid, a magimix food processor and a magimix blender over a decade and all three are still going strong, I use them pretty much everyday.

I don't like any of your choices at all. The blender is ridiculously priced unless you actually have a budget like the Beckham's!

C

Don’t get the table and chairs. The chairs are hideously uncomfortable because they have a single rail and offer no Back support. The table isn’t all that comfy either because of the legs. I had the previous version!

QVC has the Explorian E320 in stock for £390. You can use it for 30 days and send it back if you find you don’t use it much. I would wait for it to be on a TSV deal though, lots of £££ off.

www.qvcuk.com/Vitamix-Explorian-E320-Blender.product.808731.html?sc=SRCH

Check out Ebay auctions for the watch. A seller with a good history etc.
I recently got my Vivactive 3 for £100

@Perro

Buy the watch and look for a nicer table in JL. The vitamix is emperors new clothes, you can buy a decent blender for well under £100, you’ve fallen for the brand. Your baby will be weaning for a couple of months, you won’t get your money’s worth and it will live in a cupboard. I say that as a top of the range, barely used after a few months, KitchenAid owner.

Never keep fancy pants (heavy) kitchen kit in the cupboard, you'll never be arsed to take it out when you want it. Always on the side.

And the table/chairs looks like garden furniture. The black IKEA one sounds better.

I think option D sounds like the best of all worlds - if the cheaper watch does what you need it to do.

Whilst I wouldn't spend that on a blender myself I understand lusting after a particular item. I have several knives that were well over £100 each and I don't regret a penny of it.

The table would serve your whole family for a long time though so a very good use of wedding money.

Definitely option A!

Whatever option to go for, pick one with the watch. I got a Garmin Venu in December and it's amazing. For those saying a cheap fitness tracker will do the same, it absolutely doesn't compare. I've used the cheap ones linked to Strava and phone GPS and it was a nightmare. I'd never switch back. Worth every penny!

Get the blender. You've wanted it for years and probably won't have an opportunity like this to buy it again. Consider it a wedding gift.

We've had an earlier version of that table and chairs for a few years - very narrow galley kitchen. The varnished surface has worn away so make sure you use coasters. The chairs are slightly curved, better than Argos versions, but dp (17 stone) broke a couple. I'd wait for the cheaper version of the blender that you like, we've got a bamix stick blender that's 16 years old and still going strong.