to wonder how people afford to decorate their houses?

[Blelibo]

Me and DH both in late 20s, both on 30k a year, own our own house, we have one child together and DH has a daughter from previous relationship... we hang NO money to decorate our house with. We've lived here a year and it's completely empty!!

Anyone else in same boat?

We save and buy second hand but it’s hard when you see people with fabulous houses isn’t it?

Credit card, save up for a bit or do what me and DH did and use money from cash back plus xmas gifts. Only spend £200 ish max though as in a new build.

You're on 30k a year each and can't afford to decorate and have nothing in the house? Is your mortgage massive? My and my Oh earn combined 40k own our own house have 3 DC and still have enough left each month towards extras if we want!

On £60K between you, and you can't afford a few tins of emulsion, and a few rolls of anaglypta?

Pull the other one. It's got bells on.

Is this some kind of stealth boast?

What is it you feel is missing? Furniture? Artwork?

You can find some really cool things on Gumtree Freebies and even on Ebay. I got something I know is worth at least £50 for 99p

Charity shops have some cracking decs.
Paper chains are filling and cheap.

I say track your expenses down to the penny, write it all down. Possibly start in January. Once you have your money tracked you may be able to spot trends and where you spend too much etc. make a savings plan and stick to it. Check out “the budget mom” she’s American but has a great system that you could adapt. Save some money and then tackle one room at a time!!

Oops I thought it was Xmas decs.

Do you mean you can't afford to furnish it or you can't afford to decorate it ie paint it?

People earn more? People have lower outgoings? People prioritise it over other things?
We moved a year ago and are going it bit by bit. Living room, dining room, playroom and DC’s bedroom done. Next year we’ll do the guest room, our bedroom etc.

I think saying "how can you not afford anything on xxk" is not fair tbh. None of us knows their mortgage and bills and child support etc.

Do yiu mean general decoration?

We got reduced paint from DIY stores, heavily reduced and usually in sale or flash sale on top. Second hand furniture.. Items from car boots, charity shops etc.
I don't think we paid full price for anything... Anything and everything was on knock down or second hand. Eg we could never ever afford to go to somewhere like John Lewis or Debenham and order stuff no way.

I think saying "how can you not afford anything on xxk" is not fair tbh. None of us knows their mortgage and bills and child support etc

In the same vein, I think threads asking ‘how does anyone afford x’ are a bit ridiculous. Obviously because they’ve got more disposable cash than the person asking the question.

Op I think you need to clarify what you mean by decorate? Do you mean wallpaper and flossing or furniture or both?

A few cans of paint and some trips to second hand shops?

@Elfontheshelfiswatchingyoutoo you would think that. I did too! And then I checked Debenhams furniture sale once and finally found a table I needed for less than half the price of everywhere else

@SoyDora yeah, you are right

Perhaps others earn more or were sensible and ensure the house was set up and they had savings before making the huge commitment of children.

You can definitely afford to decorate your house. You just need to prioritise it.

I don't think you are unusual. You have prioritised getting a house and having children. It sounds like you are doing well.

If you mean buying furniture - most people I know just got cast offs from relatives or looked at secondhand in the past.

If you mean painting and decorating- that can mostly wait , but a few cans of paint aren't too expensive.

If you are comparing with people who have different priorities, you will never be happy.

I think the OP means furniture - cheaper options which can be really good include: Ikea and local 2nd hand furniture - especially local facebook groups. If it's not to your liking pick up a piece of furniture that the the right function/size and re-do it in the colour(s) you like.

You can decorate on a budget. Some tips you might find obvious..

1. prepare to do the work yourself, you can make curtains, cushions, do painting.
2. do it in small stages,
3. don't buy premium brands like Farrow & Ball. I found a lovely (expensive) paint shade and got it mixed at b&q for a fraction of the cost.
4. you can get brilliant furniture on Gumtree, local dump, charity shops.
5. IKEA for the bits you can't make, scrape or scrounge!

Yanbu
We earn £65k between us and are still paying off a chuck of debt from when we were younger and were assholes with money.
Childcare is a fortune, never seem to have enough left over. We haven't decorated in about 8 years.

Pretty much all our furniture apart from beds, mattresses and sofa is second hand off gumtree. New furniture is ridiculously expensive and you can get almost new, beautiful stuff for a fraction of the price. And we sell stuff e.g. I wanted a different type of kitchen table so sold our current one and then bought a second hand one, which made the overall cost something like £20.

Painting, do a room at a time.... It's slow going, paint etc is expensive but it can be done. Our combined take home income is about 40k

Little but often was my trick. I had one room in mind and basically bought stuff slowly. One thing per 2 weeks was my rule to myself. No matter how much it costed. You don't miss the money so much that way. Yes it takes longer but on our budget it had to be.

We just buy stuff from IKEA. We have young kids so all our furniture gets destroyed anyway.