AIBU to feel disheartened by the cost of furnishing my first home?

[binocularsgranda]

I am single and live alone. I moved into my house about a year ago and it's my first home so I've had to get everything from scratch. My furniture is a mixture of freebies and things I bought over the months before I bought my house.
Once I have paid regular bills, mortgage etc I have £400 left each month for petrol, food, toiletries, clothes, shoes and parking.
I went for a walk around a home furnishings shop this evening to window shop essentially, not because I was planning to buy anything, just for a look. Even though I hadn't intended to buy anything, I left feeling disheartened. I can't see how I will ever be able to afford even the floor lamp for the living room, bed for the spare room or shelving for the dining room that I need. Yes I can - and will - look online for people giving things away but I think that should be my choice, not my only option because any other route to furnishing my home is simply out of reach. I have very little left over to save each month (and I am frugal - my outgoings are as little as they can be via comparison sites etc). It made me wonder how people afford to go into, for example, Next and buy a sofa. AIBU to feel down about the gap between everyday finances and the prices of necessities? I just want to make my home my own, nothing extravagant.

Worth visiting your nearest recycling centre as they sell furniture very cheaply.

IKEA for good quality and value if you want new.

Don't get a second hand bed - bedbugs are a bitch to get rid of.

All you need at the very start is a bed and a comfy chair.

Other stuff can be got as time goes along.

I agree with others PP, it’s very unusual for anyone buying their first home to be getting their sofa’s from Next and everything perfect and brand new.

For our current home we bought all new but that’s because we are earning significantly more now than when we bought our first house, our initial home was second hand, things we saved for. I’d really advise against using Klarna/credit to buy things though, if you only have £400 a month left you don’t have to cut that any further with debt repayments because “stuff” doesn’t feel new for very long, after a few months its just your sofa and you will resent losing the money each month to pay for it.

If you look on local social media, and some shops still have boards with furniture offered free/cheap, you might be able to pick up a few things. Don't worry about rushing it, once you've got the basics, just take your time and enjoy picking up bits at different times. You can then swap things out that suit you, and pass on bits that don't for someone else. Lots of design sites recommend taking it slowly even for those who can afford to buy lots, because you can see what works for you, eg if you wfh you probably want to set up your house differently to if you never do etc.

You can get brilliant furniture etc from Gumtree/ British heart foundation, you may pay a little for delivery, if need be. You might have to be patient but everything will come your way eventually.
I bought my house 20 years ago, and almost nothing in it was brand new when i got it. I know it's not for everyone, but it is possible.
Plus, I really do think you end up with a place more original and individual, when you do this.

24 years ago almost all our furnishings were second hand and the spare room had an air bed. We've still got the second hand dining table, chairs, mirror and coffee tables. Second hand good furniture lasts far longer than cheap new stuff. Don't buy new.

Furnishing your first home is always a mixture of make do & mend until finances allow you to buy what you actually want rather what you can get.
One thing I never did though was to buy anything on credit, I waited until I could afford it or I simply went without.
There are many more options nowadays for getting good furniture cheap (or free) as the throwaway society means that many people buy new furniture because they want a change rather than the existing furniture being worn out.

I remember furnishing my first house.🙂
My bedroom furniture came from my bedroom at M&D house.
My lovely parents let me have some of their furniture as it gave them an excuse to buy new, this included the sofa & chairs, dining table & chairs, cooker, breakfast table, several pairs of curtains and some rugs to cover the hideous carpets!😖 I rented a TV & video (from Radio Rentals.... remember them?) and was given new crockery, cutlery, bedding, towels etc as moving-in presents.
The one hugely expensive new item I treated myself to was a microwave. New furniture to my taste followed later.

I got a virtual brand new double bed on marketplace for £50 recently, and both our sofas are from there (one £50, one £100) . Keep looking on there daily you’ll find loads of bargains.

It’s so incredibly normal for a houseful of brand new furniture to be completely out of budget for a first home. I don’t know anyone who managed that.. unless they stick it all on finance and what a terrible start to a new life in your new home! Charity shops and Facebook marketplace will be your friends here.
DH and I moved in together 10 years ago, he’d been in the house a month when I moved in, and when he moved in, he bought 2 leather sofas off Facebook marketplace, a couple of years old at the time, for £250. We still have those sofas, they’ve moved house with us 😂 and they’re still pretty comfy! Thinking about it, apart from the oven, our mattresses, the tvs and the tumble dryer, I’m not sure anything else in our home even now was bought new 🤔 it’s all been Facebook and off friends and family here and there, either gifts or v low priced. I love a bargain and it helps that my taste isn’t ’on trend’ necessarily, more farmhouse cosy sort of vibes.

Find a local auctioneer.
(A beautiful Georgian chest of drawers costs the same as an Ikea or J Lewis one for example.)

Also some charity shops sell furniture.

All you need at the very start is a bed and a comfy chair.

The bed itself can be second hand as you can clean that. Then buy a new mattress.

Sofas and many other things are free on FB . Charity shops and Emmaus have great bargains. Please don’t buy stuff on credit, absolutely no need

My first house was also full of hand me downs, my second house was full of hand me downs and Ikea with a couple of nicer things that were given as wedding gifts.

Now we’re 30 years down the line, we’re able to buy new if we want to, and are in the process of redecorating and replacing stuff that is basically worn out. I’m replacing 15 year old carpets, sofas etc, and redecorating rooms that were last done 10 years ago.

Building a home is a life long endeavour, and things are always tight in your first home. Your wages will increase over time and you’ll start to have some wiggle room in your budget but it takes time. Your home doesn’t need to be perfectly furnished and won’t be for some time.

When I moved out of my parents to my first flat at 19 I furnished it from a second hand shop. I had a cooker, fridge, settee, bed and wardrobe. That was it. There weren’t carpets even. I had a black and white portable tv that I took from my bedroom at home. That was it. I didn’t have a washer. It was either the laundrette or hand wash in the bath.
It wasn’t much but it was mine.

Honestly well done on getting onto property ladder. There is so much furniture, etc given away for free on local websites . I had 3 2nd sofas before I got my first new suite which was on 0% credit ,those were the days ..
Please don't get into debt to get stuff ,I've seen people lose everything when it all crumbled beneath them .Buy 2nd hand there is loads out there .Its going to take you some time but you'll get there .

Klarna is absolutely not your friend.

But debt is how people do it. If you can afford it on Klarna or credit, you can afford to wait for it and buy it with your savings.

But it was ever thus, my in laws talk about using a broom handle in an alcove for years while they saved for a wardrobe. My mum and dad didn’t buy/pick their own sofa until I was 16 - until then they had hand me downs.

If you can out even £5 a week aside then it’ll feel even better when you have enough to buy what you want!

Second hand/inherited furniture and interest free credit.
And overtime if you can get it.
Congratulations on the purchase of your first home OP

There is loads on FB/Gumtree etc but my issue is that if you are on your own or don’t have a big enough car then you also need to get a Man with A Van to help with picking up and delivering which adds to the cost. I think some charity shops might deliver though which is helpful.

IKEA isn’t as good value as it used to be but it’s still good. I did a mega order when I moved into my first flat and it kept me going for years.

Seconding your local auction house as well as charity shops like British Heart Foundation, car boot sales, Freecycle etc. And putting the word around family and friends that you’re on the lookout for certain things — I’ve been offered a lovely old fourposter, a rocking chair, lovely things. We’ve owned a house for a long time, but most of our furniture is still the stuff we bought at auction and car boot sales.

I furnished my airbnb house from scratch for next to nothing, mostly from FB marketplace. Plus a few bits from Ikea, Dunelm and the local bric a brac shop. It takes a bit more time, but it looks great.

You have done well to secure a home as a single buyer OP, that is something to celebrate.

IMO people are more inclined to throw things out and buy new than they ever have been. I'd keep at it on facebook marketplace and the like and make regular trips to large second hand charity furniture shops.

Obviously it depends on your taste but I'd prefer to have solid wood furniture that can be sanded or painted if you prefer than cheaply made veneer from the high street brands. I think it's quite normal in homes to pick up bits as time goes on rather than plug away at it all at once.

Honestly you just live with minimal furniture for as long as you can. We got a free couch on Fb that someone posted saying if someone took it that day they could have it for free. It’s got holes at the bottom and some stuffing we hid with a cushion but is fab!!! Most small stuff ikea, throws and other things Penneys. All accrued over YEARS!! You pick what you have to and just try and get by. Congratulations on the home x

When we moved into our first home we sat on deck chairs and bought a second had kitchen table. These days charity shops - Heart Foundation round here - sell really good quality furniture , everything you might need.

@binocularsgranda you are fortunate (or have stretched yourself financially) to have a spare room.

My first one bed flat I bought: a new kettle, a new fridge, a new matress, new duvet and pillows. Everything else was 2nd/3rd hand or gifted or charity shop.

It was all fine. Everything worked and was safe.

You can imagine my joy and delight 5 years later when I could afford to redecorate AND buy a Habitat sofa (I still have it 35 years later).

I'm in my 60s and I have sort of dream that I will downsize and buy everything new (to fit my smaller space). Then I will never have to buy anything ever again.

Some people are so poor, including me, that they just cannot afford to get into debt!!

I second pps. It would never have occurred to us to shop at next/John Lewis for our student flat. We've done about 10 years on IKEA/Argos/second hand and now have started replacing with £1500 sofas and oak furniture. Still on student plates though! Kitchen items have been Xmas presents for as long as I can remember and towels and duvet covers etc.