Here’s What Buying Furniture on a Budget Doesn’t Mean

SHARE THIS

FACEBOOK

  DELICIOUS

  SU

  REDDIT

A budget is the financial version of a diet. And a lot of people have funny ideas about diets. They believe it means that they have to starve themselves, or that they can never have any food they actually enjoy, or that they have to shop at special stores, or that it can never ultimately work. All of these ideas about dieting are wrong. And so it is with family budgets.

The best way to think about a diet is that it is a way of developing a healthy relationship with food. And the same is true for budgeting. A budget is a healthy way of thinking about and spending money. It is a positive thing that can help you get and stay on track.

We tend to break up budgets into segments in a way that we don’t tend to do with diets. We think in terms of the entertainment budget, and the travel budget, and the furniture budget. And that’s fine if it helps you stay on track. But it also tends to cause us to focus on one thing at a time. And that can lead to some weird conclusions. Regarding the furniture budget, here is some of what it most certainly does not mean:

You Can’t Have Anything Nice

You have seen the price of really nice furniture. And if your fantasy has always been to fill your house with those pieces, you should probably think again. However, that does not mean that you can’t have anything nice. Rather, you should think in terms of one really nice piece of furniture you either need or have always wanted.

Depending on the condition of your knees and hips, that one nice piece, or pieces, could be lift chairs that help you get up without pain. It could be a cherry wood desk that really makes you feel like a professional in your home office. For others, it is the dining room table that signifies home and hearth.

The point is you don’t have to have a house full of expensive pieces to be happy with your furniture. Often, all you really need is one nice thing that gives you the joy and satisfaction of ownership. Be sure to include joy in your budget.

You Have to Buy it All at Once

Another misconception about furniture shopping is that you have to buy it all at once. This is a myth pushed on us by furniture retail stores that want to ring up a bigger bill. And they do so by selling matching sets of furniture that appeal to our emotions.

But you can get a higher quality of furniture by getting it one piece at a time. That way, it is easier to save up for the sofa you want rather than the one dictated by your budget of the moment. Furthermore, you are free to assemble pieces that don’t necessarily match. The most interesting home decor has individual pieces with their own story and sense of space.

You Have to Settle for Single-purpose Furniture

When you are on a budget, you think in terms of inexpensive furniture. The least expensive furniture tends to be single-purpose furniture. But a better use of your money may be to pay a bit more for furniture that can multitask.

A couch is good. But a couch that can double as a comfortable bed may be better. At dining table is good. But a dining table that can double as a desk is even better when you are on a budget. A bed with drawers underneath might eliminate the need for a dresser. Every room in the house can benefit from multitasking furniture.

So don’t let a lack of funds force you into pour furniture choices. You can have nice things. You don’t have to buy a retail set. And you don’t have to settle for furniture that can only do one thing.