Mini Moving Rant

[Marie]

Ok, first of all let me say how incredibly happy we are to finally be moving in 2 weeks. It has been a long road as our house was on the market for 23 months. Yes, that's right 23 months, not a typo! However, I just added up the list of stuff we still need to buy, want to buy, and the movers, etc and we're looking at a lot of fricking cash.

Here's our list so far:
New dining room table & chairs for downstairs dining room ~ $2400
Wall shelves for stemware storage ~ $400
Wine/bar cabinet ~ $500 (granted this is a want for now, it could wait)
New king mattress & bedding ~ $1500
A few new frames ~ $200
Movers ~ $700

Ok, dude, that's $5700! And that doesn't include the new bed we've already bought and it might be a little low for the mattress/bedding. It is about $1000 over our budget. How have you dealt with moving and not having everything perfect and ready right away? After living with boxes and such for so long I just want everything put away and settled.

[shopaholic]

I do not own a house so my situation might be a bit different, but I just moved this past March. We had to consolidate all of our things together as well as buy ALL new furniture.

We had to buy a new bed/headboard, dresser, chest, night stand, couch, love seat, coffee table, 2 side tables, computer desk, TV, TV stand, etc etc. Mainly all the BIG things.

What we did was went to Wickes and picked out our furniture. I love the things they have and we got a no payments/no interest for 1 1/2 years (we just make small payments each month). Bought our bed from American Mattress including the headboard.

We did not hire movers...did everything ourself.

Moving is always stressful!!!

[Marie]

We're too old to move ourselves! LOL.

Wow, you guys had to buy a LOT! Yikes. We already have the dining table on order and have picked out the chairs. We definitely went with an inexpensive one compared to some of the stuff out there we wanted --- oh like the $3000 just for the table at Crate & Barrell

I think we're going to go out this weekend or next and look at mattresses. We love the one we have right now on our queen - we're going to try and see if they still make that style and find out where we can get it for the cheapest. I'm going to hit TJMaxx and look for bedding.

And we have to do things like keep our ugly green leather couches in the family room for a while even though my hubby hates them with a passion. We just can't afford to replace everything right now.

I just want it all done now!!!

[constance]

If you have time to bargin-hunt, I'd try Goodwill. Seriously. I've purchased several new items (still in wrappers) including frames, which add up. DH still loves the Lazyboy that I bought for $70. Good luck.

[mindy]

I feel your pain We are getting ready to moveand I want tons of new stuff but I am just going to get a little bit at a time to try to cut down on the upfront cash

[rileyandfredsmom]

You know, I do think some of those things can wait. Sorry, but if you have to trim the budget, you really need to look long and hard at your list. We are 32 years old and our home is nowhere near where we want it to be. We both have good paying jobs but we realize that it's not going to be perfect right away, it takes time to build a home.

I think our society focuses so much on having everything right now and everything being perfect. So what if you don't have a few of the picture frames you want, I have 6, yes 6 beautiful prints that I want framed right now, we do them one at a time as we can afford it and being right after a move, we def. can't afford it. Therefore, we have some blank spaces on the wall and they will be blank a little longer, until we can afford to have them framed....one at a time.

Here is your list and my thoughts on each item...

New dining room table & chairs for downstairs dining room ~ $2400 -
that's a lot of money for a table and chairs, but if it is something you can't live without, go ahead and splurge

Wall shelves for stemware storage ~ $400
Is this a necessity right away? Could this wait a bit longer? What would happen if you didn't have it when you moved in? All I am saying is, couldn't they go in a cabinet for a month or two until you can afford the shelves?

Wine/bar cabinet ~ $500 (granted this is a want for now, it could wait)
As you say, this is a want, it could wait, so scrap it.

New king mattress & bedding ~ $1500
A good nights sleep is a priority for us so we don't skimp here and I don't recommend others to skimp here either. We have a king size Sleep Number bed and spent a little over $1,600 on it so I say, if you need it, get it.

A few new frames ~ $200
A few??? If you go to places like TJ Maxx and Ross and Marshall's, you could get 20 frames for that price. Where are you looking for frames. Isn't this something that you could accumulate over time?

Movers ~ $700
This is a must.

I don't mean to sound harsh but I personally think you need to really look at your needs and wants and make some tough decisions. I really hate having a mantel with nothing on it or over it but the picture I want for it can't be framed right now, so it sits empty. I hate that my 'huge' entertainment center is now too small on the wall it is placed on and really needs a bookshelf or other larger piece of furniture next to it, but right now, we can't afford it so I live with it.

For most of us, it took our parents a lifetime to make their homes perfect and we now think our homes must be full and perfect from the moment we move in. I seriously doubt anyone is going to think less of you or your home because you have a few blank spaces - and if they do, tell them they are more than welcome to write you a check for X amount of dollars to cover it.

[Marie]

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it.

We've decided we can swing the table, chairs and shelves this week (if you knew how much stemware we own you'd understand the need!) and the mattress next week.

Of course, we also forgot about 2 barstools we are buying from the owners so I think the bar/wine cabinet will wait.

Need to start looking for bedding - we do have a 20% off coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond right now so maybe we'll go there.

Two more weeks until we move! Cannot wait.

[kam]

Another option is trying craigslist. Some areas are hotter than others, but we found some good (and I admit, some not-so-good) buys on the furniture listings there.