Things you wish you'd spent less / more on?

[HungryHippos]

As a rule of thumb, spend more cash where you feel it will be appreciated/used the most.

Middle of the road is "good enough" in most cases.

IKEA can provide some functional stuff which doesn't break the bank. Nothing wrong with some flatpack.

Shop about online for things too, don't accept the first price, shop around

If you can stack discounts/cash back (Topcashback/Quidco) then it's worth trying to do so. You can save a fair bit of cash by shopping around for home related costs too like insurance, broadband, phone deals blah blah blah.

A good mattress is high on my list of priorities personally. Same for duvet/pillows and bedding in general to be honest.

Most Bosch/Neff/Samsung stuff is good enough for kitchen appliances, even the cheap stuff is fine. I try to spend a bit more though and get something above the entry level. On my 3rd washing machine now, and I would recommend getting a bigger drum size, I have 9KG and it's perfect. Old one was 7KG and would struggle with bigger loads.

I think it's worth spending a bit more on a good sofa or two, use them a lot, they should last years. I have a corner sofa but I'd probably go back to two separates on a do-over. My corner sofa is like a tetris shape and only fits one way around, which limits where I can place it. If getting a corner sofa try and get a modular one so it can be rejigged and moved about easier.

Try and get a good quality 18/10 Stainless Steel cutlery set, it's worth it and lasts for a long time.

In general if I have the cash then I buy quality stuff, even if it's not the most expensive thing I could get, I prefer stuff to last.

 

[memyselfandi]

Personally I would put the dining room down at the bottom of the list as are you really going to use it? I know when I moved into my house I bought a a dining room table and chairs ... and it was used maybe a couple of dozen times before becoming a dumping ground for many years and now I have my PC setup on it.

With the other things, check reviews ... if you are doing the whole house then consider decent mid-range things rather than high end. You can get reasonable things in most of those categories for 500-600 which will last you a good few years. When I moved in I bought a 2 and a 3 seater sofas for ~£800 in total and they are only just getting to a state where it needs to be replaced 15 years later.

But don't underestimate the importance of a mattress which is good and right for you. It is a lot more important than the bed frame itself and having the wrong one, be that too hard, too soft or whatever can cause you medical issues over time.

Also don't write off IKEA either ... I have IKEA stuff which is over 10 years old and is still like new. Put it together properly and don't abuse it and its absolutely fine.

 

[Boycey0211]

Honestly for white goods the old Facebook marketplace can throw up some gems.

I was looking for a under counter freezer last year, cheapest I could find online was £200 in the dimensions I needed, found one a 5 min drive away brand new for £50 becuase the bloke was renovating his house.

Not saying it's like that for everything but I'd always have a look before buying new now, for instance we were given our bed frame for free (bought a decent mattress) and I've just bought a brand new frame from a friend as it's exactly what we've been after at 1/3 of the price.

Of course if you need stuff immediately then you can't wait for deals and stuff, but that all depends on your life situation

 

[Sandycheeks]

I always look for stuff with long warranties thrown in. I know other folk are happy to pay £200 for a washing machine with 1 year warranty but I'd rather pay £400 for one with 5 year warranty. Peace of mind is priceless.

 

[Nitefly]

@Psycho Sonny £2k on a washing machine?

Beko FTW. Although, truth be told, mine died on me in 2 years and I got a replacement via the extended warranty I bought. So I think that’s £300 for 4 years of use.

 

[Quartz]

When it comes to furniture, ask your parents and grandparents. They may have stuff stashed away or just be looking to refresh their own.

Do you have a toolbox? As a first-time home-owner, you will become a habitue of B&Q and Screwfix. Buy good quality tools.

Light bulbs: take the opportunity to check that they're all LED bulbs (for the energy saving) and rationalise the types to as few as possible. You don't want to end up with a box of various spare light bulbs costing over £100 (ahem ). I rationalised from umpteen down to just two.

And buy yourself a wooden toilet seat.

 

[shadow_boxer]

Don't rush on furnishing the new house. Take your time if possible. Budget range white goods are quite reasonable. When we moved into our new house about 5 years ago we had items across a range. For example, washer and dryer were spares from my in laws, fridge freezer was a budget LEK? (as it needed to be a very specific height to fit under the kitchen cabinets), bed, mattress, sofa we didn't skimp on. Dining suite was the last big purchase as we could live with out it. TV was a tricky one. OLED wasn't really around and I wasn't convinced about the availability of 4k content at the time so went with a mid to upper range 1080p screen. I'd agree with @Sandycheeks about getting things with decent warranty...john lewis or Costco for us are about the best then see what extended warranties/promotions manufacturers are offering. Both our TVs, sound bar, new washing machine are from JL.

 

[chaparral]

I spent close to £2k on a washing machine, first home so bought pretty much top of the range everything.

I spent 1k on my washing machine and my friends thought I was mad spending that much just on a washing machine

 

[Matthew.M]

I bought the cheapest possible Beko washing machine when I got my first place with the intention of upgrading when it died in 18months to 2 years when I had more spare cash.

It was brilliant. It was still going at 5 years old.

 

[Rroff]

Agree with those saying don't skimp on mattress - I've done OK with skimping on beds as I can just fix any issues/reinforce as needed but there isn't much fixing (at least short of pointlessly rebuilding the whole thing from scratch) a bad mattress and I've certainly suffered from skimping on that.

Regret not spending more on a bells and whistles TV though - as I tend to spend a fair bit of time watching media at my PC (where I have a nice IPS monitor) and using a projector for "blockbuster" movies, etc. I went cheap on a TV but when I do use it the blacks being closer to grey than blacks and so-so viewing angles bother me - definitely going to be replacing that! (also using a projector isn't actually great for day to day convenience). At the end of the day though that is secondary importance if your budget it tight in the short term - can always make do with a lesser screen.

 

[Carl81]

Wish i hadnt spent £5000 on fifa points

 

[DarrenM343]

I splashed out on some items only. Washing appliances and refrigeration I personally don't want to replace often due to failure. The washing machine I bought is a Miele with a 10 year warranty. A quality bed & mattress should be a high priority too. Other furniture, what's high priority for you? When I bought my house 4 years ago I bought what I needed, living in minimalism for a few years before then buying wardrobes, dining table, cabinets etc. I still hardly use the dining table . I still could do with a bit more (bed for spare room and storage) but low priority.
For me a TV was low priority but finally upgraded to a 40 inch screen from 24 a year or so ago which looked small in a large living room but it was fit for purpose. I was so minimalist when I first moved in that I had the TV on a cardboard box . I don't like throwing stuff out so waited until I knew what furniture I wanted before buying furniture to last, including the TV stand, which is oak.

 

[ristac]

More money on the bed and mattress and the rooms you’ll use the most. We spent a lot on a solid oak dining table, the novelty wore off and we eat the majority of our meals on a tray on our laps.

If you enjoy movies then don’t hold back on a comfy sofa and nice TV. It’s very rare for even the cheaper brands of fridge freezers to go wrong so don’t go made on one.

 

[azazl187]

I just spent a grand on some earings for the wife. Its her birthday in a week or so and I wanted to get her something nice. She's been moaning at me all day..... Makes me wish I hadn't

 

[Lopéz]

Not worth spending excessively on:
White goods
Television
Home Cinema
Home PC
Internal doors
Kitchen units
"Utility" tiles

Worth spending more on:
Kitchen handles
Door handles
Light switches/sockets
Kitchen worktops
Flooring
Trim/decorative tiles

 

[pingwing]

Mattress and sofa are the must do right options for me.

The mattress I purchased in my first place survived less than 2 years and I ended up spending a little more purchasing a new one for my current place that's made all the difference.

My sofa is a constant source of regret, went for a cheap IKEA one, it's not that uncomfortable, it just the wrong size and not something I can easily get rid of.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Not worth spending excessively on:
White goods
Television
Home Cinema
Home PC
Internal doors
Kitchen units
"Utility" tiles

Worth spending more on:
Kitchen handles
Door handles
Light switches/sockets
Kitchen worktops
Flooring
Trim/decorative tiles

interesting list

why are door handles worth spending money on? same goes for sockets and switches. i always buy the cheapest.

as for TV - i always try and keep to £1K and go for bang per buck so I tend to buy when on offer around january/february when they go EOL and are heavily reduced.

home PC - mine is expensive. if i had to buy everything today brand new. you are talking around £3k

 

[Lopéz]

interesting list

why are door handles worth spending money on? same goes for sockets and switches. i always buy the cheapest.

as for TV - i always try and keep to £1K and go for bang per buck so I tend to buy when on offer around january/february when they go EOL and are heavily reduced.

home PC - mine is expensive. if i had to buy everything today brand new. you are talking around £3k

Just my own preferences based on my own priorities and experiences

Door handles and sockets: You interact with them all the time, multiple times a day. Good quality ones don't cost an immense amount more than poor quality ones. Cheap ones look crap and feel crap. Nice ones are the opposite and can lift an otherwise cheaply finished room.

Home PC: What does your £3000 PC give you (we are talking about your average home PC here, not a bespoke gaming rig) that a £500 one doesn't? Nothing.
Huge amount of money for a minimal gain and rapid obsolescence.

 

[Begbie]

Check out John Ryan for a mattress, I got. One of the cheaper ones and still the comfiest thing I've ever slept in.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Just my own preferences based on my own priorities and experiences

Door handles and sockets: You interact with them all the time, multiple times a day. Good quality ones don't cost an immense amount more than poor quality ones. Cheap ones look crap and feel crap. Nice ones are the opposite and can lift an otherwise cheaply finished room.

Home PC: What does your £3000 PC give you (we are talking about your average home PC here, not a bespoke gaming rig) that a £500 one doesn't? Nothing.
Huge amount of money for a minimal gain and rapid obsolescence.

if you are after a general PC nobody buys them these days. laptops, tablets, etc are the done thing now.

pc's are for proper work or gaming. both of which cost money.