Help me with not “keeping up with the Jones’”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a ridiculous amount of money but I’m the ultimate bargain shopper. I’m happy to know we can outspend the Jones’s but we don’t need to do.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your furniture needs to match your house. I can't justify putting cheap crap in a million dollar house. So if that's keepin' up with the Joneses, so be it. But cheap furniture screams house poor. Buy a house that you can afford to furnish and decorate properly.

OP here. This is a good point. We actually do live in a million dollar house but we’re not cash poor because we bought it a long time ago. So I guess in a way our status does not match our home or our neighborhood.

I've been in more than my fair share of million dollar homes in the DMV and I swear these homes and the neighborhood they're in aren't worthy of expensive furniture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:West Elm is barely better quality than IKEA, but C&B and PB are definitely better built furniture.

General rule of thumb, C&B and PB furniture is tongue and groove furniture, with solid wood veneers at least and delivered fully assembled. These pieces will last 40 years and multiple moves, no problem. Now the style may die, but the piece is built for the duration.

Wayfair (which is just a drop shipper), IKEA, are stuff you buy when you are young and poor. The furniture probably won’t survive a move, or if it does, you will need to glue some things back together.

We are done moving, but we have young kids so still have a LOT of IKEA, b/c the kids ruin everything, so need to wait till they are older before getting “investment” furniture.

We've moved our Ikea stuff twice internationally and twice in the US. I wouldn't have paid for shipping my Ikea stuff overseas but our company pays for it so who cares...My point is that they last through the moves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been really into doing small projects in the house during COVID and interested in replacing some furniture. As “middle class” (defined broadly) people I do like shopping but am always cost conscious- most furniture is ikea, wayfair, world market... but i’m so drawn to west elm, anthropologie, etc.

I want to know how much to let myself splurge guilt-free... is it crazy to spend $500 on a coffee table or $3k on a new couch??

Are the people shopping at C&B and West Elm people like me, or do they have a lot more wealth? I was hoping to get a real understanding on this anonymous forum.

Stats for reference: 40-yr-old couple with 7&4 yr old kids, $250k hhi, $750k in retirement and college savings, $75k cash savings, save an additional $4k-ish a month after expenses.

I am not sure- depends where you spend it. To me it makes more sense to buy a solid, US made coffee table for $1000 than to spend $500 on RH/PB/WE stuff. RH/PB/WE (mostly) are only marginally better than Ikea in terms of quality.

[Anonymous]

We bought a Bassett sectional for $3K. Worth it for a comfortable, US made sofa. It has held up beautifully. I had to buy a small wet vac, but it has been worth it.

The rest of our furniture is mostly Ikea and World Market style still. We have a five year old. I will wait until our kids are older to buy. more expensive stuff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your furniture needs to match your house. I can't justify putting cheap crap in a million dollar house. So if that's keepin' up with the Joneses, so be it. But cheap furniture screams house poor. Buy a house that you can afford to furnish and decorate properly.

OP here. This is a good point. We actually do live in a million dollar house but we’re not cash poor because we bought it a long time ago. So I guess in a way our status does not match our home or our neighborhood.

I've been in more than my fair share of million dollar homes in the DMV and I swear these homes and the neighborhood they're in aren't worthy of expensive furniture.

ha! this is so true!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your furniture needs to match your house. I can't justify putting cheap crap in a million dollar house. So if that's keepin' up with the Joneses, so be it. But cheap furniture screams house poor. Buy a house that you can afford to furnish and decorate properly.

OP here. This is a good point. We actually do live in a million dollar house but we’re not cash poor because we bought it a long time ago. So I guess in a way our status does not match our home or our neighborhood.

I've been in more than my fair share of million dollar homes in the DMV and I swear these homes and the neighborhood they're in aren't worthy of expensive furniture.

ha! this is so true!

Well, yes. The homes are definitely overpriced. But proportionally, if you can afford a $1M home, you should be able to spring for a decent table, couches, and beds -- not furniture you would have bought in college (Ikea). Go for bargains on decor (HomeGoods, Marshalls, Wayfair, etc.) but not the actual furniture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have been really into doing small projects in the house during COVID and interested in replacing some furniture. As “middle class” (defined broadly) people I do like shopping but am always cost conscious- most furniture is ikea, wayfair, world market... but i’m so drawn to west elm, anthropologie, etc.

I want to know how much to let myself splurge guilt-free... is it crazy to spend $500 on a coffee table or $3k on a new couch??

Are the people shopping at C&B and West Elm people like me, or do they have a lot more wealth? I was hoping to get a real understanding on this anonymous forum.

Stats for reference: 40-yr-old couple with 7&4 yr old kids, $250k hhi, $750k in retirement and college savings, $75k cash savings, save an additional $4k-ish a month after expenses.

Set a saving target, (1/3rd of gross for us ) and spend the rest. Travel, furniture, kids classes, great wines ..anything

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have been really into doing small projects in the house during COVID and interested in replacing some furniture. As “middle class” (defined broadly) people I do like shopping but am always cost conscious- most furniture is ikea, wayfair, world market... but i’m so drawn to west elm, anthropologie, etc.

I want to know how much to let myself splurge guilt-free... is it crazy to spend $500 on a coffee table or $3k on a new couch??

Are the people shopping at C&B and West Elm people like me, or do they have a lot more wealth? I was hoping to get a real understanding on this anonymous forum.

Stats for reference: 40-yr-old couple with 7&4 yr old kids, $250k hhi, $750k in retirement and college savings, $75k cash savings, save an additional $4k-ish a month after expenses.

Set a saving target, (1/3rd of gross for us ) and spend the rest. Travel, furniture, kids classes, great wines ..anything

I generally like this advice but just confirming; you save 1/3 of GROSS/year? That’s $80k for us and I don’t see how that’s possible. What do you mean by “save” - do bigger purchases fall under that umbrella because you saved for them?

[Anonymous]

I love AllModern!

[Anonymous]

Ugh they should really make a reboot