Budget Living: Don’t Turn Up Your Nose at Used Furniture

When FishPapa and I were first married, we lived in a tiny, 250-square foot studio apartment. It was the guest house / pool house for a larger home. The landlords became good friends of ours and we enjoyed that season immensely.(Hi Ribbens Family!)

Needless to say, space was a hot commodity. But, we lived in Santa Barbara so space was an expensive commodity as well.

We were snug and in love and it didn’t matter. In some things we spared no expense, but in our habitat, we were always pretty frugal. So as newlyweds we acquired a bed, a table and chairs, a microwave cart, a dresser and a cedar chest – all new. That’s pretty much all that fit in that space. Sixteen years later we still have all of those pieces.

Since then, we haven’t purchased too much furniture. We were always waiting to finish home improvement projects or to have enough cash to buy really nice stuff. For the longest time, we just made do with cast-offs and folding card chairs for our kitchen. We didn’t really pursue any purchases except the table you see above. FishPapa bought it unfinished for a present for me and stained it the way we wanted.

Over the last few years we’ve adjusted and learned not to turn our noses up at used furniture.

Having six kids helps.

You don’t expect very expensive, fancy furniture to hold up to the abuse of six children, so you just don’t buy it. And, frankly, I don’t really want to. If I can find what I need secondhand, I’ll take it.

But, I desperately wanted chairs that didn’t fold. I was prepared to save my pennies to buy new. But, a trip to Ikea proved that we would have to pay a very pretty penny for just a few, not-so-good quality chairs.

And once again, my hubby and Craigslist came through for me. FishPapa found a restaurant that was upgrading their chairs and had lots to sell. Seventeen, to be exact. And we bought them.

All seventeen of them.

For the price of 4 new chairs, we now have a place for you all to sit! And it just so happens that they match our new table very well. So pleased to have chairs that don’t fold for a great price!

Craigslist is a wealth of great finds. Make sure you check it out before you pay higher prices.

For more frugal tips, visit Crystal’s blog every Friday.

Have you found a great secondhand purchase lately? Share it in the comments!