Friday, January 09, 2009

How Do You Decide When Something is a Need?

Recently I have been struggling with how to determine whether something is a need or not. One thing that I've recently been browsing is new furniture. When C and I got married, we grabbed some extraneous furniture from our parents' homes (we both lived at home before getting married). We bought very minimal new furniture, such as a microwave and microwave cart. We do have pretty nice towels, sheets, and other kitchen stuff since we received those as wedding gifts. Along the way, we picked up a few items from friends and a item or two from craigslist.

For the past 2 years, we have been using as plastic folding table as our dining table. Is it time to go and get a new one? We already have a pretty nice wooden dining table, but it's too small for C and I. We both like to spread out our stuff while we work at the dining room table.

I can't really seem to find anything on craigslist that I like. And I'm not sure it's worth the hassle since we would probably need to rent a truck to bring the table home. I've been looking at Pottery Barn (BTW, I don't think I have ever purchased anything there), Ikea, and Crate and Barrel. I want to get a rectangular table that easily seats 6 (or maybe 8) with a built in leaf. In the future C and I plan to have some kids running around and I want to be able to seat guests as well as family for small dinner gatherings.

So is this a need? Should I go ahead and try to buy a table that I think will last us for the next 10-20 years? Or should I just try to find something on Craigslist?

4 comments:

FB @ FabulouslyBroke.com said...

1. Can you afford it?

2. Could you use it right away?

If yes and yes.. go for it.

Fabulously Broke in the City
Just a girl trying to find a balance between being a Shopaholic and a Saver...

Anonymous said...

hmmm...yeah, that's def. a tough one. in all honesty, i'd keep looking around everywhere and when you find one that you both love - and you can afford it - pick it up :)

who knows how long you'll like it or when you'll need a different one down the road or anything....it's all bout you enjoying it now, and if one at pottery barn or somewhere else other than CL brings you pleasure? Then do it baby! Wants turn into needs very quickly. haha....

Bouncing Back said...

Needs vs. Wants. Always a tough one. See if your area has an auction house. You can sometimes get really nice furniture at auction.

calgirlfinance said...

FB, The problem is that I don't do strict budgeting, so I can afford a lot of stuff right now. I would just rather use that money for a house down payment.

J, I agree wants turn into needs very quickly!

Bouncing Back, Good idea, I will look into an auction house