Nothing is better than this bed (and other silly apartment questions)

[hinakiba777]

Okay so I am planning on going back to university this May. Nothing is for sure yet, so I am just trying to figure some stuff out. Now I am not counting my chickens before they hatch, it's just that Spring Session is only a few weeks away so if i do get accepted I don't want to be in a huge panic trying to figure out my housing situation. As I am going to be 24 this August, I really feel that I need to venture out on my own and live off campus. Since none of my friends need roommates, I will be living alone. I don't do randoms due to some stuff that happened once. So I just need some advice. I may update this thread with new questions as they come to mind.

1) Nothing is better than this bed
I am in the process of trying to buy a bed. Since it was the Simmons anniversary sale a while ago, the local furniture shop has a really nice simmons mattress on sale for less than half price. They only have one left, so I decided I had to have it. I put a $150.00 downpayment on the mattress, which the store owner told me is forfeit should I choose not to buy the bed. Now a friend of mine is arguing with me that the price of the mattress (900+ CDN after taxes) is too much for me to be spending on a bed, and I should just forfeit the $150.00 and buy someting less expensive. Now I agree that 1000 dollars is a little expensive for a mattress set, but it seems pretty standard to me. Plus I would rather spend a grand on something practical and literally throw $150.00 away for nothing.

Still I would like your opinions; Is is really too expensive? Is is a good deal? Should i just forfeit my downpayment? Do you think I made a stupid mistake that i will just have to live with?

2) apartment size
Okay so I have decided to live in a Bachelor unit because I am living alone, and the extra cost of a 1bdr seems a little silly when I don't really plan on having people over. Then again the building I really want to live in doesn't have bachelor units. Also I'm not quite sure about how much space I would need. Here are some descriptions and floor plans, which one is best?

Space A= $820CDN/month. Heat and hot water included. Less than a km from school. Has a pool. Close to my friends places, grocery stores, and this convience store that has the words best milkshakes. Balcony. May allow cats?!

Space B=$760CDN/month. 2-3km from school. Heat and hot Water included in rent. Dowtown near all the shops, restaurants, bars, etc. Still on a reasonably quiet street. Far from friends places. Kind of a long walk alone at night. Rooftop Patio. Fully carpeted (I have really bad dust mite allergies) Closer to my second choice school than Space A and Space C or D.

Space C= $850CDN/Month. Heat and Hot water included. One block away from or in the same building as many of my friends. Not as close to school as Space A, but still only a 15 minut walk. Directly next to the grocery store, short walk to awesome milkshakes. Definitely allows cats. Most expensive, but 1bdr.

Space D $855CDN/month. currentally no openings for may. The building most of my freinds live in. On top of the grocery store. Rooftop patio. Allows cats. as close to school as Space C. Definitely allows cats.

I may have other questions later.

[Food Lady]

Well, I can tell you I have a 1BR for $448 US. I pay for electric (which includes heat energy). I don't pay for water. Would I trade it for a cheaper bachelor apt? No. I live alone, but I need a separate bedroom to feel like I have an apt, and am not just renting a room. A 1BR feels like I'm an adult. A bachelor would make me feel like a teen. I have a balcony and glass doors. It's a nice view, but I don't hang out on it and it lets more heat out in winter. But I still like having a really big "window", so to speak. I'm a mile from work, which I love.

You might want to avoid being close to the bars if you ever want to get sleep.

[Seshat]

If you can afford it, get the bed. Good sleep is priceless.

That said: you've splurged on the bed. The rest of your furnishings and equipment is now coming from charity and secondhand shops - not even Ikea, but cheaper. That's a tradeoff you've made, and will need to accept. (Either that, or you're waaay wealthier than most of the people on this board!)

However, there's nothing wrong with charity and secondhand furnishings, cutlery, cookware etc. I still buy a lot of my stuff from such places. Oh, I give it all a good wash myself when I get home; but if it's in good (or repairable) condition, who cares?

As for how much space you need: Sleeping space, separate study space, somewhere to store your clothes, somewhere to store study stuff, somewhere to bathe, somewhere to cook and store cooking things and eat. If you can also have somewhere to do non-study living-stuff that isn't the sleeping space, that's a plus but not essential.

Basically: make sure you have space for your bed, space for a desk & bookcase, space for a wardrobe or built-in wardrobes, a bathroom, a kitchenette, and either a breakfast bar or a place for a tiny table or a place to store a stool that you drag up to the kitchen counter to eat.
If there's more space than that: yay.

[hinakiba777]

If you can afford it, get the bed. Good sleep is priceless.

That said: you've splurged on the bed. The rest of your furnishings and equipment is now coming from charity and secondhand shops - not even Ikea, but cheaper. That's a tradeoff you've made, and will need to accept. (Either that, or you're waaay wealthier than most of the people on this board!)
.

Oh I had already accepted that i was going to have to get my furniture second head online. Plus I already own a desk, a book shelf, a few lamps, a full kitchen set, and a very comfy rocking chair. All I really needed was a bed, chair for my desk, and dressers. Possibly a kitchen table if i have the money. I would have had a pretty awesome couch but it was in the romo with my brother's ferrets and they kind of killed it... I already found lots of places for really cheap for that stuff, I just wanted a good bed. Storage containers can be bedside tables and coffee tables right?!

[Aethian]

I would do space A, and keep the bed. Everything else can come later.

[Kheldarson]

Don't know about the apartments, but a good night's sleep is worth anything.

Kabe and I saved nearly all the money we got from our wedding and then used our tax refund on top of that to buy a Tempurpedic. So we won't be doing anything else for a while, but the fact that I can now sleep through the night is worth it. Same should be said of your mattress too. Is it worth it to you to get a good night's sleep?

[Lyse]

I'm going to agree with everyone else. Yes, you can find a bed for less - but it's worth it. My first mattress was a cheap one and the difference when I got a better one was amazing. Better sleep and even less achy in the morning.

[Andara Bledin]

Whether you have a bedroom or not is not as important as closets and cupboards.

Layout of the space is far more important than how much space you have overall.

The place I live now has an excellent layout but for one problem: The only cabinets in the entire place are in the kitchen, and there are only about 1/4 of what it needs in there. No closet in the front room, no closet in either of the bedrooms, no linen closet... nothing.

If you don't have storage, you have piles, which lead to clutter, which leads to grunge, and it all goes downhill from there.

We're slowly building up our storage options (bookcases, a pantry, storage units, armoires, etc) so that there's less stacking and more storing.

Otherwise, location convenience means a lot. Especially if you live somewhere that gets harsh weather. (I'm in sou Cali... harsh to us is if it manages to hit freezing or rains for more than a few hours >_> )

As for the bed question, if you find you can get a comparable mattress set for less than $850, then letting the $150 deposit go is not "wasting it," but making a decision to not throw good money after bad. Just because you made a decision doesn't mean you're married to it; sometimes you have to admit that you made a mistake and recover what you can rather than soldier on and trade frugality to assuage your pride. If you can't find something for a savings after losing the deposit, then keep it as you have it and be happy that you got what you were after.

^-.-^

[Jester]

Nothing is better than this bed

Now a friend of mine is arguing with me that the price of the mattress (900+ CDN after taxes) is too much for me to be spending on a bed, and I should just forfeit the $150.00 and buy someting less expensive.

Your friend is not going to be sleeping in the bed. You are.
Your friend is not going to be the one forfeiting $150. You are.

So, the question is, is the bed that good? Can you get a bed of equivalent value that you love as much (as you clearly WANT THIS BED BADLY) for less than $750? If you can, then forfeiting the money is a business decision. If you can't, then you probably should get the bed, as it is clearly something you want. And tell your friend you don't need people telling you what to do...you already have a mother.

I won't comment on whether it is too expensive. You say the price is standard there, so why would you expect to find something as good or almost as good for less? Alternatively, if you want a good bed and feel you deserve it, why would you throw away $150 just to "save" some money by getting a cheaper, inferior bed.

Here are some descriptions and floor plans, which one is best?

I could say what is best for ME, but I am not you. Only you can decide which is best for you. You need to sit down and figure out what your priorities are, and how each space meets those priorities. It SOUNDS like your priorities, as you inferred them, are best met by A or C, but only you can make that determination. It does sound like you are not thrilled with B, and that D is not a real option, as they have no openings.

Storage containers can be bedside tables and coffee tables right?!

Beside tables, of course. Coffee tables? A bit trickier. For college residences, I always thought that that was what cinder blocks and wood were for.

[Food Lady]

I like those plastic 3-drawer carts as storage/short tables. I have on in the hall closet. I set stuff on top that needs to go out the door with me and when I come in, I set my purse there. The drawers hold socks, scarves, and gloves. (The third drawer is used for storage in a closet elsewhere). Do look for discarded items now; people are doing spring cleaning. I have a round cafe table (literally from a restaurant) that someone left on a curb. Luckily it fit in roomie's car. I put a tablecloth on it and it sits in the living room. It's a place for a lamp. I also have bench by the front door I paid $1.50 for at a yard sale. My shoe basket fits perfectly under it. The best thing is that I picked up and moved across the country, which brought out my parents' generosity. They saw what I needed and gave me quite a bit of stuff.

[Food Lady]

Oh, patiokitty ninja'd me. Yes, kitty, baskets are awesome. They can be magazine/book racks, shoe storage, a type of "junk drawer", storage for blankets or folded clothes. I have a square one with a hinged lid that is right next to me as I sit here in my easy chair. It's a side table, and inside are extra blankets. I'm pretty sure it was less than $20 on clearance at Target.

[ArcticChicken]

Spring is the best time for curb shopping, especially if you live near a university, especially a high-end university. You wouldn't believe the things people throw out when they're too lazy to haul it home. Furniture, clothing, small appliances, computers even, though with the popularity of laptops that one's more rare nowadays.

[Seshat]

As for the bed question, if you find you can get a comparable mattress set for less than $850, then letting the $150 deposit go is not "wasting it," but making a decision to not throw good money after bad. Just because you made a decision doesn't mean you're married to it; sometimes you have to admit that you made a mistake and recover what you can rather than soldier on and trade frugality to assuage your pride. If you can't find something for a savings after losing the deposit, then keep it as you have it and be happy that you got what you were after.

Andara (and Jester) are both correct: this is a valuable principle for life. Don't throw good money after bad.

However, if you can't find an equivalent bed for <price of this bed>-<deposit> or less, and the quality of the bed is worth <price of this bed> to you at this stage of your life: get the bed.

And yes, milk crates, cinder-blocks-and-wood, cardboard boxes, plastic storage units and the like are perfectly good storage for right-now.
As you move on in life, get actual cupboard space. Good storage means everything has a place and can live there, and you don't have clutter. That said: try to keep clutter down by not having more than you use.