2 months salary that lasts forever. How much to spend on new furniture?

Our home is our castle and most of us spend a lot of time there with our families and with our guests.  We also care about how people judge us so furniture should support the image that we want to portray.

How much to spend on new furniture? This is a question that is often asked, especially by first time furniture buyers.   Of course, the first question is what can we afford?  If you are on a very tight budget and spending everything you have or money is not an issue there are clear constraints or lack thereof.     At my old store we used to run a promotion that included a bedroom, living room, and a dining set – all for only $999.99.  These still exist today but are not recommended as the quality is not very good.  Also, on the high end there are many premium furniture collections where you can spend $20,000+ just to furnish one room.

For most of us buying furniture is less expensive than a diamond ring and one month salary should be sufficient.  This is taking into account that those with big salaries usually have bigger homes in more expensive neighborhoods.  If you have an entry level job making $30k and live in a small apartment, then $2,500 should cover you and if you are a family with $150k in income living in a 3 bedroom home then $12,500 should also be enough.

I suggest the following budgets:

$2,500 – 1 Bedroom Apartment

Bedroom – $1000 – $1200
Living Room – $700 – $900
Dinette – $400 – $600
Misc – $50 – $150

$12,500 – 3 Bedroom Home

Master Bedroom – $3,000 – $4,000
Guest Bedroom – $1500 – $1,800
Children’s Room/Home Office – $1,500 – $1,800
Living Room – $2,000 – $2,400
Dining Room – $2,000 – $2,400
Dinette – $700 – $900
Misc – $300 – $500