I just wanted to share this 'cause it was seeming so impossible 7 weeks ago, and now on the other side of it, I'm staring at a living room
stuffed to bursting with
free furniture!
More context will be below if you're interested in reading it, but here are the highlights:
- Moved into a 1BR from a 2BR after a breakup (From $800 down to $750 on rent)
- Got a massive Sumo Bean Bag chair from two of my (Mustachian!) friends, which took some clever space arranging
- Got a couch and two chair set from my parents
- Got another chair (reclining thingy - super comfy) from my parents as well as two plastic dining room chairs
- McGuyver'd a solution to make an IKEA Malm filing cabinet work - and got rid of two old and clunky filing cabinets to free up space
When I first moved in, I was feeling hopeless - fresh out of a breakup, my emergency fund gone due to needing to replace things I'd lost in the separation, securing my new place with deposits, the move and from stress-spending (I know, I know), and staring at a 1BR with little furniture. I mean, I had my little office set up, my bookcase, managed to wrangle the MALM shelves that I use now as a TV bench and storage, but I no living room seating, no coffee table, a crappy patio table and two patio chairs.
Fortunately, my friends and family knew I was moving out. And fortunately quite a few of them were looking to off-load some of their own old stuff. So over the course of the last month, I got the list above. To help clear up and contain some mementos, I bought a display case on sale from IKEA that matches my filing cabinet and my TV Bench for $60. I didn't need to buy any couches or chairs and now I'm thinking I actually should
sell the old chairs and sofa combo my parents gave me (to be fair, they're really painful to sit in) to make space for just a single sofa-bed.
The low cost furnishing of my living room has given me hope that I can do the same for my little dining nook. Since I play DnD (and hope to make a side-gig out of making a DM resource Patreon) and don't want to drive or carry my DM supplies around, the first thing on the list is a bigger table with no open gaps in it like the one I have now. And then a few more chairs to seat the entire party (DMing from the bean bag chair sounds appealing, but difficult as it's lower than the table). I'm actually considering seeing if I can work with a good friend of mine who is an experienced woodworker to
make an extendable, DnD-sized table. The extendable tables I've been looking for could run up to or above $150, and I've always thought it would be amazing to be able to say I've built my own furniture.
On that same token, I've been thinking of making my own stashable coffee table. Since my living room is small and doubles as my home workout/stretching area, I want to be able to stash the table under the sofa while I'm not using it. I've already found a few inspirational projects and plan to make it my first project.
I'm a little sketchy about buying bed frames and such off sites like Kijiji, but I figure I could always sell my bed frame to help bridge the gap to saving for a bed with built-in storage. Or a new mattress, as mine is quite old. Then I could get one that actually has space enough for storage under it (mine is quite low to the ground), so I can clear up storage and closet space.
It's amazing - I actually feel like I have too much room and too much stuff. I'd downsize, but my place is actually cheaper than all the smaller places I can find, ha ha! It's making me see how much I can do in a small space and get a feeling of real luxury without needing to pay for it - or in fact, save or make money getting rid of things in it to enjoy more space.
And now, juicy details for those of you who want it:
In late January, I broke up with my boyfriend of 6.5 years. We'd been growing apart (he was, disturbingly, not at all Mustachian and couldn't even
talk about money), but he sealed the deal by going out behind my back on his birthday exclusively with a 40-year-old married woman. Who had once been his boss. They went swimsuit shopping. Ergh... Turns out he'd been seeing her for three months - nothing sexual yet, but no one needs it to go that far.
Anyways, I made up my mind to get out of the really nice (I miss the place more than I miss him) apartment ASAP. Fortunately, I was able to find a spacious 1BR place in a really nice area still walking distance (40 mins, but hey, built-in cardio!) from work. So I went from $800/mth for my half of rent to $750/mth. I do now have to pay electricity and internet (he had paid for those while I paid for insurance), but I found a really great unlimited internet plan for only $38/mth instead of the gouging $150/mth the big retailers wanted. I also discovered how much having a young male driver on my insurance was costing me - so overall I'm saving a few $10 bills a month all said and done.
I've actually been loving the single life. Especially the Mustachian single life. Right now, I can focus on building my own life in the way that's truest to my values. That means I can reduce my spending through sacrifice and frugality, stay home more, drive (much) less, avoid going out so damn fucking often for things I can stay at home for, enjoy things like free parks and trips to the mountains, and pursue side-gigs instead of trying to appease a whiny boy in a grown man's body.
(On a petty revenge note, I had to go and pick up some mail that got sent to the old place and I got confirmation that I'm "winning" the break up: I had been up, gone for a morning jog, walked to work and made a lunch all before he'd gotten out of bed. He's gained weight, hasn't shaved and is even more depressed than before - it's petty, but
I'm winning! Lol)