Have a seat, and let’s talk adulthood

Barbara

I'm further embracing "the adulthood." Well, it's not so much me embracing it as my bank accounts embracing it.

The cost of being an adult includes the purchasing of essential things . Most recently checked off on my list: furniture. Specifically, a couch, loveseat, chair and ottoman. They're very fun, as evidenced by the photo.

It hasn't been cheap to make my apartment feel like a home. Not only did I need a place to sit, I also needed:

• A place to eat 
• Things  to cook the food I eat
• Somewhere to sleep 
• Pretty things to hang on the wall  (to look at when I can't sleep)

And this list keeps going. But with a little budgeting and preparation, I feel a little less overwhelmed.

Take my new seating, for example. Before signing my name on the dotted line, I anticipated how much I would be able to pay for it each month. I factored that in with the offer of 18 months without interest and found that I needed to keep it under $2,000. Luckily my amazing bargain hunter skills, coupled with my amazing bartering skills, helped me snag the four pieces for around $1,400.

Budgeting applies to my other adult purchases as well. Two of my living room walls are bare because my entire "miscellaneous" budget was accounted for in January. But February is a different story. (And that's a good thing, since I've got my eye on some super chic shelves.)

So tell me: How's your place looking? Have you been able to add a monthly furniture payment to a monthly student loan and/or credit card payment?