Most of the furniture in my apartment is 2nd hand or what people threw out
@Dove. A' lotta older furniture is better quality than the new stuff they sell now anyway.
If I was really interested/ determined to buy furniture it'd have to be really special high quality 1 of a kind maybe antique collector kind. Stuff I wouldn't throw out or recycle. I wouldn't blow a pile of money on cheap pre fab furniture from Home Depot or IKEA. That's sucha waste'a money.
Anyway there's no shame in being poor. One time my credit score was only 420 out of 900 & I was close to going bankrupt tho I never did. I was heavily in debt & on the bottom of society. Had a job but the GFC came along & I lost it all. Managed to climb back on my feet but I lost it all again in the Pandemic. Im more stable since. Still working tho Im semi retired now. Plan to keep on working pt maybe start a side hustle or small business next year.
It's quite easy to lose it all or blow ones savings. Shit happens. Black swan events etc. And it's easy to take things for granted & become too sumg or complacent. Thats what Hard Times taught me!
I love old furniture. Its built better. I also like having things i redid myself because I can make it how I want it.
Why throw out perfect good furniture I can make look cool and buy all new shit? We already just had a brand new roof put on, a new HVAC, a new sump pump system, all new kitchen appliances and a chimney repair done and we still have to get new windows installed and flooring put in.
I much prefer finding older pieces and doing them myself.
I have no issues with poor people. I struggled most of my life. So I know that someone struggling financially is stretching money to eat. They aren't buying items for hobbies. They just simply cannot afford it. They mostly do what you just said.....grab old furniture people have either given them or tossed or stuff they find in thrift and keep it as is. There is nothing wrong with that, its just reality. If you are struggling and have any kids, you are not going to drop a few hundred dollars buy all the stuff you'd need to refinish a dresser......you arent even worried about that.
IM not the one poor shaming anyone. In fact, im doing a friends table for free because she is freshly divorced and struggling and cannot afford to do it herself or buy a new one. She doesnt need the additional worry and she can't afford it. Its just her situation right now. Just because a person can't afford to do something doesn't mean should feel SHAME for that. Liberals always ick me the fuck out with their hoity toity opinions about the poor and the working classes. Its gross. This is why I laugh when Prowler busts in and starts using wealth to beat people over the head.....most of the time, they deserve it.
We are lucky in that we currently have no mortgage, no rent, and we make decent money. We just pay property tax, insurance and car payment. And we just got a new car a few months ago. If we had mortgage or rent, we would be much tighter but still good.
I definately have the money to refinish a bunch of furniture and ive been going ham with it. As soon as the weather gets nice I'll be pulling apart the kitchen cabinets to do those and replace all that hardware :D
We absolutely will be buying a sectional couch new though....I dont mess with any upholstered anything and im picky about couches.