My wife and I were looking for simple, traditionally-styled furniture for our kids' rooms. We needed 2 dressers, 2 nightstands, and 1 bed. We looked at Room & Board, West Elm, Crate & Barrel, Blu Dot, and then Ikea. We found most of these brands to be too mod for a kids' room but ultimately found that Room & Board and Ikea had styles that would be suitable for our kids' room. The difference in price was $650 vs nearly $5000. For that $4350 difference I can invest it, earning 12% in the market and in 10 years when that furniture is on its last legs, that $4350 will have earned me an extra $9160. So that's exactly what I did.
It can be tempting to look at BIFL as a way to save money long-term and then apply that principle to things indiscriminately. It entirely depends on how long a term you're looking at, what you're looking to purchase, and what you need out of the item.
Could I have afforded something BIFL-worth for my kids? Sure. Would they have been rough on it? You bet. Would they have wanted it for their homes or to pass on to their kids? Probably not.
Submitted July 11, 2017 at 11:41AM by omgwtfishsticks http://ift.tt/2uagGvl
