A minimum furniture budget for an unfurnished home

Divide the inventory by urgency

Make three lists: required for the first night, required for the first working week, and items that can wait. Use your actual household’s needs rather than a universal shopping list. Confirm what is already installed, including appliances, lighting and curtains where relevant. A property described as unfurnished may still include some fixtures, so verify rather than rebuying them.

Price the complete purchase

For each essential item, record the product, quantity, delivered price and expected delivery date. Include assembly or tools only when needed. Illustration: a 200 item plus 40 delivery and 20 assembly costs 260 to put in place. Compare that with a second offer on the same basis; a lower shelf price is not automatically a cheaper usable setup.

Plan phased spending

Place the urgent purchases in arrival cash and later purchases on their intended dates. If delivery is delayed, consider the actual temporary arrangement rather than silently assuming immediate use. Keep durable purchases outside the recurring monthly living subtotal. Do not rely on an estimated resale value to make the first-week cash requirement disappear.

Sources and further reading

• Lifovra — methodology and limitations