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Article created by: Dominyka
Ah, the sudden urge to update everything around the house and buy things you might or might not need. Quite a few of us have likely gone through such a stage in life, which can be both a blessing and a curse, resulting in a comfortable home or quite significant hits to the wallet; or often—both.
But during such times, the materials for a home renovation or all sorts of furniture and appliances don’t necessarily have to be the most expensive ones on the market. Redditors recently discussed what things are not worth it for homeowners to splurge on, so if you’re interested in seeing what items might not be a worthy investment, scroll down to find the answers on the list below.
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#1
If you have pets, forget about splurging on high end furniture.
Paul Kinnear 7 months ago
We bought a leather sofa BEFORE we got Buster the cat... Buster is a naughty cat 🙀
RELATED:
#2
Not super specific, but anything major you do in the first couple years that isn’t necessary to the house being livable. Fridge dies? Of course get a new one. You need one of those, fancy upgrade or not. Want to gut your entire kitchen that’s functional but maybe just not pretty? Maybe wait a year or two, or even just a few seasons. See what it’s like to live and move in the space and determine what is most important to spend money on.
#3
A bunch of tools with the idea that you'll eventually use them, you won't. You'll just have a $650 double bevel sliding miter saw sitting in your garage.
Bacon Tentacles 8 months ago
Yup. Especially if you live near a nice tool rental place (and most Home Depot and Lowe's will rent tools). Some basic hand power tools like a drill, circular saw, etc are one thing.
#4
The worst thing you can splurge on is Marble countertops. They are an absolute nightmare to maintain and even WATER will stain them.
Bacon Tentacles 8 months ago
Granite is not much better, TBH. Although you can seal them, the chemicals in the sealer are pretty god-awful, and we have pets, so we never bothered in our last house. Current house has quartz (Silestone, I think) and they're great. They still will stain if you leave a spill on there long enough, but we're talking hours, not seconds, and that's the case with any surface, really.
#5
I think anything that you feel you have to be super careful about keeping nice. Like if you get a butcher block counter and worry about it getting marked up from normal kitchen activities then maybe it wasn’t a good choice
#6
Calling a handyman or pro for every little thing. YouTube and a couple (okay, nineteen) trips to the hardware store and you'll save a ridiculous amount of money AND learn some new skills.
Paul Kinnear 7 months ago
I'm in my 50's and I just replaced some leaky taps... I'm so proud of myself!!! 😛
#7
Worst "splurge" IMO is remodelling things that are in perfectly good shape just to chase the latest trend.
Remodeling a bathroom from the 70's? Good plan.
Remodeling a bathroom that was just redone in 2014? Huge waste of money with basically zero ROI.
#8
I will get flamed, but definitely high end tools. 99% of homeowners will do fine with some harbor freight/garage sale/estate sale tools.
If I’m building my once in a lifetime project, saving 90 seconds by using a shiny new $400 saw doesn’t matter to me. The $50 flea market saw will be more than enough.
Bacon Tentacles 8 months ago
Who said it: Buy a cheap tool once. If it breaks from over use, then buy a more expensive one next time around, because you use it a lot.
#9
I bought a brand new fridge at the Dent and Scratch store - had some minor to moderate cosmetic damages but otherwise was perfectly fine, stainless steel, fancy fridge for $1,100 off the retail price because of the cosmetic damages. Highly recommend the dent and scratch store
#10
To answer the OP’s question: Saunas and Hot Tubs. It’s one of those things that’s really cool, definitely brag-worthy, and exciting for the first couple of months… maybe a year. After that: Nothing. You ask them if they still use it and they say “Too much trouble” or “It costs too much to heat.”
#11
Replacing a lawn with pavers, especially a south-facing yard (northern hemi). The reflected heat and radiated heat makes everything twice as hot for twice as long.
#12
I think the worst splurge is anything you do for resale value. Splurge on what you care about, the stuff that you will enjoy while you live there, and just maintain the rest.
Bacon Tentacles 8 months ago
I would say as far as resale value - don't do any major reno that will *hurt* resale, like converting a garage into extra living space, or sacrificing a bedroom.
#13
Those gross “3 season rooms” that always smell like mildew and no one ever uses. Do a screened porch instead.
Bacon Tentacles 8 months ago
In places that are very insect-heavy, a screened porch is an absolute must.
#14
Read the reviews. Samsung appliances are not the best. As someone else on here said recently. Samsung is know for TV not their refrigerators.
#15
I might get some flack for this, but lawn work. My mower, weed-eater, and other attachments will pay for themselves in about two months because I'm not paying someone else to do the lawn work for me.
Bacon Tentacles 8 months ago
If I were young and spry, and enjoyed the heat, I would agree with you. But I am none of those, and it costs me a lot less to pay someone to do it than to maintain my equipment and spend the time doing it myself (when I calculate what my going hourly rate in my current job is - since I'm not making that money when I am busy doing yard work). That being said, 20 years ago? Absolutely.
#16
Pools
Everyone always wants a pool, they are crazy expensive to put in (especially where I live) they don't add half the value they cost to the value of the property and depending on where you live can be up to several hundred dollars a month in electricity for the pump, chlorine, other chemicals and general maintenance. That doesn't even include the fact that the pump and filter need to be replaced about every 6 years so that's another 2 - 5k.
#18
Electric radiant floors.
In my bathroom it's nice in the winter. But in my office, 3 out of 5 sections died in a year and now I can't keep that room warm enough without a space heater. Very expensive and not serviceable without a ripping up the floors renovation.
Bacon Tentacles 8 months ago
I think it really depends on the type of floor. The electric mesh grid ones are prone to breakage, but we had the ones with the pex tubing that were embedded in concrete (or stapled to the underside of the second floor). They worked very well, and even survived a frost because they were too close to the outside walls (fixed that quickly).
#19
We bought a home that had high end but older appliances. We couldn’t get parts for them. It was such a PITA. So dumb.
I think the worst thing you could splurge on is painting your cabinets. The way trends change, you’ll be regretting it in a few years. Luckily I never got past the “thinking about it” phase in my house with real wood cabinetry. Sure they needed refreshing but thank goodness I didn’t paint those beauties…wood cabinetry is back in “style.”
#20
Painting, landscaping, power washing.
I painted my whole house, did all my landscaping, and will be borrowing a power washer to power wash my house once it gets a little cooler out. All of these things cost me a couple hundred bucks to do myself vs thousands to hire others to do it. Vastly improved the appearance both inside and out too.
Update: For clarification I painted the interior of the house. The exterior is red brick and it didn't need painting.
Bacon Tentacles 8 months ago
If you can borrow from a neighbor, that is best. Next best is rent.
#21
Fancy rugs. Nobody cares. Get them on clearance and call it a day!
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