Bed-buying advice

I'm done with my college special, cheap-ass mattress, frame and box spring. The fact that it creaks every five seconds doesn't help me get a good night's sleep.

I'm poor, but I need a nice bed, dammit. Any advice on what I should be looking for? Probably looking at a double or queen.

 

Translated.

 

IKEA, man. Good furniture, low $$$.

 

I second IKEA. Nice part about their beds is you don't need a box spring (but can put any mattress on it).

 

I'm no expert. I just know that you shouldn't skimp on your mattress. You're going to sleep on this thing every day, and back surgery is a lot more expensive than a nice mattress. I paid about $800 for a mattress and a frame with headboard. The headboard sucked, and we left it behind the last time we moved. The frame was cheap, the kind with the little wheels. The bar that connected the wheels to the frame collapsed during nights of passion. So we had to buy a new frame.

And don't forget size. You might be alone now, but it can pay major dividends if you go with a queen. I'd say a good mattress will run you about $500, and a nice queen frame will run you another $400 to $500. So you're talking about a $1,000 investment that will last you for several years. If you're not ready to fork over that kind of cash, just concentrate on the mattress. You can always pick up a nice frame later.

 

Yep. Pay what you have to pay for the mattress you want. It's worth it.

 

We've had good luck at Macy's when they have a sale. Buy a good one, it'll be worth it in the long run. We started out with a queen. That's in the guest room now. A king is the way to go. A firm mattress will last longer, but it's no good if you can't sleep on it. We happen to like firm mattresses. We bought our current one after spending a night in a nice hotel and deciding we liked the mattress, so we looked to see what it was. I think we paid $800*.

*On sale, nine years ago.

 

Spend the extra money and finance a Sleep Number bed.

 

don't skimp on a bed

 

EStreetJoe, they seem appealing, but at this point, I'm paying off a few other things.

Frank, it's interesting you mentioned Macy's. I've typically bought stuff from specialty retailers and avoided the department stores, figuring the other guys knew more about their product.

When I moved into this apartment a few months ago, the landlord needed a place to store some stuff, so she let me use the mattress for a couple months. Recently I had to go back to my old mattress/box spring, and for the first time I really noticed a difference. And after a very little bit of drinking last night, I noticed how uncomfortable it is to wake up semi-hungover on a piece of crap bed.

 

The only problem with IKEA is that they don't have a lot of stores in the US. There's only one in this state and that opened about six months ago.

I'm sure you can order online, but buying a mattress is probably something you want to see before you buy.