So what if I lose everything—I think I’ve found the perfect chair

Have you ever seen something and knew instantly you must have it?   For myself, it’s a rare thing.  I’m usually on the fence about most things, especially when it involves furniture or spending money. 

But since moving into my apartment in April 2017, I’ve been on the lookout for a particular leather chair.  And I’m pretty sure I found it, at the worst possible time.

There would be no compromises.  It HAD to be full grain, none of this “genuine leather” or bonded leather stuff.  Camel or tan only, no black or browns or burgundy.  No rivets, no highback-Wingbacks.  I didn’t want one of those overstuffed recliners with a kangaroo pouch sewn into it’s side for books and remotes either. 

(Yes I know they’re comfortable, but I wanted something more compact, stylish, fitting a city apartment.) 

I found something close at Pottery Barn, and requested leather samples.  But they were all too dark or cowpokey, and I would soon discover PB had an awful reputation with their leather chairs being outsourced (taking 3-4 months), doubled in price and having shoddy workmanship.

          

So I stopped looking.  A couple years passed, and then I came across this chair a month ago and knew it was the one.  I checked the depth, heighth, width, weight capacity, manufacturer, everything.  It’s a full grain, soft Italian leather with 31 customer reviews, half of them containing pictures, all of them praising it’s quality.  But there was one problem:

It was priced at $1,399.99.   I couldn’t bring myself to pay that much for a chair.

Then a couple weeks ago, I saw the chair had gone on sale for $200 off, $1199.99.  I sent the photo at the top to 3 people I knew I could trust their opinion.

My sister Shawn said “It looks exactly like the chair you’ve been looking for a long time.  I hope you don’t talk yourself out of buying it!”

My blog-friend Margaret said “It’s gorgeous and will go perfectly with your navy blue sofa.”

My friend Danielle said “It’s beautiful but peta!”

All 3 of their responses (even Danielle and her hippie squawk) was actually quite helpful.  I just needed some kind of… I dunno, sign to tell me to go for it.

Then I’m watching the evening news a couple nights ago, and they did another one of those “your average 401K investor” alerts because of the bear market we’ve fallen into, and stock portfolios losing 25% in value since January.

I haven’t looked at my own investments since January 10, when I sold some shares to keep my 2-year safe bucket full.  So I opened my account…

My portfolio is down $171,000.00 since January.  I’d estimated the loss would be half that amount.  I felt dizzy, this was scary.

Unlike most of the other bloggers I know, I do NOT have a partner, pension, annuity, equity, insurance or social security to fall back on.  (I’m not even eligible to claim social security for another 16 months.)  What if I lost that amount again, a couple times over?  My goose would be cooked.

I have my safe-bucket.  If I stick to a budget, I should have enough to carry me thru this bear market (if they last on average two years).  As for the chair… that’s the LAST thing I needed right now.

So this past Saturday I went on their website to have a final look and see if it was still on sale.  It was, and even lower in price—the chair was now $919.00, down $480 since the first time I saw it!   I couldn’t move my fingers fast enough.

The chair will arrive sometime between June 28 and July 4—I’m glad I didn’t wait, the sale ended yesterday and is now back at regular price. 

If I lose the rest of my money and wind up homeless, I’ll move into the alley behind the Tiffany (my apartment building) and appoint myself King of Cherry Alley—and this chair will become my throne!