I think I'm starting to see why people have so many obstacles to ER.* Admittedly MSN isn't exactly the Consumer Reports of mattress shopping, but here's a quote:* "For $1,750 to $3,000, you can get a wonderful bed, as good as anybody's," says third-generation mattress retailer Bob Long, president of Long's Bedding in New York.* Then the article "justifies" why some mattresses cost up to $10K.

We bought our first replacement mattress in the early 90s for $549.* In 1996 we shopped around for our second (guest bedroom) replacement and found a going-out-of business sale-- $300 for a queen mattress & box spring.* A few months ago we repeated that with a guy selling his leftovers from a hotel's container shipment-- $400.* After years of sleeping on submarine foam rubber I'm probably not a bedding connoisseur, but our "cheap" mattresses have been perfectly acceptable compared to buying real retail.* Is it just me, or does anyone else find it difficult to justify bedding that costs four figures?

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Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."
I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.

Too many digits. I believe in paying for quality, but mattresses have become like coffee.

I drink Walmart's cheapest, and use a technique (cold brewing) that we learned years ago. Our visitors don't know it's the cheapest coffee in North America, but all seem to think it is great.

I think we paid $50 or so for the mattresses on the boat, and then added eggcrate foam that cost another $15. We slept as good then as we did before or after, on "good" mattresses.

I'd like to see a truly scientific study, with ratings from a good sample of people who don't know the cost of their mattresses. I bet the correlation between cost and reported comfort would be statistically insignificant.

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Often uninformed, seldom undecided.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain

Sams and Costco have pretty good prices on decent quality bedding.

You can also "roll your own" tempurpedic style mattress. A lot of folks are buying a latex mattress in the 4-6" range, and laying one or more 2-3" high density memory foam "toppers" on it. You've got the consumer reports that shows the cut-away sides of the mattresses. Theres no rocket science in it.

You can read about some efforts and some links here
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/arcm...hreadid=247925
and
http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/mess...keyword1=pedic

There are ebay and online stores that will sell you the latex mattress and the memory foam padding, or you can go the 'cheapurpedic' route in the first thread and use a firm foam slab for the foundation and memory foam on top. Only advantages to the latex slab is that it will last about 2x longer than a hunk of high density foam, and its completely non allergenic.

We're sleeping on my 10 year old fairly expensive mattress with a 3" memory foam topper on it from Overstock.com. I mentioned something about replacing the mattress a few days ago and the wife quickly snapped "NO! I like that bed, I sleep great on that memory foam!"

Unless you're got bad allergies and you think a latex/memory foam bed would suit you best, keep your old box spring if its in good shape, get a cheap foam slab and a 3" topper. At your weight you might even get away with a 2" topper. And you can always add another 1-2" later...

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Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.

One other thing Dory...there was a study that did find that people who spent way too much on their mattresses liked them better.

Unfortunately theres a function involved here that works for almost any highly overpriced boutique item. People who spend the money for that stuff will tell you its the best they've ever had, even if they hate it.

After all, who wants to look like a fool along with being one?

I've been getting our coffee for $8 for 2.5lbs at Costco. They have a huge drum roaster right there...I think the brand is 'seattle something-or-other'. Its still warm in the bag when you get it.

I looked at roasting my own. Feasible but given I can get fresh roast at costco, probably more trouble than its worth. You can buy the ''green" beans from internet wholesalers for great prices, they keep for up to 2 years if kept cool and dry, and you can roast them in certain models of hot air popcorn poppers. Just google 'roast coffee hot air popper' and you'll find sites that tell you where to get the beans, which models of popper work and which catch fire, and even hacker mods to the poppers to make them better roasters.

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Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.

Hey this sequential posting thing is kinda fun!

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Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.

Good luck Th

Drove by the Folgers plant for 15 yrs during my working years - still drink plenty of coffee - just not Folgers.

I don't think I have ever bought a mattress, or a bed. Best sleeping I ever had was on 2 sheepskins that my son and I tanned using Indian methods. They finally fell apart, and I liberated an old matress from a junked RV. It sits on plywood, just like college. If I sleep on a good matress, I ain't home.

My sleep quality depends on how relaxed my mind is, and how much physical work I have done that day.

Mikey

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"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams

Dory, could you share that "cold brewed" method?

Mikey

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"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams

I buy a new mattress and Box Spring every 10 years - Queen Size. - It usually always ends up costing me around $800 in 1998 dollars. It starts out about $1700 and they have a 'terrific once in a lifetime sale'.

I spend about a third of my nights sleeping on a thermarest inflatable pad on the ground or in the back of my pick-up. Why would I spend money on a high-end matress for my bed?

Yes Dory - the cold brewed method.

I cut the SO's Community Blue half and half with Walmart - hot brewed when she isn't looking - masked with a tad extra sugar and milk.

Frugal dies hard.

In the early 90s, we were staying on a boat, and the host served excellent coffee with breakfast. I saw her pour this syrup into a cup and add boiling water to make it.* I had to know.

She sent us to "toddy coffee" at http://www.toddycafe.com/shop/product.php?productId=67 (well, then it was a phone call).

Basically, you put cheap coffee and water in a container for 12 hours, then pull the plug at the bottom and let the liquid drain through a 1/2" thick filter. They say 16 oz of coffee and fill with water -- we find that 13 oz (as it comes from Walmart) works fine.

You end up with a concentrate. You mix it with 3 or 4 parts boiling water when it is time to serve. The syrup keeps for a few weeks in the fridge (unless the fridge belongs to th).

We've been doing it ever since.

Basically, you end up with coffee much lower in acids due to the process, instead of having to buy premium coffees to get the same thing. (The taste doesn't get noticably better with premium coffee, either.)

Also, a good part of the caffeine is lost in the process. Not decaf, but probably like a 50-50 mix of decaf and regular. But read the linked page for details. Also at http://www.toddycafe.com/cbinfo/secret.php

The taste and price are great -- but also, you just use what you need, and prepare cups the way you would prepare instant. So you never make too much or too little.

Your coffee may vary, but about 1 in 3 guests who stayed with us wound up buying one of these over the past 10 years.

CheapCoffee36

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Often uninformed, seldom undecided.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. Mark Twain

About 3 years ago we bought one of those $1500 foam king matresses with box spring. It pretty darn comfortable and came with a 20 year warrantee against sagging. Well its sagging more than a half inch and our butts aren't that big. Claim will go in soon. We'll definately stay with that style.

OTOH NEVER get a high end bed for the guest room! Waddayanuts? The more comfortable the guest, the longer the visit

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In a panamax down by the river.

Thanks Dory

Will give it a shot.

When DW and I got hitched, we had an older queen size bed.
I was used to a king and this presented a problem. Last year
she bought an upscale brand (forget which) king sized pillow top
mattress/box spring/bed frame. Solved the "cramped space"
problem plus my chronic morning backache disappeared
overnight. Man, that was maybe our best purchase together,
ever. Don't recall the price, but the mattress had a very minor
flaw and was heavily discounted.

JG

Due the bad allergies, we have a latex foam mattress. Put one of those memory foam overstock.com mattress toppers on top like TH. Makes for a very luxurious bed at a fairly reasonable price. No box spring. We have a bed frame that doesn't need a box spring. Just a dust catcher anyway.

Where I tend to spend the money is on new pillows every 5 or 6 month. It really helps the allergies more than anything else and I cannot stand the anti-dust mite pillow covers that make pillows feel like leaky balloons.

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No more lawyer stuff, no more political stuff, so no more CYA

I buy a lot of pillows, too because I can't find a good one. What have you found that you like, Martha?

Judy

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www.strawbaleredux.blogspot.com

We did the exact same thing. Sure, we could have spent less, and I probably look like the spendthrift on this board, but we've had the mattress almost six years now and it's still wonderful. It has a ten year warranty, and I think $8 a month is o.k. for something you spend a third of your life in (and some of the best 15 minute increments!......o.k. ten minutes. )

Our very deepest sympathies to your wife

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Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.

But what I lack in quantity, I make up for in quality! Right honey? Why are you laughing?