Getting married in itself tends to be a stressful and expensive occasion. If you are still single it would be beneficial to invest and buy at least one if not all of these items before you do get married. If you are married you have probably already figured this out. If you are engaged or newly married we encourage you to invest in these items we have found to be most beneficial for our families. We have 5 items we believe that every family needs when starting out.
1. A good digital Camera. This I would suggest having before you get married...you will want to take lots and lots of pictures of your honeymoon and the rest of your lives together. We suggest the iPhone as a great product for investing in. The pictures are very good quality, and you can immediately share them with family and friends via the internet right away if you want. It is easy to use and easy to hook up to your computer. I would also suggest downloading Picasa 3.5 at http://picasa.google.com/. This is a free photo editing software from Google that you can use to edit and share your photos very easily.
2. A good bed. You will spend 1/3 of your life sleeping, so it is important to have a good bed to sleep on. When you are married and especially when you have children, sleep will become a very important aspect in your life. We recommend as a great bed for anyone the memory foam mattress,the Tempur-Pedic Mattress. This mattress is the best we have found. You can learn more about it at: http://www.tempurpedic.com/
3. A freezer, preferably a deep freezer. Since you might be moving a lot the first few years, just a small deep freezer. We spent less than $100 for the smallest one at WalMart. It really came in handy when our parents as a Christmas gift gave all of their married children 1/2 pork in different cuts.
4. Iron & Ironing Board, any will do... buy from Walmart.
5. Small sewing kit and basic sewing machine, any one from Walmart would most likely work.
6. Laptop or computer, I prefer Dell or Gateway with at least 2GB.
7. Basic couch, TV and DVD player used furniture stores are the best for couches and TV's. A cheap DVD player from Walmart would work fine, it all depends on money you have from relatives or wedding gifts and if you want to buy something more elaborate than the basic. Basics are normally the best though until you are at least out of school and/or have a pretty permanent job.
8. Vacuum cleaner, if you have the money a Dyson Ball, www.FactoryDirectSuperstore.
9. Microwave, again any basic one from Walmart will do.
10. Small dinning table and chairs for 4 at least; two extra for company. Used furniture stores are the best or check on Craigslist, if you have the money go ahead and get a nice new one from Target, Sams Club or Costco.
*Remember basic is important, unless someone else is willing to buy something for you because money in the first years is pretty important to save. If you are thinking about getting a credit card for these things, think again, buy basic and save if possible.
