One thing that helps me is,when I do look at fancy homes, cars, jewelry,… I just remind myself that maybe, those people maybe are taking away from their Olam Habeh. I try to make myself content with what I have.
On furniture: we moved into my husband’s grandmother apartment and had “inherited all her furniture. Dining room,Bedroom set, & living room. The couches lasted for a while, but after a few kids, it had seen better days, so we had to get a living room set. The dining room set also was pretty solid, except a couple of years ago, we were sitting at the shabbat table and it suddenly gave way. We had to prop it up temperarly,with a unused fish tank we had around. If It didn’t break, I would have still had it. I miss it :(. The buffet is nice, but needs to be refinished and that would run in the few hundreds to do. The china cabinet is also in great condition, till it got hit with a baseball and I just never got a chance to replace the glass pane (I told those kids over and over, “No ball playing in the house” Oh well, kids will be kids!! The bedroom set was her’s so’s it’s pretty solid, albeit it could use a paint job. I tell myself that no one goes into my bedroom to see what I got, and if Hashem wanted me to get a new bedroom set, I would have one in a second. What I have, is what Hashem wants me to have for my mission in life. I think it is a matter of priorites between WANTand NEED. Before I do purchase something, I ask myself, do I want this or do I need this??”