Over the weekend, a friend (“Sandy”) and I went shopping for mattresses. After 10 years of sleeping on the same spring mattress, Sandy has decided it’s time to upgrade. I decided to tag along.
Shopping for mattresses can be hectic – you are trying to decide on a piece of furniture that will arguably have the biggest impact on your life. An uncomfortable couch makes you uncomfortable maybe 3-4 hours a day. An uncomfortable bed, on the other hand, will hurt you for 6-9 hours and make you feel badly for the rest of your day.
Adding to that, most mattress places don’t have standardized coding for the beds they sell, and unlike car shopping, there are no published MSRP guidelines to help you negotiate a fair price for your mattress. So it’s difficult to compare Bed A from Company A to Bed B from Company B. I’m glad that I’m not the one who needs to buy a mattress right now.
We stopped in a Sit ‘n Sleep. There we tested several mattresses at different price points. Sandy’s maximum price is around $500, but just for the heck of it we tried out a few mattresses in the $2,000 plus range. We might not be able to afford them, but laying on them and daydreaming is free, right? 
Trying out mattresses might be the best part of shopping for mattresses. Some of the expensive models were comfortable, some of them were really comfortable, but one in particular, the Aireloom Luxury Latex, was amazing. That mattress somehow managed to be supportive and firm but soft and luxurious at the same time. Felt like you were laying on a cloud… it was difficult to keep my eyes open!
At $2,000, the Aireloom was much more than either of us could spend, but we still lounged on the mattress for a good 15 minutes. We also tried out a few pricier Aireloom models that sells for $4,000 or $5,000 but didn’t find them as comfortable as the Luxury Latex one.
Though $2,000 is a lot of money, I can imagine myself buying a mattress that cost that much if I absolutely loved it (and if reviews indicate that the foam wouldn’t just give out on me after a year or two), but only after I have a home of my own and will be settling down in one place for 7-10 years. After all, sleep makes up one-third of our life and has an enormous impact on our quality of life, right? A mattress might be something to splurge on.
What’s the most you would spend on a mattress?
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We spent a LOT on our bed (mattress and boxspring together). It was about £5000 (maybe $7500) about five years ago and I was horrified at the time but it was the best money we have ever spent. We are so happy to get home from every trip as it's more comfy than any other bed we've found, plus it still looks as new as when we bought it so it should last a long, long time. At the current rate, it's costing us about £1.55 a night each and that will only get cheaper the longer we keep it. Best purchase ever! Don't skimp on a bed, you will use it every single day and keep it for many years if you get it right.
I never used to spend money on beds, pillows or anything like that until a girl that I was dating convinced me to buy a few down pillows.
Now, I can never go back – down pillows, high thread-count sheets, duvets and comforters. We spend 1/3 of our lives in bed – we might as well do it right!
Smart girl.
One of the things I want to splurge on when my BF and I buy a house is a king-sized bed….and I could see us splurging on the mattress as well. Like you said, you sleep for 1/3 of your life, might as well make it good!!
My mom always creates her mattresses by adding memory foams, foam egg shells and comforters to the existing mattress. And I'm pretty sure she isn't paying top dollar for the "original" mattress. This really helped a lot in college and I've had some of the best sleep of my life there. All I know is that the mattress I'm currently sleeping on, has been around for over 5 years, but it still feels like a dream.
I'm cheap. I've only paid $200 for a mattress. That being said I go in with the understanding that I will change it over a few years. I am hesitant to buy a NICE one because I know my bed always kinda dies within a few years regardless do to my weight. ooops.
My parents have had a Tempur-Pedic for several years and it has not worn out at all. I'm not sure what my father weighs, but it's at least 350lbs; my mother is probably pushing 200. So if you're ever splurging, you might try it.
I will keep Tempur-Pedic in mind. Thanks.
We bought a Select Comfort bed 2.5 years ago when I got a job after grad school. It's the kind that lets you adjust the firmness of each side independently. =) ~$2200 for a California King in their midpriced model out of five models at the time. Definitely a splurge, but also the best purchase I've ever made. Absolutely worth getting a high quality bed as soon as you have the funds.
Not that much. But if I had a fussy back or issues with sleep, maybe I'd splurge.. We spent about $500 I think.
My current mattress probably cost $300-$400, plus a $50 foam mattress pad. The only thing I'd worry about is the HIGH expectations I'd have for a $2K bed. And how unhappy I'd be if I had to change it in 5 years.
We spent $450 (with tax) on the mattress and boxspring (for a double). The set was normally around $700, but it was on sale, and we got it for even cheaper as it had been returned to the store due to the wrong delivery being made originally.
I'd say $1,000 is my limit and that needs to include a boxspring and delivery. To get that price when I bought my last mattress, I went to Macy's and picked up a $2,500 Simmons on sale for $1,000. Macy's delivers for free and they'll haul away your old bed.
Like your friend Sandy, I'm willing to spend up to $500 for a mattress. I've had my current mattress for almost 10 years and I really need to upgrade pretty soon. Most likely next year. BF upgraded his mattress and we just went to local furniture shops to do so (we don't live together). We were able to get a good deal- less than $600 for a latex foam. Delivery and getting-rid-of-your-old mattress deal included.
That seems like a great deal. I love foam beds.
i would say that $2000 to $3000 is the good range for a really good mattress. Ours has been in this range and we have used it for more than 10 years and it is still good and comfy.
I've been lucky, because all my mattresses (since high school/college) were bought for us, by my boyfriends mother. I don't know what they cost, but they're really high quality ones, and I'd bet they are in the 1000 dollar range. It's the most comfortable mattress ever! I would be willing to put out the money for a good nights sleep. I've slept in crap mattresses before (my mom had the same one for over 26 YEARS and she thought it would be a good idea to put it in the guest room when she got a new one. Worst idea ever. I spent two nights with springs poking me every which way and convinced her to take it to the dump. The most I'd spend at this point in my life is 1,000 (but it would be really hard to part with). I'd spend up to 2500 at a later point in my life for something that was worth it.
Twenty-six years!? WOW. Dedication or madness.. I can't decide.
Most definitely cheapness!
I spent $2100 on a tempur-pedic last October. I've also easily spent that much in the past six months on medical issues related to my back, so I have a special situation.
when I graduated from college I found myself bed-less; I bought the second cheapest queen size mattress at the local mattress shop, rationalizing that I had a very luxurious feather bed I’d just throw on top. It worked out for me until last year when the feather bed could no longer make up for the increasingly creaky/poking/jabbing springs. My husband and I married this past september and in january finally got around to buying ourselves a mattress. background: my dad’s home has tempurpedic beds which we love when we visit, but name brand memory foam was totally out of the question with our modest budget. we went to the mattress store and were wooed by the tempurpedic mattresses but discouraged by their price. we tried out the store brand memory foam which felt just as lovely as the $2000 one. Long story short we bought a queen size memory foam mattress for under $550 which included delivery and removal of out old box spring and mattress. Caveat: we did not purchase a new box spring as we received a hand-crafted platform bed from a friend as a wedding gift. I say, try out the store brand, or mattress warehouse or Bob’s bob-o-pedic if you have any of those chains nearby.
Glad it worked out for you! And I'm with you on the box spring – I really don't like them and would much rather have a platform bed instead.
We just bought a house and our first major purchase was a king size bed. We shopped for ages and figured $1k would be our max.
We settled on the W-Hotel's plush top mattress (which is really just a Simmons Beauty Rest that is "custom designed" for the hotel. It gets amazing reviews online, and some friends of ours recently bought one and couldn't stop talking about how comfortable it is. W-Hotel regularly has 35-40% off coupons for their online store, so we were able to get our bed for about $900 (mattress only, since we have a platform bed).
We took a huge risk by ordering a mattress we'd never laid on before, and it turns out, it wasn't nearly as firm as we tend to like. Comfy and luxurious for sure (I definitely have the sense that I'm sleeping in an amazing hotel every night), but definitely softer than our old bed, which has been around for 12+ years.
We've gotten used to it now and really quite like it, but I definitely won't take that same risk in the future.
All that said, mattresses truly are one of the biggest, shadiest rackets in the world. When you consider what they're made of, and how simple the construction is (for most), you realize that the mark-up is absolutely mind-boggling.
the one i have now is a queen size sealy posturepedic that was around $500. i'm sure it's the right mattress for me because i selected it at the store after extensive testing and picked out exactly the same brand, softness, everything but overall size that i had had in twin as a teenager without even realizing it until afterwards.
I don't know if I could spend $4000 on a mattress, but when we get around to replacing ours in a few years (when we upgrade to a king bed), I don't think I'll cheap out. Comfort & long life are worth paying for!
Matrresses are tricky… What might seem nice in the store, could be either too soft or firm to you after sleeping on it for a week… No easy answers to this one. We bought our matress 1.5 years ago, and now I think it was a bit too firm…
How ironic, just the other day I was harassing a co-worker that spent $5,000 on a new mattress set. And this, after complaining about his debt load and how tough his financial life is just a few weeks ago!
Personally it is all about water beds. Cheap and effective.
Water beds remind me of water parks!
I’ve never slept on one, but I’d be afraid of water leaking and flooding the room. That’s probably why every apartment rental I’ve ever signed prohibits water beds.
My "treat" for debt-free elimination will be a new bed as we want to upsize to a king. As we get older our backs aren't as forgiving as they once were so I'd spend up to $2000.
I'd like a King too, but it depends on how big my room is. I always found it funny how the *largest* size is called a *California* King. I wonder if the mattress makers will come out with an EVEN bigger mattress and call it the Texas King.
I spent about $400 for mine and I couldn't be happier! I've had it for 5 or 6 years and I still love it. It was a store brand–albeit a high-end, independent, eco-friendly store.
Believe me when I say buying a mattress was the most financially conflicting thing I have done in my life thus far. I bought my original mattress (and headboard) for $45 off of my college newspapers website. I suffered nightly to comfortable but I held on to that thing until I graduated. For disclosure, I have had two back surgeries but I couldn't mentally wrap my brain around spending $3K on a mattress. That's right $3K! But as other comments have attested to, it was the best thing I have ever done – I never complain about back pain now. And I made sure to get all of the extra pillows, covers and warranties I could for free too! If I was dropping that much on a bed, they were gonna meet me halfway.
I'm glad you got a better mattress! It's a pain (pun not intended!) to spend the whole night on an uncomfortable mattress, then have to wake up and deal with the after effects of a night of restless sleep.
I don't think I could ever spend $2000 on a mattress. Maybe if I won the lottery (which I never play). Maybe. But my goodness, my husband bought his work truck for $2000 and also bought a 16 passenger van for his business for $1200. I bought my queen size bed 4 years ago at Goodwill for $12. I have an egg carton cushion and one of the foam cushions that forms to your body on top and I'm totally happy with my bed. Maybe I just don't know what I'm missing, lol.
I don't know if it's a state-by-state thing, but no thrift store / donation centers will accept used mattresses or used bedding. I think it's against the law in California to sell used mattresses because of fear of bedbugs.