We are in the process of purchasing a 1550 sq ft house that we plan to hold onto for ~15 years while our kids (the oldest of which is starting K this year) grow up.

The carpet is SHOT so we are replacing. We're looking at laminate flooring in the living room/dining room (carpetting in the bedrooms). One that we are looking at is 12 mm, $1.69/sq ft without an attached pad. But Lumber Liquidators recommends cork (and what I hear about cork is interesting)

However, this means spending .75/sq ft on laminate that is not much more expensive. Does that make sense? Or should we put cheap pad down now and replace the whole thing later?

We already know we're going to put a low-mid range carpetting in and replace in 5-6 years when we hopefully have more discretionary funds. Right now we have a LOT to do to this former-rental house and are just trying to get it liveable within our budget.