Shopping for Appliances the Frugal Way

When my husband and I bought our home over four years ago, the kitchen was (and still is!) my least favorite room in the house. All of the appliances were from the late 1980′s with the exception of the electric range. The photo on the left is a photo that I took this morning of our actual range from 1979 – it was installed when the house was built. As you can see, it is a tolerable color (thank goodness!) – not the usual avocado green or mustard yellow. It worked perfectly up until about four months ago – the exact time that our savings was completely depleted. When it rains, it pours, doesn’t it? Can you see the little notes on the knobs that say “Do Not Use”? The electric coil burners have been going out one by one and now we are down to two small coils. The oven still works, although it runs rather hot (25 degrees F over what it should be, to be exact), but I can adjust for that. Since we do not have any extra money to spend on a new range, we are living with it. Our credit cards are still destroyed and we are living without them. In the meantime, I have been shopping around to see what is out there. When we have some extra cash to finally replace the range, we will get a good deal because I am doing my research.

The first thing that you should ask yourself when buying an appliance is if it can be repaired or not. The coils on our range cannot be replaced because they have actually fused themselves to the appliance and cannot be removed. This also makes me think that our stove has become a fire hazard as well. Sigh! Many times a repair can be made that will fix the issue with your appliance at a fraction of the cost of buying a new one. Call several appliance repair shops and get price quotes.

Another place to check for bargains is Craigslist. I have been poking around here to see what might be available. I have found several nice electric ranges that are around $100-$200 less expensive than buying new. Usually the people selling the ranges have remodeled their kitchen and are replacing a perfectly good appliance. Some of these appliances are very inexpensive, but if you look at the photo that goes with it, you will see why. The cheapest appliances usually look like my range – OLD and on their last legs. If you shop carefully and move quickly to get what you want, great deals can be found here. You could also ask family members or friends who are remodeling their kitchens.

If you are going to buy a new appliance, compare prices. It may be easiest to go to the store closest to you or the store most familiar to you, but shop around and you could save hundreds of dollars. If you can, wait until the holiday sales come around. I recently saw some very good deals over Memorial Day weekend.

Patience is the key, my friends. Believe me, I am going to need it because as I was reheating a cup of coffee this morning, my microwave made a horrible noise and I fear it is about to die as well… C’est la vie!