How to Find Cheap Freezers
Many years a go I helped a friend clean up her house when
she was moving, and in the process we had to throw away several
garbage bags of old meat that had been sitting unused in the
chest freezer in the basement. She had been "saving"
money by buying things on sale that never got used. She also
had paid for the freezer and all the electricity to run it for
years. I'm sure she bought it on sale, but I'm also sure that
cheap freezers are not always as cheap as they seem, which brings
us to the first item on our list...
1. Do the math before buying. If you are buying it to save
money by stocking up on sales, run the numbers. For example,
with electricity and the purchase price divided into the 120
months it will likely last, a freezer will probably cost you
$10 to $16 per month. Make sure you'll be saving more than that
by stocking up during sales and storing the purchases.
2. Buy a smaller unit. Get the smallest size that will work
for you, since smaller generally means it will cost less in electricity.
3. Buy a used freezer. Look in the classified ads in the newspaper,
both under "appliances" and under "moving sales."
4. Check Craigslist.com. This is becoming the more common
place for people to advertise the things they are selling.
5. Learn to negotiate. Try saying this to the salesman: "At
that price I can't make a decision today, but I might come back
tomorrow. This is usually good for a further drop in price.
6. Share with a family member. If you live close to parents
or a sibling, arrange to share space in a freezer in one of your
houses, instead of buying a new one.
7. Buy cheap freezers at used appliance stores. These sometimes
come with a 30-day warrantee, which is enough to know that it
doesn't have any problems when you buy it. Expect to pay up to
75% less than buying new.
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