A testimony from Lizzie who blogs at A Dusty Frame
I’ve wanted a Kitchen Aid mixer for more than 20 years. While I majored in Home Economics in college, I worked in the bakery and used the huge Hobart mixers. When I first saw the Kitchen Aids (Hobarts for home use!), I wanted one.
I could never justify the expense, and since they are not necessary for living, I never purchased one.
Through the years, I kept watching for sales, but we always had other things to purchase. Then we went through a very long personal trial and money was so tight that I often didn’t even have $2 to spend at the thrift store. Purchasing a Kitchen Aid was out of the question!
Recently, our lives have begun to settle back into something resembling our old “normal” and I began to think about a Kitchen Aid again. Last Thanksgiving, the Kitchen Aid sales were very attractive. My husband told me he wanted me to have one. But we truly didn’t have the extra money even though the deals were super.
So earlier this year, I began save up for “my” red Kitchen Aid.
Here’s what I did:
1. Set aside any unspent money from my personal weekly allowance of $25.
2. Avoided all temptations on Amazon and save up my Swagbucks certificates.
3. Watched for sales.
I had $65.00 saved from my weekly spending money and $68.00 in Amazon certificates when I found the Empire Red Kitchen Aid for sale on Amazon for $231.00. My husband and I decided to give each other a little bit of spending money out of the tax return, and I used mine on the rest of the money I needed to buy my mixer. I placed the order and tracked it all the way across the US!
It looks so pretty on my counter and my son and I are having fun using it. And now, if I need to make something, my son says, “If you need to use the Kitchen Aid I’ll make it!” I consider this an extra value — free child labor! 
The breakdown of my purchase is:
- Mixer Total: $231.00
- Used $65.00 Cash
- + Used $68.00 Swagbucks/Amazon certificates
- + Used $98.00 from my tax return money
The best part is that right after I placed the order, I saw that the rebate was still active and I chose a refund instead of the free magazine. I’m still waiting for my $42.00 rebate and that money will go on the next item I’m saving up for.
Lizzie blogs at A Dusty Frame which was born during her husband’s incarceration. Lizzie desires to share how God carried her and that His grace truly is sufficient — even when life stinks! She also shares other bits of their life including books, homeschooling, and crafting — when she’s not too busy using her new Kitchen Aid.
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{ 61 comments... read them below or add one }
I’m hoping to get a Vitamix or Blendtec blender someday. This may be the way to do it! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome–hope you can get one!
Aah, I’ve been eyeing those for quite some time now but you’re right, there is never enough money for a large purchase like that. You have to make a plan to put away for it. Love the red!
Thanks, I love the red too:).
I would so love one of those mixers. We don’t have a weekly spending account…money is very tight. Sigh. I will keep waiting.
We don’t have personal spending money, either. Perhaps a garage sale would help? I don’t always have lots to sell, but I’ve let friends and family know we’re having a sale, and they’ve given us things they were planning on donating to the thrift store to sell in our sale. We used the money to help pay our utilities last year, and this year it went towards paying my midwife and for food.
Also, my mom finally got a Kitchen Aid mixer. She found it at a garage sale for $65. Perhaps a used one could be in your future!
(I thought I left a comment…)
J,
For over 7 years, my son and I lived on only what I could make and what others blessed us with. We had NO spending money for anything (including TP!)
Often, when I’d read Crystal’s “We Paid Cash” series, I’d think to myself, “Wonder if she wants me to submit a story how I paid cash for toilet paper…lol!”
I really do know how it’s no fun to not have a spare dollar. Can you toss coins in a jar?
(I know–sometimes you have to use the coins in the jar for necessities….;0! )
Like I said, I wanted one for more than 20 years so I know about wanting one and waiting too! Hang in there!
Garage sale is a good idea!
Thanks for the laugh! I loved the toilet paper comment.
I’d read that article. I bet you’d have a lot good things to share because if money is so tight that TP is a luxury, then I bet you have a lot of frugality to bless us with.
I bought my kitchen aid mixer using my birthday money last month with cash! I bought it that day Amazon had that really great sale! my one rebate came in the other day, still waiting on the smaller one. I love having it, it works so much better than my old stand mixer (which had stripped a gear!)
I just got my 2nd rebate. I’m glad they sent them so quickly.
I have that same mixer and I love it. (And I had to have the red too…)
I LOVE red!
My mother-in-law actually HAD a Hobart mixer in her kitchen!
I have worked in a kitchen that had several mixers, so I can only imagine how she fit one in a little tiny house!
We were blessed to inherit my husband’s grandfather’s Kitchen Aid. We use it every single day.
That’s crazy
! She must have done a lot of cooking!
I was blessed enough to get a Kitchen Aid Mixer a couple years ago for Christmas. My husband and his parents went in on this purchase together plus I made sure they used a 20% off coupon at Bed, Bath and Beyond and there was a rebate to get money back.
I have not had nice things like this when growing up so to have a nice appliance for my kitchen was amazing. God has truly blessed me.
Enjoy:) I’m having fun with mine.
I got mine by putting the amount of money I saved on groceries by using coupons in an envelope. It took a while but I have great satisfaction when I use it and know it was earned over time by my careful shopping. The money came out of my grocery budget so it was not missed from anywhere else.
Denise,
That’s a good idea too!
I was also surprised that when I was saving my cash for the mixer, I decided to say no to myself about a lot of things! It was fun actually.
I’m happy for you ! My husband gave me a kitchen aid mixer a few years ago and I love it .its great I use all the time . It’s a great feeling to save for something and pay cash .
Thanks:)
My husband and I bought our kitchen aid a few years ago as our Christmas present to each other. It was on sale at Kohl’s for $300. I used a 30% off coupon and $10 Kohl’s cash that a friend had given me. It cost us $200 plus tax which is a little more than we would normally spend on Christmas gifts, but we splurged a bit since it was such a great deal at the time and we had the money to do it. Ours is black, but your red one is super cute!
Thanks;) Red is my color!
My Dad gave me my avocado green Kitchen Aid mixer when I graduated from college thirty some years ago. It is out on my counter and has been used a million times and is still as strong as ever. I think you will recoup your savings in no time by wanting to make more items from scratch. Like today – I was in the store and in a rush and thought I would go ahead and buy ready made pie shells. But I just couldn’t fork over the $6.00 it was going to cost for four. I know it only takes a few minutes to make one from scratch and I usually keep them stocked in the freezer ready to go ( I like to make about a dozen at a time and freeze them flat with wax paper inbetween on a piece of cardboard, then put in a big plastic freezer bag.) I bet if you do some math, you will find out that you make up that money fast. Congratulations on saving your pennies for an awesome purchase!!
Good idea. We do make a lot of stuff from scratch already–just more fun to do it in the Kitchen Aid;)!
Hi! I would love to try your pie crust recipe. I’ve never made pie crust before but would love to start, especially since I know it is going to be good since you have made it a lot.
Here’s my recipe from the 1970s!! There is also one in the Kitchen Aid mixer book that came with my mixer so there may be some other ones online.
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup shortening, chilled
5 1/2 tablespoons butter, chilled
about 9 tablespoons ice water
Mix the flour and the salt together in the mixing bowl. Pinch the shortening into small pieces and drop in the bowl. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the bowl. Turn the mixer on slow and stir until lumps of flour-covered fat are the size of small peas (maybe a minute). If you don’t have a KA mixer, you can do this with your fingers or a pastry blender. Add the water, l tablespoon at a time until all the particles are moistened, about 10- 15 seconds. Use only enough water to make the pastry form a ball. Stop. Knead the dough on a work surface lightly floured. Make some indentions in the dough and add a tablespoon of water and knead it in. Knead in as much water as the dough will take but without the dough getting sticky. Divide the dough up into 12 small balls which will make 12 small (6 inch or so) single pie crusts. My pottery pie plate is larger so I make my dough balls bigger. Put in the refrigerator for an hour or more to chill. Roll to 1/8 inch thickness on flour dusted wax paper to the size you need. Keep making the crusts and stacking them. When you finish rolling the pie crusts, place them on a piece of cardboard and slide into a large Ziplock bag ( the Jumbo 2.5 gallon kind). Or you can go ahead and bake for an unfilled pastry shell by pricking the sides and bottom with a fork and baking at 450 degrees F. for 8 to 10 minutes. Enjoy your homemade pie shells!
Thanks!!!
Congrats – I’ve had mine for 20 years and expect it to last another 20 years. After all these years it still makes me grin to know I own one. Even if I used only once a month that amortizes to $1.50/use. I use it for bread, cookies, homemade sausage, meat grinding (my KA came with attachements), mashed potatoes for a crowd, cakes, meringues,…
My hubby bought me one for Christmas a few years ago at a great price ($185!!) on black Friday. He even made sure to use the mail in rebate to get a free attachment! It’s something I had wanted for a long time but never would have spent the money on myself. I was so excited to get it!! And he has since added the matching red food processor and a red George Foreman grill
My darling husband got me one for a very special Christmas surprise. Kitchenaid lasts forever, unlike the cheap little electric hand mixers I used to buy. It will last me the rest of my life, and enrich my daughter’s, or granddaughter’s life after I am gone.
I’m hoping it will last a long time!
If almost $200 is “a little bit of spending money” from your tax refund, then you need to adjust your witholdings. You should be bringing your refund divided by 12 home every month instead of lending it to the government interest-free, especially since it sounds like you have a pretty tight budget.
It could be from Earned Income Credit. We make a pittance, have no tax taken out at all, and still get a check for $7000+ every year due to EIC.
Yeah;) Also it wasn’t almost $200 from the taxes it was $98 and then I got another $42 back from the Kitchen Aid rebate.
Jennifer,
You might talk to your employer about the advanced earned income credit (it gives you the credit spread out over the 12 months rather than all on your return). Just be careful bc it reduces the credit on your return.
really??? cool, thanks
Just looked it up and its no longer available as of 2011
My husband bought me one for our anniversary 6 years ago and I love mine… I use it 2-3 times a week… I am watching for a deal on the meat grinder attachment and an extra bowl, but those are wants not needs so they will wait until I have spending money…
What wil you use the grinder for? Making ground meat mostly?
I just have what came with it so far:)
I buy chicken breast bulk and want to make sausage and ground chicken… We are also saving to buy 1/2 a cow this summer so would be very useful.
I too majored in Home Economics in college but not until 9 years ago did I get mine. Saw it on TV special and ordered it cheaper than the stores at least. I have not used it that much but now that I am working more on eating gluten-free and have arthritis!! WOW…that is how my bread gets mixed…most days of late, I have too much pain in my wrists and hands to manage mixing…but the mixer does it all for me. (Lent my bread maker to dil to use some years ago…she gave it to her MOTHER!!) But it is ok…cause I like bread made in the oven best.
We still need to make bread in it!
I am 46 now, and have wanted one for about 30 years. I used to bake with my Grandma and she had one. I was hooked! I longed for one over the years, and like you couldn’t justify the cost. Last year, I was surfing craigslist, not looking for anything in particular (just looking) and someone was selling one that was 5 years old. He had purchased it as a gift for his mother. She used it twice and didn’t want it anymore because it was too heavy for her to carry from the cabinet and lift onto the counter (she’s 85!). He wanted $125. He blessed me by selling it to me for $90! I’ve used so many times in the last year that I’ve lost count. Every time I use it, it brings me back to time spent with my Grandma. Congratulations on your pretty red Kitchen Aid Mixer!
That is awesome!
I am so happy for you and your Kitchen Aid! I waited a long time to buy one for myself too – though my story isn’t as dramatic as yours – and I LOVE it, especially at Christmas when I’m doing a ton of baking. I used to get so worn out making Christmas cookies with a hand mixer, but no more with my Kitchen Aid on the job. Great job, and thanks for sharing your story!
We still need to try bread and cookies:) I’m sure we’ll totally be happy we have it:)!
That is so cool that you paid cash for that mixer
I’ve always wanted one of those and a Vitamix, too. Yes, I’m definitely planning on saving money to buy those items, too 
Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 
Hope you get yours before too long:)!
Hey:) So all the traffic crashed my blog;0! Come back later–hopefully we’ll have it back up soon!
I bought my professional grade Kitchenaid on craigslist for $75. It came with extra attachments and didn’t look like it had hardly been used. The lady I bought it from had upgraded to a $900 stand mixer! I couldn’t justify the expense on our budget as well when it isn’t a need.
Sounds like you got a wonderful deal:)!
I wanted a kitchen aid mixer for years. I was finally able to get one about 6 years ago. Unfortunately, the money came from inheritance when my dad passed away.
However, I love it! Pizza dough with the dough hook~~So easy to do. All my cookie dough, muffins, etc. is done in it. Wait until you make whipped cream with the whisk attachment! Have fun, Lizzie!
OOOO pizza dough!
(Sorry about your dad:( )
My hubby picked mine up at a Pawn Shop in February. He works there so he gets to see all the things that come in the door. They have had like 3 or 4 in the last 5 months. He paid 120 for mine (6 quart). I use it all the time. And just the same I have wanted one for a least 5 years but couldn’t spend that much. I was very excited when he brought it home!
That’s super:)!
I love my Kitchenaid too! On our first Christmas, my husband surprised me 23 years ago with this wonderful mixer. It is worth every penny. It makes multi-tasking while baking easy. Since I like mine so much, I have gotten family members together to purchase the mixer as a group gift for my Mom, sister and sister-in-law.
I think the group gift idea is awesome!
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