A testimony from Mary at Junior *gluten-free* Chefs
Every time I went to the store and saw awesome sales on meat or veggies, I wished that I could buy a bunch to freeze, because I knew in the long run it would save us so much money on groceries. But we just never seemed to be able to come up with the $250 to buy a freezer.
Our children have a lot of allergies so there really weren’t many other things I could do to cut back on our food budget. Finally, I decided to start setting aside $4 a week to save for a freezer. I knew it would take a long time but it would be worth it.
After almost a year, I had $180. I felt happy knowing we were getting closer, but thought we were still at least six months away from our goal.
Then recently, there was an “Ask the Readers” question on freezers on MoneySavingMom.com. Someone commented and said Sears was having a 30% off sale.
The freezer I had been wanting was a 6.9 cu. ft. Kenmore, and it was on sale for $174! I did a little dance. Not only was it on a great sale, but since there is a Sears store near me, I could have it shipped there for free.
We picked it up last week and I am so excited! I will now be walking to the local store every morning to check for “price reduced” meat and veggies.
Mary is a mother to three gluten-free, dairy-free, additive-free, refined sugar-free and wholesome-eating kids. They have fun sharing their thoughts about life with allergies on their blog, Junior *gluten-free* Chefs.
Have you saved up and paid cash for something — large or small? Submit your story for possible publication here.
That’s a very inspirational story. Thanks for sharing it. Another option for items is to check and see if your area offers a freecycle group on yahoo groups. In my area there are actually two very close to me. Many times there are people who post offers for freezers (everything has to be free… it’s set up to keep items out of landfills) among many other useful items. In return, you can also offer items you no longer use to others. It’s really a great network so consider seeking one out in your area.
Congrats and way to go. I already have a chest freezer, however, when there are sales I too found myself not having any room and the freezer connected to the refrigerator just doesn’t work well for meat. So last week our local grocery store had a special (once a year) where you buy an Igloo chest freezer and get $160 of FREE coupons. Some freezer, household, deli all kinds of stuff. I just couldn’t pass it up this year. Now I can empty one refrigerator freezer and unplug that energy pig. Win, win situation.
Congratulations! See what perseverance can do. Glad you are having fun in the Freezer Fan Club.
Thanks! I love this club! :-p
What a great story. It’s amazing what saving just $4 a week can get you instead of charging something on your credit card. That is something people don’t have much of these days…patience.
Thanks! 🙂
I love reading these stories! I followed the freezer conversation here recently too and it has me itching for one. I don’t have a garage/basement/porch/pantry in our small home, but I remember one person’s comment about covering it with a tablecloth in the dining area…..:)
We just put ours in our dinning room, if it hadn’t fit there I would have put it in the living room! lol
This is a totally inspiring story – because I can imagine setting aside $4 a week for something. Thank you for sharing this story.
It adds up quick!
For me, the inspiring part of your story is the very small goal you used to get what you wanted. $4 doesn’t seem like much but you showed us how it adds up in time.
Thank you, I’m all about working with what you have!
I’m so glad that reading my comment about Sears 30% off sale helped you to get the freezer at such a great price. Hope you also signed up for Sears Shop Your Way Rewards. You can sign up and be credited for them AFTER a purchase, too. Check online or your local store on how. These points are valid at Sears and KMart. I don’t shop either store much, but even little sales mount up. Next time you shop, they can look up your rewards at checkout and you are offered a choice of using them on the current purchase or saving them for later. I’m saving mine for later.
Thank you, I will looking into the rewards program! So glad you told us about the sale!!
That’s great! My husband just got us a 4ish cubic foot freezer from Craigslist for $25!!! The seller listed it as a “best offer” kind of deal and my husband offered $10 (which he knew was ridiculous), since we didn’t have many details and didn’t mind if we didn’t get it. The guy said he wouldn’t take less than $40, but emailed back less than a day later offering it for $25. So far it works great and for that price it wasn’t a big risk. It’s so great to be able to buy most foods only at their lowest prices!
That’s a good deal! We are loving ours, it’s half way filled up already. lol
Voice Of Experience here: the risk isn’t just the cost of the freezer. It’s also the cost of what’s in the freezer.
Sigh.
True. I guess I was referring to the risk of the freezer not working at all. As far as one lasting, I feel like one that’s worked well for several years is as likely to last as a new one. I got married less than two years ago and I’ve already had problems with a crock pot, blender, and microwave that we got as wedding gifts. Now I figure if an appliance has made it a few years without landing in the junkyard it’s probably better than a lot of the new ones out there!
We just bought a 2nd freezer for our angus beef that is coming next week. We were able to pick our own cuts and what we wanted, and it works out to bout 2.00 a pound for vac sealed, black angus grass fed local beef! The freezer will pay for itself just in that savings.!!
Wow, great prices! The cheapest I can find grass-fed meat is around $7-$9 a pound and that’s if you buy the whole cow.
I’m looking for a freezer too… I have been watching Craigslist for the perfect one, but my fear is that its going to break down and all my hard work is going to spoil.
I think I just need to accept that I might have to pay “full price” for this purchase, and have peace of mind instead of a few extra bucks in the bank.
I agree it’s always hit/miss with older things.
However, our freezer just broke this winter. Lots of spoiled food. The freezer was only a couple of years old…a new purchase on our part. Warranties tend to expire right before something quits on you. Murphey’s law or something.
On the other hand, the used w/d set I bought off CL (I should say ANCIENT rather than old, lol) are still running great! Hit or miss…
I was too scared to get a used one also. I love this one because it has a green light on the front and since we put it in our dinning room, which I walk past many times a day, I can glance at the light to make sure it’s still on. I also told the kids to alert me if they ever see that it’s not green. lol
Congrats on getting your freezer! And bonus YAY for getting it on sale!
Crystal, thank you for sharing her website, we’re also gluten-free/dairy-free and I’m super excited to read some of her stories.
Thanks! Gluten & Dairy free was hard at first but we are getting the hang of it now!
We used our tax refund to buy a freezer. That’s why we don’t mind setting the money aside – it’s the only way we can save up all at once.
I found a nice 5.5cuft freezer at Lowe’s that would be perfect for our tiny house. Just before we bought the freezer, though, we saw an ad for Lowe’s Tax Refund Gift Card. If you put $500+ on a gift card, they add an extra 10% to the card on March 18th. We put $500 on the card AND we did it through Shop At Home so we got cash back for that, and then we turned around and used the card for purchases shipped to the store through Shop at Home so we got cash back for THOSE purchases as well.
You can save money on anything!
That’s awesome, I use shop at home too!
What a great story of patience and perseverance! We received our freezer free from our elderly grandma and are SO glad we have one to stock up during sales! Enjoy yours!
Thanks, we are really enjoying it!
I find it inspiring that you took what you had…$4/week, which doesn’t seem like much…and had great patience in saving up for your freezer. A little can go a long way. Thanks for sharing.
It was a little frustrating at first, but after a few weeks it started to add up!
That is awesome! I need to follow in your lead!
Thanks, we are already in love with ours!
Awesome deal!!! You will find that it comes in so handy.
Thanks, I already have a turkey and a 10 pound box of fish in there – found both on clearance!! 😛