I love to save money whenever and wherever possible. I have no issues about dressing my children in second hand clothing or decorating my home with garage sale finds. However, I splurge whenever it comes to common home appliances.
Quality Always Wins
I do not want to deal with cheaply made items when it comes to important appliances or home tools that I use frequently. I have found that when I spend more money on an appliance or gadget, I am also more willing to use it. For example, I was using a Ninja blender. It was super cheap, didn’t blend smoothly or process food evenly, and was a pain to clean. My husband wanted to buy me a Blendtec blender for Christmas. I just couldn’t bring myself to spend that much money on an appliance I use only once a week. Thankfully, he ended up getting me the blender. Since it works so efficiently and is simple to clean, I actually use it once or twice daily.
Quality Saves Money Over Time
You can actually save money over time by purchasing better quality items. What good is a $50 vacuum if it doesn’t clean well, frustrates you, and needs to be worked on or replaced in a year or two? I first had a Dyson vacuum and switched to a Kirby. The difference is amazing, and my house looks cleaner, and the carpets are in better shape. If a expensive but good vacuum can prolong the life of carpets five to 10 more years and replace the need for a carpet cleaner, isn’t it a worthy purchase?
Save Money on Quality Items
My goal is to always buy the top of the line items at the cheapest price possible. There are several ways to get new items for an extreme discount. The first is to combine coupons with sales whenever possible. Many home appliances at Kohls are overpriced. However, once you combine a percent off coupon, a dollar-off coupon, and factor in eBates cashback and Kohl’s cash, you can score a good deal.
I have also found good prices at the manufacturer’s website under open box deals or refurbished items. We just scored a great deal on a Blendtec blender through the company’s website for my husband’s grandma. It was discounted a little over $100 because it was refurbished. However, since we were buying it through the company, it still came a seven-year warranty (the new models come with an eight-year warranty).
In the end, save money on frivolous things, such as your children’s clothing or your décor choices. Invest in high quality appliances that will make your task easier and more enjoyable. Cleaning the house and cooking will never be on the top of my “fun list”, but the right appliances and gadgets have definitely made my job easier and saved me time and frustration.
Share your story about spending more for a quality item, or feel free to share about your mishaps with a cheap appliance.
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I think there is a balance between quality and price, and reading reviews can help you determine what you are paying for (quality vs features). When I bought my first washer and drier back in 2009, I paid about $650 each. The washer was an efficient top loader, and the drier was standard electric. The drier control knob ended up seizing up on us about 6 years later, but I was able to order the part on-line and watch a video on its replacement. Total cost was less than $100 and 30 minutes of time. At the time, a front loader would have cost me more money, but a good quality, reliable model would have been at least 2x the cost. The additional money for a reliable front loader (features + quality) wasn’t worth it, in my opinion.
Another, opposing, example… we don’t have carpet in our home (hardwood and tile) but we do have dogs, so we need to sweep/mop/vacuum on a regular basis. We ended up buying a dyson rechargeable because, at the time, the weight, portability, and ease of use couldn’t be beat. It lasted us for over three years and many, many uses, so it was well worth the money as it made the job of vacuuming up dog hair on a regular basis so much easier. In fact, when it was done with the run at our house, my wife cleaned it up and gave it to her grandmother. We ended up buying another dyson when we moved into our new home (in Singapore).
Spending money on good quality appliances with especially useful features can be a great way to save yourself both time and money in the long run, but you have to be careful not to associate high price with high quality automatically. You need to do the research to make sure you are paying for quality and not simply for a suite of new, hot features.
I wish I had read this when I moved into my first house. I was so broke that I bought the cheapest washing machine I could find. Within 3 years the machine was “not worth fixing” according to my plumber and ended up getting a quality one that I should have got to begin with. Ended up costing me at a time when I was drowning in my mortgage payments!
I am bit of a snob, to be honest. While I cannot afford Miele for instance, I do have some decent brands for our appliances. and this means using them for at least 10 years without a hitch.
Wholeheartedly agree – the big things need to be quality. They last for longer, I find spare parts and repairs are less frequent, and in a busy household, the saving on frustration and time out of commission is also significant!
I think that many people recognize the truth in this, but the practice is that the increased costs make the up front affordability a factor. A dishwasher for $1,000 might be much more reliable and efficient than one for $400, but for many, the $600 difference can be meaningful enough to rule out the more expensive option. And, keep in mind that the dishwasher is typically one of the least expensive appliances, so the difference in cost for an entire appliance package can be huge. I think many people would love to go for the higher quality items, but the cost involved often steers people in the other direction.