Appliances
The days of drab and functional appliances are out – making appliances a part of your décor is in! You no longer have to go ugly to stay within a budget when outfitting the kitchen and laundry room with appliances. Stainless steel finishes are no longer astronomically priced, and sleek, new designs in appliances can make your kitchen look like a professional gourmet center.
But the glitz of the snazzy new appliances doesn’t come cheap, so what can you do about appliances when you’re on a budget but want your kitchen to look like the set of a Chef Emeril cooking show?
Comparison Shop
Different models can range (no pun intended) in price from store to store – pick your dream model and shop, shop, shop – you can easily plug the make and model into an online search to compare prices, and many stores will match sale prices of their competitors. In this fast paced world, one needs to be quick at things.
Out with the old, in with the new…
Appliances are like cars – when the new models are released, the old models are marked down. Shop the sales – the ‘big box’ stores tend to have more sales than the smaller, specialty stores. Check Home Depot, Lowes, and Best Buy circulars on a regular basis. Be prepared to buy as soon as your favorites go on sale.
Speaking of out with the old, in with the new…
Most delivery services ‘offer’ to remove your old appliances. Those appliances usually don’t go straight to a junkyard, they’re cleaned up and resold at second-hand shops. If those appliances are still in good shape, you may want to consider selling them or donating them for a tax deduction to help pay for your new stuff. Washers and dryers in particular are an easy, quick sale.
Interest free deals can help!
Many of the ‘big box’ stores would love to give you credit to buy your dream appliance. Not only do they offer a 10% discount if you use their credit card, but many will offer no interest deals for purchases over a certain amount. Make sure to check the small print though, if you don’t pay off your purchases within a specified period of time – you can get hit with the interest from that ‘interest-free’ time period.
Remember that you are making an investment when you purchase an appliance, so it’s one thing to try to stay within a budget when appliance shopping, but don’t sacrifice quality. The kitchen is one of the main selling points in a home, so it may be worth upgrading appliances if you’re going to be putting your house on the market.
For every dollar you invest in a kitchen, you get an 85% - 95% return in a higher selling price. That alone should give you a good excuse to spend an extra few dollars when picking out appliances.