If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another
Well hell’s bells…
The Bad News:
- The refrigerator just went out - the compressor - so I have to buy a new one. It was 9 years old.
Why not have it fixed? By the time you pay for a new compressor and the labor to install it, it costs more than a new refrigerator, unless you’re talking about a model worth over $2000 in today’s dollars, which I won’t likely buy ever.
The Good News:
- I have a spare in the garage to keep the food until we can get a new refrigerator today (Lowe’s opens at 6 a.m.)
- I have a chest freezer
- We didn’t lose any food because of the spare refrigerator and chest freezer
- A new refrigerator the right size is on sale at Lowe’s for $763 (plus tax), so that will come to $832; regular price on the same model is $898 before taxes
- I just got a refund of my escrow account from my attorney, and it will more than cover the cost of the new refrigerator, so I don’t even have to hit the baby emergency fund
- Delivery will be today or tomorrow
- Delivery, installation and removing the old fridge are fully covered by a rebate
Why not bring the refrigerator in the garage inside and use it? It’s too small, very old and still really dirty, even though I’ve cleaned it with everything I can think of. I’m a chemist, so my range of cleaning chemicals is pretty broad. I bought it used for $50 years ago for brewing beer and storing soft drinks (when we could afford such things).
Hello, Murphy.
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Why not just get a slightly used one? A used appliance store, craigslist, or even ebay (local) could be good sources of fridges for less than $200. Then the rest of that money could be used to pay off some of that debt you owe.
Comment by cathiemae | January 17, 2008
I looked at the classifieds in the online version of the paper and craigslist locally. If I could have found one only a year or two old for a couple of hundred dollars, that would have been great. The slightly used ones readily available around here are as much as a new one.
Because there is still a lot of construction ongoing from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, used appliances are selling like hotcakes around here at premium prices compared to what you can get new. Lowe’s, Home Depot, and Sears have cut their prices here to compete with the used market.
I have no way of getting a used refrigerator from where ever it is to my house and getting the old one removed. I don’t know anyone who is physically capable of moving one. The last time I had to have stuff moved I had to call a local moving company to do it, and it wasn’t cheap.
It’s easier for me to make the money back quickly than to try to get a used refrigerator. I’m adding at least 3 hours a week to my tutoring schedule, and I’ll have the difference paid back to me in less than 8 weeks.
As I’ve said before, $700 isn’t going to make even a small dent in my total debt picture. Please read my previous posts about it. I’m working hard on finding a new vocation that I can turn into a large salary that will make a dent in what I owe.
Comment by joubess | January 20, 2008