How to save half a week's pay

Well, maybe a little less than that.

We missed out on the Texas energy appliance rebate. That's quite the scandal, and an entirely different subject.

But I decided we should probably replace our old refrigerator. It came with the house almost 13 years ago. It's not highly efficient, and it doesn't have ice and water dispensing.

So, I looked around, read reviews, etc., and found a Whirlpool side-by-side we liked. It's going price was $850.

However, a lot of stores were having an Earth-Day sale, 10-15% off.

Conn's had it for $799.99.

Best-Buy had it for $769.99.

Home Depot had a black version (but we wanted white) for $729.99.

We found the Kenmore version of it (same refrigerator exactly, just a changed nametag) for $657.99.

However, after a day of checking, we found it at Lowe's for $709.99 less a 10% discount, or about $635.00. And that's where we got it.

So, a day of shopping saved us about $215. By the way, almost none of those prices agreed with the stores' websites. Almost all had them listed for more.

Good for you. The lesson here is to shop around!!

It obviously pays to shop around, but you'll have saved more than half a week's pay in the long run. We've had a "smart" electric meter that allows us to monitor individual appliances since early 2009, and replacing our old fridge/freezer combo bought in '93 shaved a few euros off our monthly bill. Energy efficiency standards have improved incredibly.

Most stores will match a price as long as it's on sale the same week ;-)

Originally Posted by Crazyforinfo

Most stores will match a price as long as it's on sale the same week ;-)

Click to expand...

True...but you usually have to have proof of the actual price.

Best Buy matched Home Depot's price on our washer and dryer.

You definitely have to shop around. We had to buy a new tv a couple of years ago, and needed a piece of furniture to set it on. We must have gone to half a dozen stores, comparing sizes and prices and features. In the long run, it was actually more difficult finding a tv stand we liked for a price we liked.

Originally Posted by mrblanche

True...but you usually have to have proof of the actual price.

Best Buy matched Home Depot's price on our washer and dryer.

Click to expand...

Very cool! You did great btw.

We actually mentioned in several places the lower prices we had seen elsewhere. I would guess most of the stores were close to cost, because none of them volunteered to match.

They rarely volunteer to pricematch, you have to ask them to price match and have a printed website page or flyer with a date on it for them to do so - I had one manager tell me that their cost was higher than that but was willing to honour their price matching policy anyway

Many stores also have a scanning code of practise, where if the price scans higher than they advertise, you get it for free or a % off but they don't volunteer that info either

Well, on our washer and dryer, Best Buy matched as soon as we mentioned we had seen them for a lower cost at Home Depot.

But it's good to try. I wonder if they'd accept a photo of the price tag at the other store?

When I sold appliances at Sears I would use the pictures people took with their cell phones for the price match guarentee. It doesn't hurt to try. Nice sale!!! We ended up getting my new tv for quite a bargain after visiting several different places. It's only a 32 inch tv, but we saved $60 off the asking price