We bought an upright deep freezer!!!!!

AprilZ81

My expense reimbursement finally came through this week ($350 and another $150 coming in the next week or so) and since that money was already taken out of savings we decided to put that towards a new deep freezer that I've been wanting for a few years now.

Our original plan was to do a scratch and dent purchase, but they didn't have a great selection and everything they have was a frost free appliance (sounds great, but the constant defrost cycles are what gives your food freezer burn) so I took a look at new ones.  I found a 17.3 cubic foot Kenmore freezer on sale for $499 and free delivery online and I went to my local Sears store yesterday to check it out in person to see the size.  My brain can't compute what 17.3 cubit feet looks like!

The size is what I was looking for so I went ahead and bought it and it will be delivered on December 28th!  My goal is to be able to leverage sales of meat, cheese and bread to help reduce our grocery budget and to make foods in bulk (pasta sauce, meatloaf, lasagna, etc) to have easy dinner options available when I don't want to cook or haven't had a chance to get to the store.  

I put a food saver on my Christmas list, if Santa doesn't bring it I will probably make the purchase myself so we can get more bulk meat at Costco and divide it up.

I'm so excited!!!!!  Even though I know our grocery budget is likely to go up a little the next few months as we gradually build up our stosck I know this will be great in the long run.

als1982

We love our freezer! I come from a farm family, so we usually get meat as gifts throughout the year, so it's nice to have. As long as you always know what you've got stored there, using it to stock-up during sales will result in significant savings - and less trips to the store!!

CuriousKiddosMama

That is awesome! I love our deep freezer. We save a lot on groceries by having it I'm sure.

hoffse

I asked for a foodsaver for my birthday, lol - that thing is awesome.  Right after getting it we made our first big meat purchase at Costco (steak), and it saved us a lot of money.  We froze two steaks per package to save the bags. It worked great!  I'm officially obsessed with that thing, and I gave it the place of honor in one of my cabinets, lol.

We have a chest freezer that came with the house.  Not as great as an upright, but it is SO much better than the dinky little freezer we had at our apartment.

blondie42107

We love our deep freeze! H grew up on a farm so occasionally his parents gift us beef. Right now we have beef and venison in ours. We get frozen veggies from Sam's, extra bread. In the fall I made lots of zucchini bread (thanks to our garden) so extras go in there. I make lasagna, soups, etc and always put some in the freezer. After I had each of my kids and returned to work, I exclusively pumped. All long term stored breast milk went in there (as recommended). Deep freezers are heaven! We're planning to get another one once we're in a bigger house.

vlagrl29

we love ours too.  Have had it since 2010.  Its great to store our extra meat and bread in.

dragonstarjk

We couldn't survive without our upright freezer!  H keeps it stocked full of meat from all of his hunting trips.  We buy pork and chicken, but never have to buy beef!

It sounds like you might have bought the same one we got a few years ago

Erikan73

I loved that we did that. I got an upright too because it's easier to see what we have. I'm a bit OCD when it comes to organization that we dedicated one shelf to beef, one shelf to pork, and one to chicken. The veggies go in the drawers. I love being able to take advantage of buying meat in bulk and then using our vacuum sealer to put the food in portions that are right for us. We also watch for deals on freezer packages from local butcher shops. Even with it being just two of us, we get a lot of use out it. It also allows us to stock up on frozen tv dinners/breakfasts when they are sale. I know they aren't always the healthiest option but when you are in a hurry in the morning and trying to pack your own breakfast & lunch to save money, it's a great resource. And hey, it's cheaper and usually healthier then picking something up along the way.

brij2006

Awesome, and that's a great price!

Can I ask, were you finding that Sears had a better price online than you could find anywhere else?

We're in the market for a new upright deep freezer (the one we have is from 1982 and freezer burns everything in it), but I'm trying to watch and wait for sales.  

The free delivery thing you talk about, has me thinking more about using Sears.  Our local mom and pop places charge $50 for delivery.

Oh and you will love the option of buying things in bulk.  I find our chicken on sale usually once every other month.  We buy no hormone chicken, so it's expensive.  But I love that I can spend $40 on the chicken and then separate it out and freeze it into portions just for us.

julieanne912

Yay!  A big freezer like that is our next big purchase probably.  We received a Food Saver for the wedding as well, so I'm ready to go!  I love to buy in bulk, we just don't have the room for it.  I'd like to buy a quarter or half cow if possible, and the local 4H sells their pigs for a ridiculously low price per pound (like $1.49/lb).  

Side note:  If you buy your Food Saver at Costco, you can return it at any time.  I was behind a lady who was returning hers that she bought four (?!?!) years earlier, because it stopped working. They took it back and refunded her no problem.  Costco also puts the food saver and the bags on a really good sale about twice a year.  

brij2006

....and now I want to add a foodsaver to my Christmas list.

AprilZ81

brij2006 said:

Awesome, and that's a great price!

Can I ask, were you finding that Sears had a better price online than you could find anywhere else?

We're in the market for a new upright deep freezer (the one we have is from 1982 and freezer burns everything in it), but I'm trying to watch and wait for sales.  

The free delivery thing you talk about, has me thinking more about using Sears.  Our local mom and pop places charge $50 for delivery.

Oh and you will love the option of buying things in bulk.  I find our chicken on sale usually once every other month.  We buy no hormone chicken, so it's expensive.  But I love that I can spend $40 on the chicken and then separate it out and freeze it into portions just for us.

I haven't been price shopping over a large period of time, but Sears was several hundred dollars cheaper this week while I was looking.  The Sears Outlet (scratch and dent options) wanted $80 for delivery and the price was about the same as a new model for the features I wanted.

The unit I got was a manual defrost, 17.3 cubit feet with fixed shelves.  It was normally $750 and on sale for $499 plus tax with free delivery.  I only went to the store because I wanted to see it in person to make sure the size was what I wanted.  They also had one at 20.3 cubic feet with adjustable shelves for $560ish, but I couldn't justify spending the extra money until I know we will fully utilize it.  I felt the size we got is big enough that we won't outgrow it immediately but not so big it wastes energy and takes up too much space in our garage.

short+sassy

Congrats!  I bought a chest freezer a couple months ago.  Honestly, it's only my H and me, so it will take us a long time to recoup the costs of saving on food.  But I primarily bought it for the convenience and fewer trips to Costco/grocery store.  I no longer have to put items I want back because "shoot, that will be too much in the freezer".

I had a former boss who, in his kitchen, had a 25 cu/ft. refrigerator and 25 cu/ft. freezer next to each other.  As in, they were each their own appliance, they were not one appliance.  I don't even need 50 cu/ft. of refrigeration...but it was a sight to behold and now I want it, lol.

jessica490

Nice! Best thing ever!