My syndicated Super-Couponing Tips column for the week is entitled “Double up on freezer space to store deals.“
Here’s an excerpt:
“I am considering purchasing a second freezer. I’d like your thoughts on whether this is worth the investment and if the costs of it will save me money in the long run. I’m thinking it would be nice to stock up on meats and other frozen foods.”
Read this entire column at the Napa Valley Register.
My Super-Couponing Tips column appears in newspapers around the country to a weekly readership of over 20 million people! Learn more about my column’s syndication at this link.
Miss a column? Here’s an archive of all of my past columns I’ve shared on the blog.
wolverine70 says
One thing to note though, most freezers aren’t garage ready. If one intends to keep theirs in the garage, they should consider getting one specifically labeled as such. While it costs more, so does losing all that great food, bought on sale and/or with coupons should the unit fail. Also, chest freezers are no longer made in the US. The quality leaves much to be desired. I suggest that everyone get in the habit of checking theirs at least every 3-4 days to avoid a loss of food when the compressor fails. Sadly there just aren’t many serviceable components in freezers today (unless you have an older one), so you will likely be replacing it every 5 years or so. You’ll generally have to pay something to recycle this one. My utility doesn’t take them as part of its eco-cycle program. It used to, but the recycle value has gone done. These programs also generally require the unit to still be operating in some form or fashion. Finally, it’ll cost about $30 a year to run an additional freezer. Just make sure your savings are worth it when considering if adding another one. If you can find the kind of deal Jill did, with the free food, it’s a no brainer.
Coupon Maven says
Wolverine, I’ve heard and read that for years – my Jewel freezers (I actually have two – one from 2008 and one from 2009) are side by side in the garage where they’ve lived since they came home. They are both working fine 12 and 11 years later..! They hardly run in the wintertime at all.
Both were purchased during the days when the freezer sold for around $150 and came with $150 worth of free frozen-food coupons, so they were such great deals that I honestly didn’t care if the life had been diminished by being in an unheated garage. Still going strong! :)
It is definitely great advice to check them every few days to make sure the light is still on and that they’re still cold.
J.R. says
A freezer shouldn’t have a problem in a garage.
It’s the low and mid range freezer on top REFRIGERATORS that won’t work in the garage. They have a single compressor and refrigeration unit that cools the freezer only, and they depend on convection to cool the refrigerator. The temperature sensor is in the fridge.
Put one in a garage when it’s say 35 degrees outside, and the fridge thinks it’s fine and doesn’t need to run the unit. Meanwhile all your frozen food thaws.
I’ve seen some units specifically designed for the garage. They probably have separate compressors and systems for the fridge and freezer. And they start at around $1000!
J.R. says
Second tip: when replacing a refrigerator or freezer here in the Chicago metro area, ComEd has rebates for energy efficient product. They will also PAY YOU $50 for getting rid of the old unit. The old unit has to be ‘working’, but that just means cold, not necessary cold enough to keep your frozen foods frozen. When mine was failing 10 years ago, it was still cold enough to satisfy the crew that picked it up.
Coupon Maven says
This is a great tip – thanks for the reminder! We did the rebate on the new fridge but at the time didn’t realize they would have paid us to take the old one out too.