Whatever the thing is that puts folks on to buying "in things" I missed out on. I see lots of folks living well beyond their means and then complaining about it. I've got one relative who comes to mind. She "
has to have" the latest and greatest whatever. She's always broke and complaining about life being unfair. As far as I can tell she's basically miffed that she wasn't born the Queen of England, but that's her problem.
There's always buying a used, oldie, but goodie. Most independent appliance stores have anppliances all repaired and ready to go, some with warranties. I had a friend who made a living hauling away old appliances, and repairing those that were fixable, and selling them. When vintage stoves and refrigerators became "in" he did really well.
When I was starting out, I liked buying and having older items. They were easy to service and the parts weren't expensive, and it made me feel good to keep something going. I can remember buying a used kitchen aide for $1.5 and spending another $2.97 on a speed control board to bring it back to new. We had that for decades. My best toaster is over 100 years old, fast, accurate, and reproducible. My drill press is over 80 years old, if you don't count the VFD that I added.
Much as I would love to have a 1920's GE vintage sulfur hexafluoride refrigerator, with the top mounted compressor, I will say that refrigerators, washers, dryers, and even electric (induction) stoves have become much, much more energy efficient over the years. Cost/yr of ownership can be something to pay attention to... A Sub-Zero would never pencil out for me if I bought it new, even some of the ultra high efficiency models aimed at the off grid and marine markets don't pencil out here.
All the best,
Peter
[/QUOTE
Whatever the thing is that puts folks on to buying "in things" I missed out on. I see lots of folks living well beyond their means and then complaining about it. I've got one relative who comes to mind. She "has to have" the latest and greatest whatever. She's always broke and complaining about life being unfair. As far as I can tell she's basically miffed that she wasn't born the Queen of England, but that's her problem.
There's always buying a used, oldie, but goodie. Most independent appliance stores have anppliances all repaired and ready to go, some with warranties. I had a friend who made a living hauling away old appliances, and repairing those that were fixable, and selling them. When vintage stoves and refrigerators became "in" he did really well.
When I was starting out, I liked buying and having older items. They were easy to service and the parts weren't expensive, and it made me feel good to keep something going. I can remember buying a used kitchen aide for $1.5 and spending another $2.97 on a speed control board to bring it back to new. We had that for decades. My best toaster is over 100 years old, fast, accurate, and reproducible. My drill press is over 80 years old, if you don't count the VFD that I added.
Much as I would love to have a 1920's GE vintage sulfur hexafluoride refrigerator, with the top mounted compressor, I will say that refrigerators, washers, dryers, and even electric (induction) stoves have become much, much more energy efficient over the years. Cost/yr of ownership can be something to pay attention to... A Sub-Zero would never pencil out for me if I bought it new, even some of the ultra high efficiency models aimed at the off grid and marine markets don't pencil out here.
All the best,
Peter
[/QUOTE
