Cheap Kitchen Appliances

Most every weekday at lunch time you can find me standing in the kitchenette at work, imploring the microwave to hurry and heat my soup so that I can get back to my desk and enjoy the rest of my lunch hour. My ancestors would be appalled. It only took three minutes for the microwave to heat my soup. Before the advent of microwave ovens, it took at least thirty minutes for my Grandma to open a can of soup and heat it on the stovetop. I know, because I can remember the days before microwave ovens. And it would have taken my Great-Great-Grandma hours to heat food over a cook stove, since she would have had to kindle a fire in the cook stove before using it.

Before you go fork over more money for another cheap kitchen appliance, here are some tips for finding the best appliances for your money:

• Thrift stores. If you don't mind having used appliances, you can find some great bargains at thrift stores. I'm fortunate to live in an area littered with great thrift stores such as The Salvation Army Store, Goodwill, and St. Vincent DePaul. Keep in mind that most thrift stores do not offer a return policy. Basically, once you buy it, it's yours.
• Garage sales. Another good source for cheap kitchen appliances are garage and yard sales. Make sure that you have all of the parts that come with an appliance, however. For instance, one beater bar won't do you much good for a hand-held blender. Also, ask to plug in the appliance and test it before buying.
• Discount stores. You can find brand new cheap kitchen appliances at discount stores. Most discount stores offer the same appliances as major department stores, for a fraction of the cost. Some discount stores are Big Lots, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, and Wal-Mart, just to name a few.

While it's not generally a good idea to shop online for cheap kitchen appliances, since you will end up paying a lot of money for shipping, you can do a little comparison-shopping online before actually visiting the store. For instance, if you're in the market for a toaster oven, you can visit all of the stores mentioned above, and compare their prices to department store prices, all from the convenience of your desktop. You can also look up the phone numbers for the stores to see if the merchandise is in stick so that you won't make a wasted trip. If you don't have a computer at home, you can use a public computer at your local library.