Sometimes you need to replace an appliance in a hurry and that's not much fun. You might not have enough time to research, shop or get the model you really want — we had to wait 4 weeks for this refrigerator to get delivered. There's also a matter of money and whether you can afford to buy a higher end model right now?
This refrigerator only cost us $300 because we got a $1,500 credit for our existing refrigerator, only 3 years old but the freezer was a constant frozen waterfall. My husband gets credit for his perseverance, through 5 service calls – after the second visit, we jokingly said “… see you next week”, but it got old real fast. Finally there were some lengthy phone conversations until we got a credit, including delivery and disposal of the old refrigerator.
Plan and budget home upgrades before there's an emergency
Planning Upgrades for Your Home
We can't predict every way in which a home component will fail so if you're ready to plan out your major home updates, you can budget one project each year and avoid most emergencies. This table lists the most common interior home components you'll need to replace as a homeowner, and you might also want to check the corresponding exterior home component table, Home Components: How To-Plan and Budget For Replacements.
| Home Components (Avg # Yrs) | Recommendations |
Appliances
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Bathrooms
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Kitchens & Laundry Rooms
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Flooring
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Heating & Cooling
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Plumbing
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This is a great list. A few years back, I received a brand-new refrigerator-freezer for free when I took part in a household energy audit sponsored by the Community Development Corp. The high-end unit left by the previous owner burned a lot of energy and was larger than I needed. Such programs may be an option for some homeowners.
Andrew, How cool that you got a new refrigerator and hopefully your old one went to someone who really needed the extra storage capacity. One of the scary things is when people replace their inefficient refrigerators and put the old one in the garage for additional space, i.e. half empty and wasting energy.