Having recently moved into a new apartment that—shock, horror!—does NOT have a microwave included in the kitchen setup, I’ve been fiending hardcore. It sounds silly, because I never cook anything in my microwaves, and really only use it for the most basic purpose of reheating food, but when you don’t have access to that 30-second zap for your coffee that’s gone cold, you really start to appreciate how handy the darn thing is.
Thus began my quest to find a new microwave for less than $100.
Being a frugal sort, I was sure I had paid around $30 for a microwave, somewhere in my not-so-distant past. I clicked around online trying to figure out where one might procure such an inexpensive specimen, with little luck. Target’s cheapest item was a Sunbeam, which I deemed still too expensive at $49.99. Fifty bucks for 0.7 cubic feet of cooking space? That seems a bit overpriced, based on size alone, don’t you think?
I was sure I could do better, and clicked over to WalMart.com. Shockingly, their cheapest version was an off-brand I wasn’t familiar with called Haier, similarly small at 0.7 cubic feet. Seriously? This was the best my go-to discount stores could do?
I was beginning to lose hope, when I randomly thought to check BestBuy.com. And there it was: my $30 microwave! Well, $29.99, to be exact. Same size as the others, a recognizable brand—Oster—and I could even check nearby stores to make sure it was in stock before wasting money on gas. Brilliant! I found one in South Austin, motored over and had a friendly sales dude grab it off a high shelf for me, no problemo.
If you’re in the market for a new or replacement microwave, at only 30 bucks you really can’t beat this deal. You can throw in a 2-year protection plan for $20, if you think it’ll help prevent you from having to buy another $30 microwave a year later, too, although personally I’d skip it. (Consumer Reports says the “extra protection” these extended warranties claim to offer aren’t really worth the price.)
A $30 microwave; I knew it was out there, if only I could find it. Thank Al Gore for inventing the Internet!
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Tags: $30 microwave, Al Gore invented the Internet, Best Buy, Consumer Reports says extended warranties not worth the cost, Haier microwave, inexpensive microwaves, Oster microwave, Steals and Deals, Sunbeam microwave, Target, Walmart
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