Do freezers really help save money?

Queen-Bee_2

At the moment, I only have a very small (2x shelf) freezer at the bottom of a big larder fridge I inherited with the house I bought.

I need to make some big household savings and am thinking about buying another freezer to supplement the one I already have. It would need to be a small one to fit in my larder, and I am thinking that I might try and get one secondhand to save £££s.

However, before I do this, I wanted to ask OS posters if they think this is a worthwhile investment. I don't have much money at all at the moment, but in the future I need to live a much thriftier life and really cut down on my food bills. Is it worth trying to get a cheap freezer do you think? Any ideas as to where the best place mught be to get one? I live in London.

Any advice etc would be appreciated.

Bitsy_Beans

I couldn't live without my chest freezer. I bulk buy my meat so need plenty of space for that. I also freeze a lot of my left overs or batch cook.

But more importantly if I had to shop more often because I couldn't store extra items in the freezer I'd end up spending more money than I needed to.

Try your local freecycle group - post a wanted ad on there or you might see one on offer. Check often though as these things tend to be snapped up quick!

chnelomi

You will save allot with a freezer. Everyone will tell you the same.
Think of all the times you have a single portion of food left Freeze it.
Grated cheese (££ saved for me) great for sandwiches or last minute macaroni and if it.s whoopsie or special offer savings double,
Bulk buy meats i get cooked meats and freeze in slices good for lunches for 1.
Mince etc i freeze in portions too.
I also chop and freeze veg for cooking(onion celery mushroom parsnip carrott etc) then i have no waste and if i dont get the shops one week i can still make a hearty dinner.
Also making meals for 2 dinners Or more eating one then freezing the other. Saves cooking twice too.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I could only fit in a tiny freezer into the kitchen (or give up the dishwasher or tumble dryer - which was never gonna happen) and in my flat there wasn't anywhere else to fit one. It's a tabletop size, but it is still very useful. I store a bag of petit pois, a bag of sweetcorn, chicken breasts, salmon, coley, fish fingers, a bag of chips, chinese pancakes, a tray of ice cubes, ginger, assorted lollies for the girls and usually have just enough room to fit in a pack of mince or a couple of pies.

Co-op electrical have been the best electricals retailer so far - rapid delivery, pleasant staff, used them several times in the last couple of years. I'd go to them rather than comet, currys, argos or tesco any day.

Garetha

Do bear in mind the running costs of an old freezer.

There's info on this thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=123431&highlight=freezer

nobodyspecial

Any secondhand freezer is likely to be very heavy on energy costs. Only modern energy efficient freezers are really worthwhile, and might save some money. The problem is very small freezers tend not to be energy efficient :rolleyes:

Queen-Bee_2

Hello - does anyone know what a B rating is? Is it much less than an A rating? I am thinking of buying a 2nd hand freezer but it needs to be energy efficient! Thanks,

sandraroffey

whatever size freezer you have, you always need a bigger one!!!!!

i have an upright plus a teeny tiny one that was in the fitted kitchen. i really need to get rid of the upright and get a chest freezer. especially with the wild fruit picking season upon us.

buxtonrabbitgreen

I have a large upright freezer in the kitchen and a small chest freezer in the porch. They are boht nearly always full. I get a lot of bargains at work. Reduced for staff a day out of date type stuff. Also handy for free fruit picking till I decide what to do with it. I also buy large amounts of bottles of milk when cheap like the sainsburys 4 pint for 75p at the moment. If the freezer is not full it is more expensive to run. I used to bulk buy the bread to fill, till I started making my own.

barneydee_2

I know freeze everything I can, where before becoming os It would have gone in the bin after sitting the fridge for a while, I have always got lots of whoopsise bread rolls, milk and butter and cheese. Plus if veg is looking sorry for it self i chop it bag it and freeze it so no waste.;)

Dee

csarina

I now have 3 freezers, all are uprights, one I have filled one with food in case we go down with swine flu. The other two are filled with fruit and veg from the allotment, as will the flu one be eventually. One is in the bottom of the fridge freezer in the kitchen the other two are in the garage. As the one in the kitchen empties I re-fill it from the one in the garage.

I buy meat on offer and store it, because there are only two of us packs of sausage get spit into 4's and frozen in bags, same with 4 pack of pork chops, chicken breasts etc. I also empty things like fish out of their cardboard containers and put them in bags of two as well. Veg also is frozen in packs for the two of us.

I have cheked the running costs and they are all energy efficient although one of them is quite old and will be replaced eventually with a modern one.

Having lived in the apartment for 2 years I cannot understand how we managed to store all the produce, we must have given an awful lot away!!

This year we have outstripped last years potato production of Kestral and I still have part of a row to lift, interested to see what the crop is like under the Nadine