After Over 5 Years With Only A Mini Fridge, Mobile Home Owner Gets A Refrigerator For $150, And The Total With Tax And Delivery Is Just $200

For more than five years, the only fridge in her kitchen was a mini fridge. This week, the creator behind @CareFreeLivingChannel finally got her upgrade, a full-size refrigerator delivered right to the door.

A simple kitchen with white cabinets, a white stove and a full-size refrigerator.

Her video title calls it a mobile home upgrade and a frugal living win. She teased the price from the start and promised to share it at the end, along with what she called an excellent deal.

“We Got To Be Turtle Strong” Before The Big Delivery Day

She calls it her brand new to her refrigerator, and the first job was clearing a path from the front door to the kitchen. That meant laundry, pillows and rugs all had to move. She joked with her sidekick Mr. Turtle that they had to be turtle strong to get it done.

Since the furniture was going to move anyway, she decided to rearrange the living room too. She talked about decorating early for Christmas, wondering where the tree would go, and asked viewers whether they preferred her light rug or the darker winter one.

The next day brought the real work. She needed 24 inches of clearance so she could open each door of the new fridge, and she cleared off a shelving unit that she thinks she can use in another part of the house.

She Moved The Full Mini Fridge Herself, No Help

With nobody there to help, she says she had to move the mini fridge, which was full, on her own. She swung it around, found dust bunnies behind it, and plugged it into an outlet.

“Hey, if you a big girl, you a strong girl,” she said as it all came together. She was on a clock, too. Delivery windows are often four hours long, and then the driver called to say he would be there in 20 minutes.

A Surprise Inside The Box That Made Her Say “This Feels Luxurious”

When the delivery men arrived, she had cleared the path so they could carry the fridge smoothly from the front door into the kitchen. Then came her first look inside.

She pulled off the foam and tape and found a crisper drawer for fruits and vegetables and a deli drawer. The freezer sits at the bottom, behind a door instead of a pull-out drawer. The recessed handle is at the bottom, which she calls a little awkward, but she says she will make it work.

The best surprise was a fancy ice cube tray. You flip it over into the bucket, and a scoop means you do not have to use your hand. She said she was pleasantly surprised by the bonus accessory. Her verdict: “I’m just going to say it. This feels luxurious.” She is already dreaming about iced coffee in the summer.

A Dent, A Cracked Drawer, And A Theory About A Return

She names the model as a Signia 11.5 cubic foot bottom-mount refrigerator. Looking it over, she finds a dent at the top and a crack in a drawer in the freezer. She calls them cosmetic and says she is not worried.

The Best Buy website listed it as brand new. But given the price and the cosmetic damage, she thinks it might actually be a return. Either way, she says she is just glad to have the upgrade.

It was cold when she checked it, and she was happy about that. Then she cleaned it the way the manual instructed, using a warm damp cloth with 2 tablespoons of baking soda in lukewarm water. She wiped the inside, got into the cracks and then gave the outside a once over.

The Price Reveal, Down To The Last Dollar

Then came the number she promised. The sale price for the fridge was $150. Taxes added $9, and delivery was $40, for a grand total of $200.

For someone who spent more than five years working around a mini fridge, it is a big change. She even asked her audience what the right price for a brand new refrigerator on today’s market would be.

Celebrating With Eggs, Potatoes And A Fancy Cheese

Her first meal on the new appliance was homemade. She sliced and sauteed a potato gratin cake, poured three eggs over it, added fancy cheese and topped it with salsa. She said you cannot go wrong with potatoes, salsa and eggs.

The cheese, she admitted, was not Velveeta and had a different flavor. She also loaded the new shelves with butter she had from a food pantry.

Smart Shopping Tips For Your Own Fridge Upgrade

Her story has a few lessons that fit anyone shopping for an appliance, especially on a tight budget.

Measure the path from the front door to the kitchen, and the space itself, before delivery day.
Leave room, as she did, to open every door and drawer fully.
Look over the unit when it arrives and note any dents or cracks right away.
Check the manual for the right way to clean it and when to plug it in.
Compare prices, because her sale price plus tax and delivery came to only $200.

After years of squeezing everything into a mini fridge, she now has a crisper drawer, a deli drawer and a tray of fancy ice cubes. For $200, she says, that is an excellent deal.

Willow and Hearth