My New Mixer

I have been wanting a Kitchen Aid Artisan mixer for years.  When I worked for a department store, I almost bought one while the sale was good and I had an employee discount.  I just didn't have the money.  In the last few years I have not seen the same kind of deal come up again, and couldn't bring myself to pay the prices I did see.  We just had too many other goals.  This time around, I found the same deal as I did years ago and because of an inventory problem it ended up being even better than planned.  Here is the notice I found on FabulesslyFrugal.com:

KitchenAid Artisan Mixer $141.09 After Discounts!

I didn't believe it.  I wanted to see what the breakdown was.  Here are the steps they listed to get this deal:

Here’s How You Can Get This KitchenAid Mixer for $141.09:

• Start shopping from Ebates for 6% cash back. Don’t want cash back? Start shopping Kohls.com here.
• Add KitchenAid Artisan 5-qt Stand Mixer for $299.99 to your cart.
• Enter coupon code SMS7873 for 20% off. ($299.99 -$60.00 = $239.99)
• Pay $247.49 + tax OOP. ($239.99 + $7.50 Shipping Surcharge = $247.49)
• Get $10 Kohl’s Cash for every $50 Spent (after discounts, before tax). Add at least another $11 worth of items to your cart to get to $about $250 after discounts and get $50 Kohl’s Cash from this purchase. Otherwise, you will get $40 Kohl’s Cash from just the mixer. ($247.49 – $50 Kohl’s Cash = $197.49)
• Submit for the $30 MIR. ($197.49 – $30 MIR = $167.49)
• If you start from Ebates, you will get 6% cash back in your Ebates account within a few weeks. ($167.49 – $14.40 Ebates Cash Back = $153.09)
• If you want to take it even further, the fine print on the Rebate says that you can choose not to get the magazine subscription and submit for a refund of $12.00. ($153.09 – $12 = $141.09)

I don't do ebates, and I would have to pay the amount of the Kohl's cash on SOMETHING.  So, my out of pocket expense was not going to be the end amount, it was going to be the amount before subtracting the Kohl's cash.  However, I knew we needed some clothes for the kids so I figured we would use the money for that.  Here is what actually happened:

I ordered my mixer and two other items so that I could get the full $50 in Kohl's cash.  I was happy as a clam.  Until...I got an email telling me that part of my order had been cancelled, but it would not affect my Kohl's cash amount.  They  had removed the mixer from my order.  I was really upset!  I called to find out why it had been cancelled.  It was because they didn't have the color I ordered.  The deal was still on, though, so I reordered in a different color.  Only, my total was down to $237.69 - not $247.49.  I also earned $40 Kohl's Cash for my new order.  And, the previous email did not lie.  I still had my $50 Kohl's cash from the original order. I was now up to $90 in Kohl's cash. 

Artisan mixer in Blue Willow

I like the one I ended up with...it looks good with my wall color.

I got my mixer and mailed out the forms for both the $30 rebate and the $12 refund of the magazine price.  I was feeling pretty good and looking to get the kids some clothes with the Kohl's Cash I had earned.  So, my total out of pocket at this point was $195.69.  I still needed to go shopping.





When I got to Kohl's, I was not finding anything on sale for the kids.  I did, however, see TONS of clearance items that I had been looking for.  So, I had to change my shopping plan.  I laughed when I saw the end of my receipt that night, "Total $40.98...Total Saved:  $359.46."  I got some good deals.  So, I felt good about how I spent the $90.

My total out of pocket was $195.69, less the Kohl's cash I used to buy other things, my total for the actual mixer was $105.69.  I was very grateful for the deal I was able to get.  I know some of my friends have been looking for a mixer, too.  If you would like to know about those deals, I can pass along any I hear about.