I know I usually tell you to find the cheapest way to buy something, make do with less, or get by with a second hand item. Well, there are some exceptions to that rule. Shoes, Graham crackers, and and produce are a few of the things I rarely skimp on. My biggest exception however are extended care plans. Now, I am well aware that a certain popular radio personality will tell you that these are junk and not to waste your money. But I will tell you a secret…that’s a pretty easy thing to say for someone with an expendable income (i.e. A Rich person).
In my experience- things break. Especially electronics and appliances! After purchasing our 3rd DVD in as many years, we finally got smart and bought our first Geek Squad Protection plan. That same DVD player broke about 6 months later, and we walked in and within about 30 minutes walked out with a brand new, NICER DVD player. The only cost to us was the new protection plan we then purchased for the new DVD player. Guess what? About 5 months later our kids stuffed something inside the new DVD player…back to BestBuy and out again with a new BLU RAY player (back then they were new). I think that time we paid a 25 dollar difference in cost, and the amount for the new protection plan (like 11.99).
Since then we always purchase the protection plan when we are shopping at Best Buy. Sometimes we have needed it- sometimes we haven’t. However, I have never regretted the peace of mind.
My most recent experience has been with my refrigerator. I purchased a brand new fridge almost 2 years ago. It was REALLY EXPENSIVE, and we saved for it for a very long time. Spending an extra 200 dollars on the protection plan seemed frivolous and I was really nervous about the extra money…but I’m really glad I did it! In the past 2 years we have had 7 different parts break on this fridge. And you know what? NONE of them have been a manufacturer defect. They have all been caused by user error (kids swinging on doors, overloading shelves, clogged lines from bad plumbing, etc etc etc. And each time I have called, a friendly, helpful person has quickly and efficiently gotten my information, shipped parts to my house, and scheduled a technician to fix the problem. No cost to me, no questions asked. This has been my experience every single time I have called their customer Service line for any repair. Without fail.
So, the next time you make a major purchase, consider that extra protection. You might just save yourself more money in the long run. Especially if you are at Best Buy.
