I have proudly joined the legions of happy Instant Pot users. I got one for Christmas and it hasn’t found it’s way off my kitchen counter since then. It has been a complete life saver in many cases and it has really changed the way I cook. We are even considering buying a second one so we can double time it here. I can honestly say I have not been this enthusiastic with a kitchen appliance purchase since I bought my first slow cooker over 10 years ago. I bet you are wondering how I use it and why you should get one, too. Here are some ways how an Instant Pot can save you money and how to get an Instant Pot for cheap.
How an Instant Pot Can Save You Money
Instant Pots are a game changer for meal planning- If you meal plan, bulk cooking is one thing you are probably already doing, but you are probably spending more time in the kitchen than you wish, even if it does save you time later. Before I got my Instant Pot, I used my slow cooker to cook all of my meat for the week and this took time and I was very limited on how much I could cook at once. Now that I have my Instant Pot, I can cook chicken from frozen in it in less than 35 minutes. This means I can cook more in a much shorter time. (for more batch-cooking tips, check out my post on how to save time in the kitchen when batch cooking)
You can make large batches of things you buy and freeze for later- Instead of buying small cans of soup or jars of spaghetti sauce, I can make it in my Instant Pot and then freeze it for later in single or meal size portions. Most things can be made from scratch to finish in less than 1/2 hour so this means I can make lots of stuff in a very short amount of time.
You can make bone broth in a jiffy- If you have ever tried to buy bone broth, you know it is expensive. You can make it very easily in the Instant Pot in way less time than it takes elsewhere and still get the benefits. I like this recipe for Easy Bone Broth from Raising Generation Nourished.
It is energy efficient- The Instant Pot uses up to 70% less energy than ovens. If you do a lot of cooking, this could mean large savings for you when it comes to your energy bills.
You will make cooking convenient again and save money by not eating out- I used to admittedly eat out a lot before I started meal planning and now I eat out far less. With the Instant Pot, it makes meal planning far too easy so I have no excuses now!
How to Get an instant Pot for Cheap
Want to know my secret for getting an Instant Pot for over half off? I shop the Warehouse Deals section of Amazon! During certain times of the year such as Black Friday or Prime Days (for example) they prices drop even more than the great deals there. To get to the Warehouse Deals section of Amazon, just scroll all the way to the bottom and click on Warehouse Deals.
Currently, as I write this post, the Instant Pot is $76.00 in Warehouse Deals. This is still about $20 off the normal price. There is also a “used” section of Amazon that you can often find good deals in as well, but I have found you have to be careful there as many merchants just charge more for shipping.
The Warehouse Deals really aren’t anything to be worried about. the Instant Pot I got through them was still in the original packaging and was only there because the box had a damaged corner. I got mine on Black Friday for $47 with free Prime Shipping!
You can set alerts for when something gets cheaper on Amazon, too, so make sure you do that and jump on it when its at a good price for you.
