Which Kitchen Gadgets Are Worth the Money?
It can be tricky deciding what deserves to take up space in your cabinets. We've done the math, so you don't have to.
By Lynn Andriani
Ice Pop Maker
Startup cost: $50, plus ingredients
How often you need to use it to make it worthwhile: Daily for a summer. While the main reason to invest in a Zoku Quick Pop Maker is the near-instant gratification (it freezes pops in seven minutes), if you live in a place where it makes sense to slurp a frozen treat every night, you could make a wallet-friendly argument, too. A family of three eating one popsicle a day each would go through about 270 popsicles from the beginning of June through the end of August. Store-bought fruit juice-based pops vary in price, but if you're buying pops that cost $1 each, you'll spend $270 in 90 days. Meanwhile, if that family were making their own, they'd spend about 15 cents on juice per pop. Multiply that times 270 pops and you get $40.50. Once you add the cost of the machine ($50), you're at $90.50. Compare that to the $270 cost of buying them from the supermarket, and there's almost $180 left over at the end of the summer to spend on back-to-school supplies.
How often you need to use it to make it worthwhile: Daily for a summer. While the main reason to invest in a Zoku Quick Pop Maker is the near-instant gratification (it freezes pops in seven minutes), if you live in a place where it makes sense to slurp a frozen treat every night, you could make a wallet-friendly argument, too. A family of three eating one popsicle a day each would go through about 270 popsicles from the beginning of June through the end of August. Store-bought fruit juice-based pops vary in price, but if you're buying pops that cost $1 each, you'll spend $270 in 90 days. Meanwhile, if that family were making their own, they'd spend about 15 cents on juice per pop. Multiply that times 270 pops and you get $40.50. Once you add the cost of the machine ($50), you're at $90.50. Compare that to the $270 cost of buying them from the supermarket, and there's almost $180 left over at the end of the summer to spend on back-to-school supplies.
Published 08/19/2013