VITAMIX = $400 Consumer Splurge or Investment in Health? 4

After much research, deliberation and checking online, I decided to pickup a Vitamix blender. For those of you who may not know, the Vitamix is no ordinary blender. No, it’s a standard blender on steroids with a 2 HP motor propelling its four-pronged blade mechanism up to 240 MPH of slicing, dicing, pureeing, and vegetable annihilating power. Better yet, the Vitamix comes with a 7 year full warranty and is made in the USA. Everyday heavy use of the standard cheap blender will render it useless in short order while the Vitamix has gained the acclaim and reputation (and ability to charge $400 and up for its product) from its hallmark of durability.

 Vitamix 5200

Despite its reputation of quality and durability, I still struggled with this purchase. After all, a $400 blender is teetering into the consumerism zone. To try and mitigate the cost, I looked into used options on craigslist. The reasonably priced ones on Craigslist were circa 1974 and were still $250 and up. Rather than purchase a 25+ year old blender without a warranty for over $200, I opted for the brand new 5200 model from Costco for $375 equipped with accessories and a full coverage seven year warranty. Costco also offered the same blender plus a couple extra gadgets and gizmos including two extra recipe books and an extra container for $500, but I didn’t view these items worth the extra $125 expense when I can surely create tasty recipe combinations on my own and identify quality recipes online.

 I justified this large expenditure because I will plan on using the Vitamix daily. This planned heavy use would destroy lesser appliances, saving me from having to purchase a new blender yearly in exchange for plunking down $400 once to last a lifetime. Investing in quality and spending extra is the reasonable thing to do in circumstances where the item will be frequently used. Furthermore, I evaluated this purchase as an investment in my health. I enjoy and frequently make fruit smoothies after workouts which are a chore to produce with my current handheld blender.  Also, I eat a fairly healthy diet, but I need to incorporate more vegetables specifically cruciferous green veggies into my diet. The Vitamix makes it very simple to add spinach, kale, zucchini, celery and other greens to a fruit and ice mixture pulverizing a tasty drink containing several servings of vegetables and key nutrients in a single glass.

The Vitamix seems like a versatile device. I have made products including juices, smoothies, soups, and even used it to dice up a few onions for some chili in the snap of a finger. It was impressive that churning my soup mixture on high levels for five minutes created enough friction with the blades to fully heat my soup mixture so much so that it was steaming hot. There is a lengthy list of courses and potential recipes that can be whipped up in the Vitamix from appetizers, juices, entrees, soups, desserts, and alcoholic beverages which create the potential for more use of the appliance.

I view health, nutrition, and fitness as areas that I am okay with spending money on and investing in. After all, nothing can be substituted for good health. Time will tell if it proves a wise investment, but I have greatly enjoyed the products I’ve created with the Vitamix so far and its ease of destroying anything that I throw at it. My investment was reduced also as I split the costs with my girlfriend and went partners on the purchase as we are both health-conscious, and she was equally enthusiastic about the Vitamix. Also, I just received my 2012 rebate from my Costo American Express Rewards credit card, and plunked down the proceeds ($110) against the Vitamix purchase so ultimately my real cost on the machine was less than a $100 after factoring in the splitting of cost and application of the Costco Rebate check.

What are your thoughts? Feel free to call me out if this is too much of a consumerist purchase or let me know if you have Vitamix and what your experience is.

 

4 thoughts on “VITAMIX = $400 Consumer Splurge or Investment in Health?

  1. Reply Mr. 1500 Mar 20, 2013 12:45 pm

    Ha, I see these things demo’d at Costco every weekend. While I don’t own one, I’ve sampled their work frequently. Dixie cup fruit smoothies, woo!

    Spending big money on something like this is something I debate all the time. For example, we bought a cheapo vacuum about a year ago and this morning, it broke. That got me wondering if I should have paid triple the money for the Dyson. I still don’t know.

    I do like that your new blender is made in the US. One of the things that really turned me off about the Dyson was that they’re made in China (dude, you sell $500 vacuums and you can’t make them in the US or your native UK!?!).

    Bottom line is that most of the time, I’ll pay extra for quality and for stuff made in the homeland.

    • Reply Net Worth Snowballa Mar 30, 2013 9:04 am

      Oh yes, you have to love those free sample Sundays at Costco! Those fruit smoothie samples have probably made millions for vita-mix.

      I too tend to pay a premium for quality, especially for made in the USA products. It was still a mental struggle to decide if I really needed this item given the exorbitant cost, though.

  2. Reply Francesca May 11, 2013 4:08 pm

    In Australia mine cost $1100,worth every cent….I use if for everything,but please remember to always put the lid on…I am still cleaning up green smoothie months later!

    • Reply Net Worth Snowballa May 12, 2013 8:01 pm

      Thanks for reading, Francesca!
      Mine has been great thus far, and I have used it every single day for the past several months. Thanks for the tip about the lid and sorry you had to learn the hard way. The only time I didn’t securely fasten it was when I was running hot soapy water through it so that wasn’t a real catastrophe for cleanup.

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