Did you enjoy the freeze-dried egg experiment from the Retired at 40 YouTube channel? We’ve got another great video to share. This time, Retired at 40 talks about how long it takes to get the return on your Harvest Right freeze dryer. In other words, how long does it take for it to pay for itself?
In the video, Retired at 40 presents three different user scenarios:
- The Ambitious Prepper who keeps her machine running constantly
- The Frugal Consumer / Farmer / Gardener / Hobbiest (FFGH) who uses his machine 3 – 4 times per week
- The Average Joe who bought a machine because they were curious and uses it about once a week
For the experiment, Retired freeze dried three meals: Eggs, chili, and smoked pulled pork. Here are his numbers:
- 12 pounds pulled pork = $11.88 + $1.80 in energy = $13.68 total cost
- 4 freeze dryer trays of chili = $7.68 + $1.80 in energy = $9.48
- 60 eggs = $7.99 + $1.80 in energy = $9.79
Comparable cost for the same amount of store-bought freeze dried food:
- $92.38 for pulled pork
- $61.14 for chili
- $59.98 for eggs
That’s a total savings of $180.55 for every three cycles of this scenario. Over the course of the year, here’s how it takes our three users to break even on their freeze dryer:
- Ambitious Prepper breaks even in 29.6 days
- FFGH breaks even in 3 months
- Average Joe breaks even in 9 months
Retired at 40 has more wisdom on the intangible (priceless) benefits of freeze drying your own food: Avoiding chemicals and preservatives, unlimited variety, and more.
Watch the whole video here, and be sure to subscribe so you know as soon as his next freeze drying video is out.
