How To Get A Berkey For Cheap

Whenever I see this on my counter, I start humming that love song, “At Lasssst…my love has come along…”

Am I total, total NERD?

Why, yes, yes, I am.

But truly, it’s hard to put into words the joy that I get seeing this beauty on my kitchen counter. I have been eying these Berkey Water Filters for years. Many times when I promote something on my blog, I’ve been given it for free. Not in this case. I paid for this puppy with my hard-earned money. I got a good deal on it, and I’m going to share some of the ways you can score one for cheaper, too. But first, WHY would you want a water filter, anyway? Why wouldn’t you just get a $29.99 Brita at Target? I’ll tell you.

Here is why I am in love with my Berkey Water Filter:

• I no longer taste or smell chlorine or mold in my water. (It was either one or the other. Ick with a capital “Ick.”)
• If an emergency happens (and we all know I love a good emergency) we will be able to have safe drinking water. (The Red Cross actually uses these exact filters in emergency situations foreign and abroad.)
• I drink so much water during the day, and it is wonderful to know that I’m not drinking polluted water as well. Because, GROSS~! If you are a nerd like me, here are a few stats on the Berkey, from my Berkey dealer, UES Water. The Berkey unique system “removes:
  • viruses
  • pathogenic bacteria
  • cysts and parasites and extracts harmful chemicals such as herbicides
  • pesticides
  • VOCs
  • organic solvents
  • radon 222
  • trihalomethanes

  My goal is to memorize this list to impress our guests with the delicious, wholesome water they’re drinking.

  The Berkey also reduces rust, silt, sediment, foul taste and odors and unhealthy minerals such as lead and mercury. This system is so powerful it can remove red food coloring from water without removing the beneficial minerals your body needs. Virtually no other system can duplicate this performance.”

  Did you catch the part about how if you put red dye in the filter, the water comes out clear?!?! Are you as impressed as I am?

Obviously these things are awesome. After three years of my longing for a Berkley, my husband and I had a conversation that went like this:

me: “Honey, I feel like we are drinking poison in our water. It tastes disgusting. I’ve had it. I know this isn’t the best time to buy this thing, but I feel like we need it!”

him: “Well, then buy it.”

me: “Are you sure? But what do you think?”

him: “I think I said that already.”

And repeat a few more times, just for good measure. So with the full assured agreement of my husband, we bought it. I could taste the difference immediately, and I did not regret it for one second. Even right before Christmas, even with thousand of dollars of medical bills coming for our little newborn – I am so glad our family has clean, safe water to drink.

Here are a few ideas I’ve had to get a discount, if you are like me and see the value in a Berkey water filter, but want to get a good deal.

How to get one for cheap:

• Scratch and Dent – If you don’t mind a minor imperfection in appearance, this is a great idea.

• Consider the Berkey Light (go here and search for “Berkey Light”), or search for this one
  on Amazon – this is a plastic filter that does the same thing as the more expensive models, but it’s made of plastic, not stainless steel. This would be a great option if you were going to keep your Berkey out of sight anyway.

• Follow Amazon for specials and deals on the Berkey.  Camelcamelcamel alerts you when an certain item has dropped in price.

• Use credit card points or Swagbucks for Amazon points. We have a credit card (CHASE Freedom, that we pay off monthly) that gives terrific reward points directly back in Amazon. We put everything we can on this card, and in a few months could have a significant amount of our Berkey paid for. I did use Swagbucks for awhile and personally I did not care for it, but I know many people such as the Money Saving Mom use and love Swagbucks.

• Watch for coupons and promotions on Retail Me Not. These draw from a variety of vendors, so be sure that you like and feel comfortable with one before using. But there are definitely several promotions that I saw for 5-10% off, free shipping, accessories 50% off (such as additional filters, etc.)

• Follow group sales and co-ops. Okay, this is my favorite, because this is how I purchased my Berkey with a discount. I got an incredible deal on my Royal Berkey, and it is one that you can get, too. I will be participating in another co-op this spring, so you can subscribe to hear about these discounts.
  
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  Do you own a Berkey? Which size would you like?

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