I broke one of my rules today...
December 17, 2010
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I actually got a credit card!
Not only did I do that, but I paid $100 for an executive membership at Costco instead of $50 for the regular membership, even though I live a good 20 miles away and have shopped at a Costco maybe twice before under a family member's membership.
Now before the people that know me start to chastise me, hear me out.
I joined because I was buying 12 of these for family and friends as Christmas presents. They were $20 to $50 cheaper than I could find anywhere else. They also included a free Bluetooth adaptor (a $30 value). So in total I was saving $600 to $960 by buying at Costco. Most of you will chime in that I could get the same savings with the regular membership and you would be right, but...
The lady at the counter explained that with the Executive membership, I get 2% cash rewards on my purchases. ($47.66) Ok, so it less than paid for itself, but I thought while I'm here I'll buy some groceries and I'll make it a point to come back sometime later this year to make sure It was a worthy investment. Then I come across this while shopping. I saved another $700 by buying it at Costco. I also got another $60 in rewards. I probably saved another $20 in groceries and got another $2 in rewards. Outside when I was leaving I noticed that Gas was 11 cents cheaper than where I live and I was fairly close to empty. 20 gallons times 11 cents = another $2.20 and 4 more cents in rewards.
Now I haven't talked about the credit card. It has no annual fee. They give me a $25 credit for signing up. I get an additional 1% on my purchases at Costco. I also get 3% rewards for gas, 2% at restaurants, and 1% everywhere else. So I got another $23.88 on the Telo purchases, $30 on the bedroom set, about a buck on the groceries, and 58 cents on the gasoline.
Last but not least!!!! The reason that I bought all those Telos to begin with was to help my friends and family break from a government sponsored monopoly. The telcos aren't charging you a responsible price. Most of you are paying an average of $30 a month for your phone line. With these devices, you pay about a $1.00 a month to cover government taxes and 911 service.
So the plan that I profess, to live below your means and invest the rest, gets a whole lot easier! My friends and family have $348.00 less in annual obligations. That is money that they can invest in their prosperity. I am really excited when I can give out gifts like this because most of the feedback that I get from my plan is that it's too hard. This makes it easier!
So lets sum things up with a dollar value...
$600 to $960 savings on the Telos.
$47.66 dollars in executive rewards.
$700 savings on the bedroom set.
$60 in rewards for the bedroom set.
$20 in grocery savings.
$2 in rewards on groceries.
$2.20 in savings on gas.
58 cents in rewards on gasoline.
Then with the card...
I get a free $25.
$23.88 rewards on the Telos.
$30 rewards on the bedroom set.
$1 rewards on the groceries.
$1.74 rewards on the gasoline.
I saved between $914.06 to $1274.06 to help my friends and family save $4716 a year.
This has to be my best Christmas ever!!!
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