I have been feeling a little bad about not saving up enough money by "money not spent" and buying my new bedroom furniture by "cheating" by selling something instead.
However, I woke up this morning in a bedroom that was neat, clean and looks awesome even though it is not finished. I took a shower and opened up the wardrobe after and could see everything I own for clothes before me, and enjoyed picking out what I wanted to wear instead of searching through the overstuffed drawers, crowded shared closet and piles of clean laundry on top of surfaces in the bedroom.
So, yep it was worth the detour, it was "cheating" but it wasn't really because it wasn't "borrowed" money, it was just redirected.
I am sure we are back on track now, and am feeling good about it again.
O.K, yuppers, you are correct that the department store cards are VERY expensive to carry credit over with. But, since you are smart enough to buy something with cash, I'm nuddging you to make some money off of your cash before you part with it. Since you are smart enough to save the cash, you are smart enough to pay your bill in full before the penalty kicks in. There are three ways to make money, earn more than you spend, spend less than you earn and invest. Another way to think of what I said is if the store offers 6months no interest, no payment, then you put the purchase on your card, then you buy a 5month GIC with the cash that you would have used at the teller. I personaly garentee* that if you pay you bill before the due date, you will make money off of the GIC. It sounds risky, but it is not. As a consumer, I say stick it to the big box stores and banks. Hedging your purchases, responsibly, will earn you hundreds of dollars over the course of a lifetime.
ReplyDelete*Lisa's husband's personal garentee does not apply to people who use credit irresponsibly or use this technique and then do not pay their bill before the due date arrives. Lisa's husband's personal garentee also does not apply if a store does not offer a 6month no iterest no payment gimmik to get you to spend money. Lisa's husband's personal garentee has been know to provide higher rates of returns for stores offering one year no interest no payments.
Yes, again I can agree with you. This scheme was very popular a few years ago... but hardly any of the stores are offering the 0% financing now. I also tend to stay away from most box stores (except Ikea because Ikea is more environmentally friendly than most, plus I can actually afford to shop there, and there stuff is different) but I digress, the idea is great if you can find what you want at a store that offers the 0% financing.
ReplyDeleteI like your disclaimers Jeremy, as always, it's about the fine print after the *
That is very true, not all stores offer the %0 offer. I was trying to contribute to the money not spent theme. Lisa and I saved fifty bucks off of our kitchen reno in Edmonton by taking advantage of the 6 months thing. We saved the cash first, then we shopped around for the best deal to finance the project. we then took the cash and put it into a savings account and made the fifty. So, our fourteen hunder dollar reno came in fifty less. I was sold on the idea after that. I find it ammazing that no matter how little money you have, if you have some, someone will pay you to "borrow" it from you. Good work on the blog, Lisa and I are always looking for ideas to make the money that we work hard for, work for us, no matter how little, in return.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly what I am looking for, ideas on how to save money, not spend it and also for bragging about (and confessing) about not spending (or spending). I like to keep it real and talk about when I don't do so great, but also the little things like the fact I did NOT go through Timmies today, that saved me $1 something..
ReplyDelete$50 is a tremendous savings by the way, that is great. I think all too often we round numbers up without thinking about it... like in a kitchen reno - $1400, a lot of people would see $1350 and go 'what's the big difference?'.. and it's even worse the higher you go - like for a house.. it's already so expensive... but that's the WRONG way to think, the $50 is enough to treat your whole family to a take out pizza, and get a movie too. Or fill your gas tank (give or take), or 1/2 a grocery bill... it is a lot. I think we need to go back to thinking like we did in college. Every hour I worked someplace was like "$9 an hour" after one hour that was a pack of smokes! (oops just told on myself there lol) and then the next hour "hey that's enough for some milk, a loaf of bread and some chef boy-o-stuff too!" We need to be accountable for every single dollar we spend if we are ever going to be in complete control of it!