Some households will have a zero or even negative tax burden, but most will have a tax obligation for the year. This is usually paid at least in part through paycheck withholding or estimated tax payments.
This is also the case for us since we pay Self-Employment tax on blog income. (But… plans are in motion to reduce/eliminate this.)
And I don’t know about you, but if I have to pay some taxes…. I at least better get a ridiculously cheap☆ trip to Hawaii out of the deal.
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In the final months of each year, the Big Sales come out in force. Black Friday! Cyber Monday! Singles Day! (China)
Retailers need to make their sales numbers, and they offer all kinds of bargains* and discounts to get people into their stores. It’s like a circus, a sporting event, and an IQ test all rolled into one.
I can certainly appreciate the desire to pay less for something, assuming you were going to buy it anyway. Personally, paying retail is against my religion.
In this post I review how we routinely get discounts on everything from clothes to coffee to hotels, at a time and place of our choosing. It’s all part of a master plan to Never Pay Retail Again.
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In the last year or so we’ve opened 9 new credit card accounts, 7 in my name and 2 in Winnie’s. We have plans to add several more in short order.
Many of these cards have great benefits in their own right, but the primary appeal is the generous signup bonuses which saved us nearly $10,000 on our recent trip to Europe.
Normally the signup bonus is dependent on spending a minimum amount within a specific time period, e.g. “Spend $4,000 on the new card in 3 months.” Our 9 new accounts came with a minimum spend requirement of $23,500, no small amount.
How does one meet these minimum spending requirements without breaking the bank? Inquiring minds want to know.
I’m a big fan of financial efficiency. If it is possible to get a discount on something I’m going to buy anyway, I’m all for it.
So it isn’t a big surprise when people inquire about call me out for paying annual fees in comments and email.
“Why would you pay a credit card company just for the privilege of making them money?”
“Isn’t it a waste to pay an annual fee when there are so many free credit cards out there?”
“Why would you pay a credit card annual fee? That is just dumb.”
I can certainly relate to the sentiment behind these questions. But if we strip away the emotion and just use the cold hard reason of accounting, it all becomes clear. We pay a fee now with the expectation that we will get something of equal or greater value.
Are these incredible adjectives warranted? Can applying for a few credit cards result in real world pain and suffering? Should we spend more real $ on travel instead of using rewards points?
