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We pay $100 a year for our executive Costco membership. It was great in Seattle, when we had five or six Costco’s within a half hour of our home. But in central Kentucky we now have the one in Louisville which is about 90 minutes away.

But it’s still good. We go there every few months for stuff we need and I use the costco AMEX card to buy all my gas for my job that is 62 miles from my house. We get extra cash back for gas purchases. I just got the check for last year’s purchases: ~$450.

I am a big fan of “buying smart”, which takes a bunch of things into account.

1) What is your total buying budget? If you are under budget for one buying period, can you afford to be somewhat over budget for the next one? That is, what is your budget +/- margin?

2) You can save a ton o’ money if you comparison shop at more than one store. Doing this just once should give you a blanket idea of what to buy where.

3) Store brands are often identical to name brands, and it is often worth it to change your tastes if they aren’t. Things like brand name boxed dry cereal and soda are a ripoff, so shop for sales on top of lower store prices or generic knockoff brands.

4) Get a vacuum storage device and learn how to Sous Vide cook meat. Advantages: lower price cuts taste better than expensive restaurant cuts; you can buy in bulk, cook and freeze; the meat is cooked perfectly every time, so is neither raw and spoiled or burned shoe leather. If you don’t want to buy a Sous Vide cooker, use a candy thermometer and check the temperature every five minutes for two or three hours. Here is a good primer:

http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/03/how-to-sous-vide-steak.html

5) Screen your coupons. Even with coupons, brand names are often still more expensive than house brands. Some stores double or triple coupons up to a dollar sometimes. Sales can be seasonal, by the store manager, remaindered items, loss leaders, or ordered by the parent corporation, which can result in ridiculously low prices.

Yes, buying a gallon of mustard when you only want about a pint seems ridiculous, unless the gallon costs less than the pint.

Salvage titled cars are supposed to be junked out but that is not how it always works.

In this area, wrecked and flooded cars are considered “Totaled” and are given a “Salvage” title and sent to salvage companies in Missouri for parting out.

The company takes these cars, rebuilds them and runs them down into Arkansas where, for $50.00 they can get a perfectly clean title.

Then they are sold through car lots and auction houses.

We had an interesting case not long ago.
A man bought a car in Missouri getting his loan through his credit union. They held the title.

He failed to keep up payments and had the car towed to an impound lot. After 30 days the car became the property of the car impound lot.

The lot owner pulled the car down into Arkansas, and placed it on a lot there for sale with no title.

The Arkansas lot owner got a $50.00 clear Arkansas title and sold the car to a local man who borrowed money from HIS Arkansas credit union to purchase it.

The Credit union holds his Arkansas title.

The Missouri credit union found where the car was and repossessed it.

Now the man who bought it still is paying his Arkansas credit union while trying to find his car in Missouri that the Missouri credit Union has sold elsewhere.

What a mess!