Free Perks that Are Not Worth the Cost of Membership Sign-up or Purchase

Posted on | December 2, 2009 | 2 Comments

As a frugal person, I am all about the free perks. I would never open up a bank account unless the bank was offering me $50 or above for my business. I would never open up a credit card unless a free $100 gift certificate was lurking around the corner. And why should I? My credit is great, I can always live off of cash, and I all ready have existing bank accounts that I could easily use for the next 10-20 years until the next great deal comes along.

But there are some free perks out there that I have found to be completely unworthy of my time and money, and I’d like to share my list with you.

Free Restaurant Gift Certificate with Purchase of Entertainment Book

The Entertainment Book is absolutely fantastic—it is stocked full of useful coupons for your local area, or for an area you will be vacationing in. But to purchase the Entertainment Book (which can be up to $35) just to get the restaurant gift certificate does not make financial sense. Why? Well, the restaurant gift certificate is from restaurant.com, and you can easily buy your own $25 restaurant gift certificate through this site for $2, $4, etc. when there are different sales. Infact, until midnight tonight (December 3, 2009), use code LIST at checkout to receive 60% off of gift certificates.

Here’s another hint: If you wait until part of the year is over to purchase the 2010 Entertainment Book, like maybe around March 2010, then you can find deals to get it for $15, or even free!

Gift to Open Up Bank Account

I have found that most of the time when there is a non-monetary gift to open up a free checking account, such as a tee-shirt, tote bag, etc., then the account has monthly fees on it. Before you sign up for this account to score the freebie, make sure there are no fees, as that Frisbee or tee-shirt could easily cost you over $216 if the account has a $6 monthly service fee, and you keep it open for 3 years. (Check out Get Rich Slowly’s Tale of the $1500 Frisbee).

Also, I would argue that you should open up a bank account at places that will offer you cash instead of a small gift. Wouldn’t you rather have $50-$150 in your pocket than a tote bag? Once again, make sure there are no monthly service fees involved, or know the rules so that you can keep yourself from paying out more than the gift is worth.

Book Clubs

As an avid reader (and living with an even more voracious reader than myself), signing onto book clubs seems like a great idea. After all, you usually start off with 2-4 free books! How great is that?

However, if you look at the terms and conditions of these clubs, and see that in two years you need to purchase another 5 books at prices that are normally around $19.95 each (plus shipping and handling), you will see that it is much more cost effective for you to sign up for free to Border’s Rewards and periodically use their 30-40% off coupons to purchase your books. Or, you can purchase these same books at a discount online at places such as amazon.com.

Free Tickets

I am all about getting free tickets to places: concerts, festivals, etc. But some tickets are not worth it. For example, free baseball tickets from car dealerships are not exactly a free gift because you have to pay for parking, food, beverages, etc., and this can easily add up to $40 or more. We recently received free tickets to the Texas Renaissance Festival, and while the parking was free, it took us an hour and a half to get there! That certainly tacks on gas costs.

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Comments

2 Responses to “Free Perks that Are Not Worth the Cost of Membership Sign-up or Purchase”

  1. Crystal
    December 3rd, 2009 @ 9:49 am

    I read about 100 books a year and the library is the only way I can afford my habit. :)

    Paperbackswap.com has been recommended to me several times, but so far the library has been able to find every book on my list either in its own system or using the Inter-Library Loan program. Plus I request everything online and can swing by and pick up my next load of books in less than 5 minutes (it helps if you have a library close to home as well).

    Thanks for a post to remind everybody to keep things in perpective.

    [Reply]

  2. Daniel
    December 3rd, 2009 @ 10:19 am

    I think the moral of the story is that you should not have to pay to get something for free.

    What do you think about idine.com? It’s free, gives you 5%-20% back on restaurants, so if you’re eating out anyway, why not save something. Add it on to 1-3% back on your credit card, and suddenly the bill just got much smaller!

    [Reply]

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