BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is hitting our house in 2016 as Ethan heads off to Intermediate. Paying for this is probably a worry that I share with many kiwi families but don’t sweat it as I’m about to share with you my little Gem Visa secret. With 0% interest for 6 months on all purchases over $250*, Ethan’s new Chromebook ($500) will only set me back $83.33 a month (plus fees**) for repayment of my credit within the interest free period! That’s totally do-able! Here’s how easy it is …
Not going to lie, I’m pretty much a Professional Shopper by trade. I mean, no-one ‘hires‘ me to do the shopping for them……but I’ve got skills and I’m happy to share them with whomever is in need of some assistance with their retail therapy. You are welcome! ; )
I began my savvy-shopping journey at age 18 when I realised how important credit was. When I was in dire need of a shiny new thing (my first cell phone – Motorola Flipper, Sony MiniDisk player, Playstation 1……..just the bare essentials of course!) I began to look for interest free specials, purchase using HP and then save like mad and pay the finance off before the interest-free period was over. I only ever had one payment on the go at a time (this is still how I roll) and I made those zero interest specials work for me. Bam. Hello sweet, sweet credit rating. I still shop like this, preferring to keep my (husband’s) hard earned cash in the bank for as long as possible!
There are some big changes ahead for our wee family, and also some fairly sizable expenses. November, December and January see Ethan turn 11, the shopping madness of Christmas and, most importantly, Ethan finishes Primary School and will make the huge transition to Intermediate in 2016. Like everything, this comes at quite a cost. In an effort to spread the load I’ve paid the new school fees early to capitalise on this year’s rate, but yet to come is his uniform plus the purchase of a new device for him to use at school eeeek!
Before we jump in and purchase anything of value I set some clearly defined boundaries;
- What are we comfortable spending? What is our max upper limit? This is good to know because in some instances spending a little more (especially when purchasing tech) can equate to a huge value add.
- How are we paying? I use my Gem Visa. It’s the smart way to pay for purchases over $250 as you get 6 months interest free!*
- Where are we shopping and why? For nerd/$$$ items I love to shop at Noel Leeming because: 1. FlyBuys 2. They price match. Winning. In this instance though, I’m also going to check out Warehouse Stationery as I’ll be spending over $250, so I may as well make the most of the 6 months interest free period* and add some school supplies to the purchase as well!
So to break it down;
- Apply for your Gem Visa
- Make a plan – budget, decide on required device etc
- Visit Warehouse Stationery
- Complete your purchase over $250 to lock in that awesome 6 months interest free deal!*
- Set up automatic payments to avoid any interest charges – yay! You don’t have to do this at all, I just prefer to spread my repayments evenly over the 6 months interest free period : )
So, this week I’ll be talking to Ethan about what he feels comfortable transporting to and from school, I’ll be checking with the Intermediate about their tech expectations and I’ll be window shopping to see what’s out there and how much this little exercise is going to set me back! I know there are tonnes of you guys that are sending kids off to schools next year with BYOD expectations, so, join us next week, when we’ll be going shopping and finding Ethan the perfect device for the next 2 years (AT LEAST!).
Get your own kids Tech Ready and utilise Gem Visa’s awesome 6 months interest free offer on purchases over $250 by applying for your card now at www.gemvisa.co.nz. To help you out even more, I am giving one of you the chance to win $250 to spend at Warehouse Stationery*** Enter by commenting below and watch out for another chance to enter next week. Your entry is confirmation that you have read and agreed to the competition terms as stated here.
*Credit and Lending criteria, $55 establishment fee and $52 annual account fee apply. Prevailing interest rate (currently 25.45% p.a.) applies after 6 months interest free period. Gem Visa is provided by Latitude Financial Services.
**Over 6 months plus fees. Prevailing interest rate of 25.45% applies on expiry of the interest free period.
***The organiser and promoter of this competition is thebestnest.co.nz. Latitude Financial Services is not an organiser or promoter of, nor is it otherwise involved with, this competition.
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