Can't Afford to Go Premium?
When I first joined Wealthy Affiliate, money was a little tight, and I felt I could not spare the funds to go Premium. However, as I interacted within the community, I came to realize that Premium had some distinct advantages that I really needed. This caused me to begin to feel badly about my situation, but I felt there wasn’t much I could do about it.
Yet, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the problem was not money—it was a matter of priorities! I needed to get my priorities straight. Let’s face it…we find the money to pay for what we WANT to pay for. How else can you explain the bad, awful habit of smoking—both cigarettes AND the other stuff? How can you explain $5.00 cups of coffee and tea beverages... every day? Or, what about a $50.00 bottle of spirits? Finally, how do you explain $125.00 a month—or more—television?
- The astute among you probably see where I am going with this.
Let’s see, the investment for Premium is $49.00 per month if paying by the month.
1. The average cost of a pack of cigarettes in the USA is $6.37 with NC being the lowest ($4.38) and NY coming in as the highest at $10.45 If you only smoke one pack of cigarettes a day…at $6.37 per pack, you will spend $6.37 X 30-days or $191.10 per month on cigarettes.
Summary:
Average: $6.37 per pack in (USA) ~~ $6.37 X 30 = $191.10 per month
Low: $4.38 per pack in (NC) ~~ $4.38 X 30 = $131.40 per month
High: $10.45 per pack in (NY) ~~ $10.45 X 30 = $313.50 per month
THAT'S ONLY ONE PACK PER DAY!
When I smoked, I consumed 2.5 packs daily! That's a new car payment!
Bottom line: If you smoke, you can afford to go Premium!
2. Many of us swear by our daily addiction to our “mocha choco lattes” or whatever the heck they are called these days! Nothing wrong with that…wait! There IS something wrong with that! They cost almost as much as a pack of smokers! The last time I checked, they were about $4.45 each for a 12oz drink.
- So, at $4.45 X 5-days/week X 4-weeks = $89.00 per month
- Make your own coffee at home for a huge savings!
Bottom line: If you drink Starbucks coffee, you can afford to go Premium!
3. I went into the ABC liquor store about eight months ago to buy some Kahlua. While there, I became curious about the price of Chivas Regal scotch whisky, a brand that I used to drink many a moon ago. I was floored by the sticker price of $51.00 or more, depending on the size of the bottle and the specific “model.”
Bottom line: If you drink alcohol, you can afford to go Premium!
4. One of the first things my wife and I did when I lost my job , and we had to cut expenses was to FIRE our cable TV provider, Direct TV. We were paying about $120.00 per month for awful service and so-so TV programming. I did my due diligence (research) and finally settled on the following:
- Digital antenna ($89.00 – one time cost—no recurring fees)
- Roku streaming device ($69.00—one-time cost—no recurring fees)
- NetFlix ($8.99 per month)
- Hulu ($7.99 per month)
BREAK THE BONDS OF CABLE! 
So, for an initial one-time cash outlay of $158.00 ($89.00 + $69.00) and an ongoing monthly fee of $16.98 ($8.99 + $7.99), we were able to realize a net savings of $120.00 - $16.98 ($103.02) per month.
Bottom line: If you have a cable or satellite bill, you can afford to go Premium!
Perhaps, none of these four situations apply to you. If so, that's a good thing, on the one hand. But, I believe the WA Premium to be a true necessity. If you agree, you'll have to be creative, but you'll have to come up with some way to raise or save the $49.00 per month.
Give me some feedback. Agree? Disagree?
Can you think of some other ways to trim the household budget or raise the funds so you never have to utter those words: "I can't afford to go Premium!"
Recent Comments
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You have said everything I wanted to say, every time some one says they can't afford even a Domain which is pretty darn cheap! It all comes down to priorities! I agree 100%! Priorities come into play with every thing a person spends on. I was approached by a member here, that complained he could not afford a domain, yet he also admitted that he had not held down a job for over 2 years and owned a computer and paid for internet... If you want to accomplish something bad enough, you will find a way to do it or you will find an alternate.
Totally agree :). It's funny how we spend money sometimes. I have to check myself sometimes when, for example, I would easily spend $100 on a meal out lasting a couple of hours... but I might avoid spending $100 on a new premium theme, or something new for my website... Well, I realised that recently and made some changes. We should invest in things that really matter!
Hey, I agree with you. It comes down to what we really want and how bad we want it. If we want something bad enough, we will figure out someway to get it.(some try to get it dishonestly)
If we are to succeed here at WA, sooner or later, an upgrade is necessary.
We can all learn from this and it adds up quickly when our routines devour the need for Starbucks and/or our other routine activities. My husband and I, in January, decided to let our cable go, so we can put more of our attention to work processes and doing other activities. A huge yearly savings of $2,400 and I really do not miss the TV, other than it being a great escape to doing nothing - lol!
So good you know the value of Premium and can now see the benefit!
You got it exactly right, it's all a matter of priority's. There are a lot of times you have to give up one to be able to have the other, depends on how bad you want the other.
I have sort of preached this for years to anybody (family wise) for years, no limit to where you can go if you want it badly enough. Cheers
Wayne
In 2010 I decided I couldn't afford the monthly payment, $37 at the time. I stayed for three months.
More recently I realized there was simply no way to move forward without WA. I was running in place.
When I read the title of this post I instantly thought of all the things you mentioned!
Cheers!
Great advice. I find that my vice is eating. Whether it's going out to eat or going to the store because there's "nothing in the fridge" (There's actually plenty in the fridge, but I just don't feel like eating it.).
I've cut way back on splurging for food and it makes such a difference to my expenses.
For me, it came down to prioritizing what I wanted for my future, so WA is at the top of that list.
Woaaaaaa, Americans really spend a lot of money on TV, I have a subscription to Netflix in France and for me is already too much. I try to cut my time spent on Youtube and Netflix. And believe me, I watch a lot of stuff.
As you said everything is about priorities and human beings are so good for finding excuses for themselves, so they won't feel guilty. But we are the one in control, so if you failed it's your fault. It's why in order to accomplish my tasks here, I cut off my time spent on things I like but that won't make any change in my life.
Priorities, priorities...
Hmmmmm, first time I saw that my Like Button is gray.
I know why now, I remember I've read the comments and blog policy within WA.
I would like to apologize here if I said something wrong, it wasn't my intention. I respect WA community a lot, so again Sorry. My mistake.
We all learn everyday good or bad things are always a lesson and today I've got my lesson thanks to WA and its great community.
So True Joshua
Fortunately I do not smoke.
But quite often I used to go to restaurant, for pizza, beer or two...
(one of the biggest lie is: "Lets go for a one beer" - right;) )
Seriously - More beers I had, more careless I got.
In the morning I check the wallet and 50 Bucks are "missing".
For sure it is great to go out and talk with friends.
It just
- does not need to be every weekend and it
- does not need to be that amount of beverages
- it is OK also to buy a six-pack and hanging out at home.
Thank you Joshua
Mike
Mike, good for you not smoking--HORRIBLE habit! You also make a good point, and that is "moderation." As long as everything is kept in perspective, we'll be ok.
By the way, I lived in West Germany (at the time) for a little better than six years. I lived in a place called Kaiserslautern (and for a short while, Vogelweh). I loved every moment and got to travel quite a bit. At the time, I was with the US Air Force and could not visit Czechoslovakia although I wanted to.
Continued success,
Joshua
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I quite agree. I smoke and have gone from tailors to rollies, here in NZ a pack of 20 cigs costs $25.00 .. 30gram tobacco $57 which lasts me 5 days whereas I was a pack a day so I've already cut my habit in half. Luckily we still have free to air TV here I don't have SKY or any other pay channel, don't watch too much TV. What you have pointed out is so very true, we can all make cuts somewhere if / when we need to just get our priorities right :)
WOW! I thought cigs in the US were expensive!
When I smoked (I quit on April 6, 1974, at 6:45 P.M.), cigs cost me about $.35 per 20. Today, I would pay around $6.50 per 20 (in my location). Elsewhere, it could be a little less or a lot more. Also, at the time, I smoked about 2.5 packs (20 X 2.5) EVERY DAY!
Today, that would be a small fortune here in the US
(2.5 X $6.50 = $16.50 every day X 30 days = $487.50 monthly)
OR $5,850 EVERY YEAR
In your area, it would amount to a king's ransom!
(2.5 X $25.00 = $62.50 every day X 30 days = $1875.00 monthly)
OR $22,500 EVERY YEAR
JUST. WOW!
Joshua