How to Save the Most Money on a TV
Besides looking at ways to spend my money, another one of my hobbies is looking at ways to *save* more money. (As hard as that is to believe.) I do like my toys, but I also actively try to manage my money wisely. I read a lot of finance forums/blogs (FatWallet is good) and I figure that if I get a TV, there has to be a better way to buy it than just cash. For example, there’s a few extra ways to save money:
- Buy from the cheapest place online - I’d rather not. Although you can save literally hundreds from “NYC Electronics and Camera”, some places make me nervous.
- Avoid sales tax - If I mail order and avoid sales tax, I figure I can save ~8%.
- Avoid delivery charges - $50 to $100 savings if I can ask for a favor from a friend with a truck (definitely wouldn’t fit in my tiny car)
- Coupon - I’ve been leaning towards buying a TV from Circuit City to take advantage of the 10% off coupon in the Entertainment book I got for Christmas. (The coupon excludes Sony XBR. Doh!)
- Pricematching
- Employee Discount - I don’t know that many people that can provide a nice “hookup”
- Rewards Credit Card - That extra 1-2% is better than nothing.
- Wait for a closeout - This kinda sucks, since I’m especially picky with big purchases. I won’t settle for something just cause “its cheap.”
I decided I was going to apply for a new credit card and finance the TV with a instead of paying cash. I searched one of my favorite finance blogs (My Money Blog) and found this post regarding a Sony Credit Card (since I seem to be leaning towards a Sony TV):
Chase Sony Rewards Card - Free $100 statement credit 8-12 weeks after your first purchase. Offer expires December 31, 2006.
There’s some really good features for this card that make it stand out.
- $100 credit - My credit will be dinged for 6 months, but so what
- No annual fee - What’s another credit card??
- 0% APR for 12 months - I figure I can set aside the money in one of my online savings accounts and earn 4-5% on the balance while I’m carrying a balance (ING Direct is 4.4%, I’d be happy to refer you, you get $25 for opening an account!!)
- Visa Warranty Manager - Adds another year of warranty for free! (Store extended warranties are a complete rip-off.)
- 3x Sony Points - If I buy a Sony TV, I get triple Sony points!! Woohoo!!!
Best Buy and Circuit City have their own rewards credit cards, but I think the Sony card is better. The Best Buy credit card is HSBC, I’ve heard some negative things about them. The Circuit City card doesn’t allow you to combine the rewards with the 0% financing (I think the Sony does).