We are bad at saying “No” to good sales pitches. We just are. I know this. It is the reason we have a timeshare (and I still don’t regret it). Maybe that lack of regret played into my decision that we should attend a Direct Buy presentation when the offer was made. I know it had something to do with the $200 worth of restaurant.com gift cards they offered, as well as the two round trip plane tickets (this may very well be how I manage to go to FinCon this year). But knowing I do not regret my decision from last time I went to a major sales presentation probably figured in, too, at least subconsciously.

So, last Friday, we went to a Direct Buy presentation. And yes, we decided to join. The timing on this sucks, as you pay for the first three years membership up front, for a total of almost $6,000. And you remember how we’re cash poor at the moment after raiding our savings in order to refinance the house? For the first time in years, my credit card is going to carry a balance.

To be honest, our card will only carry a balance for 2 months, and the interest rate on it is much lower than Direct Buy charges for financing with them (17.75%), we’ll get the reward points, and we will also get the Direct Buy reward for paying all at once (an Android tablet). So in that sense, it is not that big of a deal, and we get something out of it. It just would have been an easier cost to swallow, say 3 months down the road.

Why are we willing to pay this much in order to shop somewhere? Well, Direct Buy lets you buy directly from the manufacturers, not through any kind of store, so you pay a LOT less on what you buy, especially the big purchases- like say replacing all the windows in your house. I expect we will save close to half the amount we had to pay just in replacing the windows this year. In addition, we know we’re going to need to buy furniture and other items once we adopt. And then there are all the other home improvement projects we want to do. This should save us money on all of them. I have no doubt that over the next three years, we will save that $6000 and more.

That’s right, not only don’t I regret buying a timeshare, I don’t regret this purchase either, not even right now when I’m looking at empty savings accounts and a credit card with a balance. Maybe when three years are up and we have to decide whether or not to remain members I will feel differently. Anything is possible.

But for now, I’m just happy we did something that will prevent C from backing out on replacing our windows this year.