Will your O-B step-up strategy cause you to retire earlier from your work?

What total square footage will you build? (Incl. garage, basement, decks, etc.)

by Mark A. Smith

In The Complete Guide to Contracting Your Home (see our Bookstore) the authors write: "The old saying, 'Only one thing has one price: a postage stamp.' is alive and well in the building material business."

They are making the point that anything you buy, from excavation to sinks to carpet, can have a different price at different times to different people. As one veteran told me, "It's a negotiated business."

We'd hate to stretch a point, but beg to inform our learned colleagues that even a postage stamp can have many prices.

This came home to me a couple of years ago when the local grocery store offered postage stamps for $1 off per book of stamps. (About 18% off). There was no limit, but one catch, you had to take the stamps with some money-saving coupons in a booklet. The coupons turned out to be very good ones. The store has repeated the promotion frequently.

Shortly after this, our post office began accepting credit cards for stamp purchases. Now the "time value of money" was on our side. We bought all the postage we needed, hundreds of dollars worth, on the 26th of every month, when our new credit card cycle began. We then had 55 days to pay for the purchase. Stamps went on the credit card on the 26th, we got a statement the 30th of the next month, and payment was due on the 18th of the following month. We made the payment on the Internet without using a stamp or writing a check. The charge hit our bank 3 days later, a total of 55 days of valuable "float".

We also compared sources of shipping and found that when we shipped our books to the distributor, (usually done through UPS) the charge was $26.30 per box. By selecting our class of postage we were able to ship USPS for $15.43, another way to get more out of a stamp.

Of course this postage was also charged on a credit card, and we got frequent flyer miles for the purchase. We keep a credit card that gives the most bang for the buck in air travel. We take advantage of all their promotions, and get a good handful of free air tickets every year.

So how much does a postage stamp cost?