Debt $ense

One of the benefits of working for a big company is, well, the list of benefits. I’m sure there are ones I don’t even know about. Several of them provide discounts on goods or services purchased for personal use, which is a nice way to save money.

One that I’ve used before is a discount with Apple. I’ve been debating over what to do about internet at home because a Web site I maintain is done in FrontPage on my PC desktop. Meanwhile, my laptop and other computers I use are all Macs.

It finally occurred to me today to check out pricing on iLife, Apple’s software suite that includes iWeb, its home Web publishing software. (My laptop pre-dates iWeb, so my iLife suite doesn’t include it.) Then I could just transition over to the new program (and do a much-needed redesign of my site).

The price is reasonable - $79. Then I remembered my discount. Turns out I get 17 percent off (the amount varies by product) and it’s only $65. That’s only six weeks of internet service - definitely worth the cost. So I’m going to cancel my broadband and start stashing money for the software so I can buy it by the end of the summer. (I won’t need to update before then, which gives me some flexibility.

I know how much that will let me add to my weekly payments, but I’m still waiting for tomorrow’s paycheck to figure out how much I can adjust with the change in withholding. Check back tomorrow afternoon if you’re curious to see what my new repayment schedule looks like with the adjusted amounts.