Would you take this offer?

[mom-from-missouri]

So you pay dues to belong to a church? Am I understanding that correctly? I guess I never heard of such--our faith isn't like that. No offense just wanted to make sure I had it correct.

[disneysteve]

So you pay dues to belong to a church? Am I understanding that correctly? I guess I never heard of such--our faith isn't like that. No offense just wanted to make sure I had it correct.

Yes. Most synagogues (Jewish houses of worship) work on a membership basis. Of course, anyone is welcome to come and pray anytime. In fact, anyone is welcome at most of our events and programs whether they are members or not. Being a member conveys some privileges, of course, like clergy support for life events like weddings, funerals, etc., ability to enroll your children in the religious school, ability to get more involved in synagogue life, serve on committees, hold leadership offices and more. Some synagogues base the fees on your income (called "fair share" dues). Others, like ours, have a fixed rate so that everyone in the same category pays the same regardless of income.

[jpg7n16]

If I had the cash to do it, and was planning on paying the dues every year anyways - then I would do the $20k today to become a lifetime member.

At first glance it seems like an annuity of $2k/year (aka a 10% return on immediate annuity), but then you factor in that the dues increase, then it's an immediate annuity offering increasing payouts for potentially 20, or 30+ years.


I did an IRR calc, increased the dues by 6%/year, and did the 18 years from your post - your IRR would be 12.7%/year. And obv, the longer the payouts go, the higher the IRR gets.

Internal Rate of Return - IRR

[Andrew Jackson]

Interesting. I've been thinking of a similar but far less expensive situation. The state of Ca offers lifetime fishing licenses. For ages 10-39 they are a one time fee of $781. Currently on the year to year bases they are $43.46 So it would take 18 years to pay for itself (at it's current rate, it could be $60 a year 15 years from now) and I would be 45 with hopefully 30 more years of health to go fishing. The big negative would be if I were to move out of state and I assume not be able to get a refund or transfer the license to the new state.

[Andrew Jackson]

CA Fish and Game website says they are non-refundable and non-transferable. Probably not something I would do. And this year I am considering just getting a 2 day license and not go fishing much. If I could I would go a lot more but don't have a lot of time currently.

[KTP]

Interesting. I've been thinking of a similar but far less expensive situation. The state of Ca offers lifetime fishing licenses. For ages 10-39 they are a one time fee of $781. Currently on the year to year bases they are $43.46 So it would take 18 years to pay for itself (at it's current rate, it could be $60 a year 15 years from now) and I would be 45 with hopefully 30 more years of health to go fishing. The big negative would be if I were to move out of state and I assume not be able to get a refund or transfer the license to the new state.

I would take $1000 and buy a dividend stock paying a 5% dividend, then use the dividend each year to buy the fishing license. When you move out of state, you can take your dividend paying stock with you.

[elessar78]

My litmus test for situations like this is my "no-brainer clause". I've never had to make a $20,000 "lifetime" decision (well, maybe my Honda but I just ask myself can I afford to lose x-dollars in a worst case scenario? What would my reaction be if I lost all of it?

And it's different for each situation. If give $20K up front to my church (if I could afford it) and I'm forced to move away for some reason—the money still did good.

It would have to be money I could afford to "lose".

[KTP]

Do churches still sell indulgences?

You could pay your church dues by buying long dated indulgences and selling an equal amount of indulgences with a shorter expiration date. If the person you sell them to doesn't sin by the expiration, then you could resell them to someone else.

The downside would be selling them to a really bad sinner, then you would lose the time premium you paid on the long dated indulgences and the calender spread would be a net loss.

[FrancisABoyd]

I would be more inclined to spend that kind of money on a mutual fund rather than membership dues.

[Redraidernurse]

Whoa, whoa, back the truck up. You have to pay dues to be in this church? What kind of religion is this? I have never heard of having to pay $2,000 a year to attend church.

[disneysteve]

Whoa, whoa, back the truck up. You have to pay dues to be in this church? What kind of religion is this? I have never heard of having to pay $2,000 a year to attend church.

See post #17 where I addressed this. Virtually all Jewish synagogues have a dues-based membership structure.

[elessar78]

Your response in the other about lump sums made me think of this thread. What did you end up doing?

[bjl584]

Your response in the other about lump sums made me think of this thread. What did you end up doing?

I think I saw that he went ahead and paid the fee. I seem to remember Steve saying that he backed off paying extra on his mortgage for a few months because of this.

[jteezie]

Here's another positive side. By putting skin in the game, you are telling other potential members and donors that you are vested in this cause, which has a subtle but persuasive affect.

[Nobulladvisor]

If its NOT going to affect your retirement plans or affect any financial situtations you might have, I say go for it.
It will probably make you feel alot better about yourself and your family. Being a lifetime memeber as a president will influence the other members to do the same.

Before you do, make sure you have a plan in place to save up the money you spent.