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[RC] AHA Lifetime memberships - k s swigartFrom: "Michael Maul" <mmaul@xxxxxxxxx> A lifetime AHA membership is $1000 based on a yearly dues of $25 or 40 x a yearly membership. You don't get access to the AHA database for this but it gives you a discount. While this membership does not provide you with access to the AHA Studbook; it does provide you with access to all competition records, and it does provide you with a lifetime "competition card" which costs an extra $50 per year. Full competiting membership in the AHA costs $75 per year not $25, which makes the lifetime membership 12 times a yearly membership not 40 times. If AERC used the same criteria as AHA at 40 x $65 - ours would be $2,600. If the AERC used the same criteria as AHA it would be 12 x $65, which is $780. Does anyone know of other lifetime memberships and the number of years the lifetime membership is equivalent to? Most of them vary between 10 times annual dues to 20 times annual dues. If you pay 20 times the annual dues you are getting totally ripped off, the organization does, after all, have your money. If the AHA were to put your $1000 in the bank and collect 5% interest on it (not unreasonable, since _I_ can get that on a money market account), then it would be collecting $50 per year without ever touching the principle investment (and you could do this too). If the lifetime AHA membership were 20 times annual dues (i.e. $1500) then at 5% interest they would get $75 per year the same as yearly dues. You are better off keeping your money and paying the annual dues out of the interest that YOU would collect, and then YOU still own the principle. If the AHA invests it at better rates than money market rates (which they should, since there should be no reason to need instant access to this money, it SHOULD be invested not spent since it represents payment for a future obligation), then it may be collecting as much as $100 dollars per year on the $1000 that you have given it, which is MORE than they would have gotten from you if you had just paid the annual dues. And it will be able to collect this money forever, not just for your lifetime. Add to that the fact that many organizations allow people to charge their membership dues (including lifetime memberships) to their credit cards. In which case, that person is paying much more than 5% interest to borrow the money to pay the dues. kat Orange County, Calif. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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