A Steal of a Deal

Saving money is a beautiful thing. Almost everyone who buys things on a regular basis would choose to save money if they could. Suppose that you are driving down the street with your gas indicator on E. You see two service stations ahead, one on either side of the road. On the left, gas is $2.99/gallon, while on the right the price is $2.44/gallon. Assuming all other variables are equal, do you turn right or left? Let's face it: Most of you turned right as soon as you saw "$2.44."

There's a glaring real-life example right now in the NFL, where the Kansas City Chiefs are cruising to a division title and may even wrap up the regular season with the best record in the AFC. That's no small accomplishment in a conference that includes the perpetually playoff-bound New England Patriots. How did the Chiefs pull it off? They saved a boatload of cash by signing their flamethrowing MVP candidate quarterback to a rookie-scale contract, that's how.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, a second-year player who was slinging the pigskin for Texas Tech University as recently as 2016, will earn $3.7 million this season, which is a wildly extravagant annual salary by almost any standard but the one that we apply to professional athletes and entertainers. Yet compare Mahomes's salary to the $66.9 million that fellow QB Aaron Rodgers will earn for not getting the Green Packers to the playoffs this season, and, yeah, bargain.

It's a lot easier for good things to happen in the NFL, or almost any professional sports league, when your most important player is, relatively speaking, playing for peanuts. Now, there are plenty of tech millionaires (and billionaires), but most hard-working IT professionals aren't ever going to save $63 million on anything, let alone on a single transaction covering (essentially) 12 months. On the other hand, deals can still be difference makers for savvy small-time spenders.

And speaking of such things, TestOut Continuing Education is offering a great deal right now on the cost of IT training and certification. Through the end of the year, and for a few days in January, you can get 1-year access to our Library Suite training package — which includes every course and certification we offer — for just $495. You'll save $400, which is good, while locking up a year's worth of top-shelf IT training, which is great. Patrick Mahomes great? That part is up to you. But these savings will give you a serious shot in the arm.