March is a very special time of year for me…a wonderful gift arrives in the mail, and it is free money.  Yes, free money.  Well, almost free.  All you need is a lifetime REI Co-op membership that costs a mere $20.  Each year in March, I get 10% of my annual spending on full priced items back…the “REI dividend”.  Pretty amazing, huh?

I have been an REI member for many many many years…and it has literally changed my life.  How can a membership to a retail store change your life? I fell in love with hiking and adventuring, and in so doing, fell in love with REI!

I think many readers of Hiking Lady and Hiking Baby will understand what I mean by this.  When I first started developing my passion for hiking and backpacking,  I naturally heard about REI.  I walked into the retail store closest to me, and wow, I was in awe.  A bit overwhelmed, and definitely impressed as I wandered about admiring all of the tents, sleeping bags, apparel, boots, backpacks, bikes, kayaks, roof racks, and on and on!  This was back in the day before I knew about the 10 Essentials, how to properly lace hiking boots, or use a GPS.  Over the years, I found myself stopping in to REI to buy more gear for my countless adventures, admire new gear, and just chat with the friendly salespeople.  Each year, I happily opened the mail to find my annual REI member dividend (now it can be checked online – see below).  Sometimes the dividend amounts were so high that I realized I had spent A LOT of money at REI that previous year, but proudly got to cash in my dividend to get what I needed (“wanted”)  .  I fondly remember the year I bought the Black Diamond Raven Pro Ice Axe with my member dividend in March, and a few weeks later summited Mt. Baldy (in Southern California) with my Grivel crampons and sparkling new ice axe.

Many years of memories have been created for me with all of my hiking, camping, backpacking, and trail running gear that I have purchased (mainly at REI).  Now I’m creating a lifetime of more memories with the whole family (see HikingBaby.com).  There will be countless adventures ahead, and thanks to REI having affordable, high quality gear, an inviting retail experience (both online and at the brick and mortar stores), the amazing sales/coupons/online outlet store “garage”/used gear/classes (I had to learn how to rockclimb outdoors somewhere!)/adventures, plus the member dividend to boot (pun intended), I can honestly affirm that REI changed my life.

Some Nitty Gritty about the REI Dividend

• You have to be an REI member to get the dividend
• They do expire…you have two years from issuance to use the dividend, so be sure to cash it in
• REI is awesome…they coordinate an annual sale with the issuance of our dividends, so we can all use our dividend money to get what you want/need
• Right now, from March 22, 2019 to April 8, 2019, it is REI’s Member Rewards Event.  Save 20% on any full-priced item, plus lots of brand name gear is on sale. 🙂
• Coupon code: MEMPERK2019

Happy trails to you and yours!