At the cash register

Can the type of payment help you safe money?

Trap:
Credit card-swipe and pay later.
#1-you overspend because you worry about it later. thinking you will just return it. (reality: it ends up being too much effort)
#2-the money accumulates and end of the month, what?!??! $7689!

Best to use:
Cash-pay now.
Why it's the best? The fact that you reach for the bills and count them one by one will make you realize mentally how much you're giving out for the purchase. Oops, $20 gone. another $20 gone. $10 gone. two $5 gone. How many bills are left?

Try one month of just using cash.
Try one month of just using credit card.

Compare and you be the judge.

Friday, December 24, 2010

distributed love

the short version of two scenarios (names are all made up):

scenario 1: Alina has been dating Jeff for half a year now, but seems to have a few other options. As much as she loves him, there's desire for more guys. Maybe desire isn't the right word. She still feels the attraction from other guys pulling her towards them. And yes, the word them is plural. There are four other guys as options. How can that be possible?

How can her feelings be shared? Even when she loves Jeff to the point she would not do anything to risk their relationship, Alina's deep secret is that her heart is shared. Can a heart and love be shared and distributed to different departments? Maybe she's just crazy because that's unfair to all parties, maybe it's normal because there's always attractions for others even when a girl like her is in a relationship. In a situation like that, where do they head towards? A stable relationship, followed by marriage?

When I thought she was just being selfish for trying to have so many guys all to herself, another friend (Anna) told me her story which made me feel more understanding.

scenario 2: Anna is single (that status can complicate or simplify a lot of situations). She has a few options for guys and is definitely not in any mood to jump into a relationship. She takes her time and tests all of them. Each one of them has their unique personality traits and characteristics that attracts her. The attraction can't be stopped, that magnetic pull is just present whenever she hangs out with each of them, individually. All of them has the same power of force, but different kind of force.

For one guy, it may be physical attractions and that chemistry that's doing the talking.
For another guy, it is the caring and soft side that pulls her towards him.
For another guy, it's the ambition and humor that keeps her going back to him.

There is always pros and cons in all.
We must accept we are all humans.
People have strengths and weaknesses.

It is how each person's own preferences that weighs each person's pros and cons differently that determines whether or not that person is right.