Joseph's "Just My Thoughts"

One common myth about money is falling into the fairness trap with value relativity. When the quality of work is hard to judge, we tend to value those who work longer and harder more highly. This is a fairness trap. A novice locksmith might take a long time to open a locked door, while an experienced one can do it instantly. People often pay higher wages to novice locksmiths who have spent more time working. Even if the lock is damaged due to clumsy work and they are charged for replacement, people might still tip because the locksmith worked hard and did his best for a long time. When paying for something that’s difficult to evaluate, people care about fairness. But the real reason to call a locksmith is to avoid the embarrassing situation of being unable to enter the house quickly. I don’t know if this is true, but a woman once asked Picasso to draw her portrait, and he did it in 30 seconds. When she asked how much she should pay, Picasso said her $500. She complained that this was o...

The relativity of values causes us to use money irrationally. I go to the supermarket to buy a $15 pen, and the clerk smiles and says, “You can buy this pen for $7 if you walk 5 minutes from here.” Then, most people walk five minutes and buy a $15 pen for $7. But if you want to buy a $1,000 jacket and the clerk smiles and says, “You can get a $992 jacket in five minutes from here,” most people simply buy the $1,000 jacket. Reasonably, walking for 5 minutes equals the effort, and the profit of $8 is the same. However, people might go to a store that sells pens cheaper, but not for the jacket, because the discount rate is too low. In other words, the relativity of comparing values makes us act irrationally. The pen’s discount rate is 55%, and the jacket’s is only 0.8%. Yet, the total amount is the same for all $8, and the effort to gain that profit is identical. Attitudes and misconceptions about consumption influence how we build wealth. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

One of the key principles of money is ‘opportunity cost.’ It means that when I buy something, I have to give up something else in return. We think we buy because we need something, but we often forget that we could buy something else instead. We rarely consider ‘opportunity cost’ when making a purchase. We do not compare other values against our needs. Buying something means giving up something else, but we often don’t realize it. When we spend money, we should also consider the ‘opportunity cost’; yet, in reality, we aren’t trained to do so. By making a purchase, we bypass the value comparison that may not offer any additional benefits. Maybe it’s because we lack knowledge, or perhaps the idea isn’t appealing. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

When we exchange what we need, we use money as a medium instead of trading ‘goods for goods.’ In this context, money acts as a means of exchange. When we exchange what we need, we also build wealth by passing on added value to each other. In other words, money functions as both a medium of exchange and a measure of value, as well as a tool for accumulating wealth. But isn’t this a bit strange? Although exchange value comes from goods and surplus is generated from this exchange value, the object used to measure and accumulate wealth is money, not goods. This is because money alone has the privilege called ‘compulsory circulation power.’ In other words, even if value is created, added value cannot be realized unless it’s exchanged. The ability to enable such exchanges is what we call ‘compulsory circulation power.’ - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Israeli Kindergarten. Dual-income couples often arrived late to pick up their children. As a result, the kindergarten implemented a rule that parents would face a fine if they were late; however, even though this introduced a penalty system, it also led to more delays in pickup times. By replacing feelings of guilt with money, paying a fee for being late became the new norm. After recognizing the mistake and removing the fine system, what happened? More parents started arriving late. When money becomes involved, the exchange of value fundamentally changes the nature of the relationship. And once that change occurs, it doesn’t revert. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Meeting someone intentionally requires planning a specific time and place, and because it is a three-dimensional event, it can be seen as a cosmic occurrence. We can’t meet simply by setting a time, nor can we meet just by choosing a place. So, how much more astonishing is it to meet someone by chance without an appointment? Meeting and breaking up with someone are by no means easy. We create cosmic events every day, fulfilling vast mathematical probabilities and physical conditions. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”