Being in debt means using up the future in the present. Essentially, it’s about how we manage our time. Therefore, the most valuable resource for debtors is time, and it depends on which side time favors. Paying off debt is like repaying borrowed future time early. When the ability to generate wealth over time decreases, the future time becomes a burden, and the debtor faces the pain of bankruptcy. Taking on debt is costly. It may seem like borrowed money is repaid with money, but the irreplaceable resource of time is also returned along with interest. With the rise of postpaid credit cards as a common payment method, we’ve become less sensitive to the associated pain and cost. There are two ways to spend money: using present time or future time. The costs and pain are much higher when the future is spent as if it were the present. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
Every business has competitors, and succeeding in business means achieving victory over the competition. Winning the competition implies creating a monopoly. One of the most traditional methods of monopolizing the market is offering rebates to buyers, often referred to as a ‘bribe,’ which is illegal. The reason monopolies are so harmful is that they infringe on customers’ choices and benefits, as opposed to merely allowing one company to dominate the market. Facebook acquired Instagram and the messaging app WhatsApp to eliminate its competitors. Although Facebook is primarily a social media platform, why would it consider WhatsApp a competitor? Because WhatsApp provides group chat services to clients, and if it expands, it could easily transition into a social media platform. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”