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”
When you are betrayed and hurt by someone, there are times when you want to hide or be alone in silence. You want to cut yourself off from the world and just live in your own space. You don’t want to harm others, and you don’t want to be hurt either. At this point, temptation arises. The desire to choose a solitary, self-sufficient way of life is stirring. Never choose to be self-sufficient. As time goes by, it becomes more difficult for you, the one who has been hurt, and the likelihood of further injuries increases. Self-sufficiency is not the life we are meant to live today. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”