I guess this one kind of has a different answer for everyone. This conversation started as I was dining out with a group of people for lunch and it just happens that everyone had a different cultural background. The place we went to was definitely more of a place where you pay for the service type of restaurant as oppose to a place you go for a quick meal, so obviously the price was a little higher than normal.

The interesting comment was that since the price was fairly higher, about $15 per person, than what you would normally be used to, one person commented how the menu had like “dinner prices”. Some other people thought it was a normal amount to spend on “lunch” considering they were dining out. I thought that this was one of those things that everyone has in terms of expectations as to how much you should spend on a meal on average per time of the day.

I think for myself, in terms of dining I have been accustomed to breakfast and lunch costing no more than $5 each before tax and dinner should be less than $10. You can spend more, but that would be my mindset figure in terms of if I am “splurging” when it comes to the price of the meal when dining out. I guess you can say dining out in general is kind of splurging anyways. I suppose a big reason for that price range is that I am used to seeing how big of a portion you can get for those prices at Asian restaurants which kind of sets the bar. Of course, if you are trying to save money you should try not to dine out at all.

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And I thought this was a thing of the past. I was just reading how there are so many people who have an old AOL dial-up account despite the fact that they are signed up with another provider that gives them faster Internet connection. The main reason was that they have had it for so long that they might as well keep it incase they need it and that it just feels like a normal part of the bill for all those years. I would think that there are enough options nowadays to transfer all of your account info if necessary and such too if that is the concern.

I think for most people a more common item that would kind of fall under this category is a magazine subscription of some sort. Maybe it has to do more about change in general as a lot of people dislike that right? A little here and there can add up.

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This is a topic that I talk to a lot of people about as helping others can be a great thing to do where if you are in the fortunate position to do something good for others your generosity can go a long way. Usually the most common thing that comes to mind is to donate money to some kind of good cause. This also raises the interesting question as to how much and when one should begin to be more active in donating money.

An example would be if all a person had was $1000 and they donated it all to a charity I’m sure a lot of people would consider that a noble deed. The other side of the debate would be that wouldn’t it be better if that person at first keeps that $1000 for themselves and use that to help generate more money so that they can place themselves in an even better position to donate more while at the same time not completely draining their own funds? For example, reach to a point where you are generating say one million a year and then you can more appropriately afford to donate a more significant figure, like say $10,000, while at the same time not hurting yourself as much.

It is an important thing to think about though I think as giving back can have a very positive impact in your life. Just make sure you learn to take care of yourself too I’d say while you are doing it. Of course, it doesn’t always have to be money too as your time can be valued just as much.

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Here in Vancouver there is a Fair called the Pacific National Exhibition that happens every year starting at around this time of the month. Normally it costs about $15 per person to get in, but today it was free admission from 9am to 12pm and so I figured why not since I used to go to them every year when I was a kid.

Since it was free admission, you bet the place was packed with people virtually everywhere.

There is one area that has a lot of pets and animals for people to see and learn about. There was one funny video that I took of a person trying to take a picture next to a large sheep. It proved to be harder than he thought in terms of trying to keep his composure.

The PNE is actually connected to Playland which basically has rides and games that people can play to win prizes like large dolls. I guess one of the scarier types of rides are those ones that launch you into the air. A lot of people get cold feet just before being released and it was kind of interesting to see this sign that the operators now display:

I made a quick video of it along with another ride that is kind of similar. Just for the heck of it, I also placed a clip of some guy doing a high dive just to show some of the type of things you see at the fair.

Going there also reminded me on how much money people can burn so easily in trying to win those dolls. Some of those games just seem so fixed where you can’t win. All in all, it was fun and relaxing.

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I was just looking at these event coupons that are on my desk which don’t expire until the end of November of this year. These are all for free admissions to business/networking events and it is kind of surprising to see how many I would have to attend to use it all up. Just to entice you even more they write down the apparent “value” of each of them which makes you more inclined to want to use it. Otherwise it basically feels like you are throwing a lot of money away.

The same thing goes for coupons that you would use in say stores. The most common one here that feels kind of wasteful if I can’t find a reasonable way to use it are those spend over $250 and save $30 coupons at the supermarket. I guess the fact that it is a place that you buy stuff from all the time which you also need makes you feel a little annoyed by not being able to think of a smart way to take advantage of it.

What I do sometimes though is that in such a scenario I would simply see if anyone else like a friend would want to simply combine a shopping bill as we were going to spend that much in total anyways and we may as well split the savings as it is better than nothing. I’ve actually seen people in stores do something similar with complete strangers and it is always interesting to see the reactions they would get.

I don’t feel bad about not using coupons for things that I normally would not want in the first place though.

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