I got a new credit card in the mail today and I guess this reaffirms that the message I got last week about being sent a new credit card for security purposes which was true. I had to go through all of the normal procedures in activating a new card. I also asked the customer service agent out of curiosity on the reason that my card had to be re-issued. The person told me that one of the merchants that I have used my card with have had their computer systems stolen and therefore all of the credit card accounts in it may have been comprised.

So this isn’t just a new credit card with a different expiry date. All of the digits are different as well. One setback as a result of this is that virtually every service provider that I have my credit card setup with must be informed of this change. For example, even something as simple as the utility bill where I normally just kept my credit card number on file for easy billing must be changed now.

I suppose it’s all for the better though as it wouldn’t have been nice to get surprised by an unexpected bill at the end of the month.

So this week I am going to help with some people in moving and one thing that they have appeared to do is buy new equipment for their new home. Originally with the sale of their old home they agreed to sell all of the old appliances along with the place as well. The last person I talked to mentioned that he prefers it if people take things like the large appliances whenever they sell a home as the hassle and cost of having to transport them to the new place makes it feel as if it is better to simply buy new stuff.

On top of that, just the notion that they are moving into a new place made it semi justifiable to buy new stuff for it as well. So when they said things like they were thinking of buying a new television simply because they were moving that made me think of how much money they were wasting mainly to just have new stuff.

I think for myself, if the item requires some kind of massive deconstruction in order to transport or say the item is about $100 to buy a more modern day version then I would be inclined to do the same. For example, I couldn’t justify buying a new computer just because I am going to a new place as it is an item that is easy to disconnect and setup. Example, if I had a bulky desk and I was able to acquire a new one for cheap I would be inclined to let someone take the old one off my hands instead of dealing with having to transport it.

Today one of my family members whizzed by a site attraction here called Science World with my nephew as it was a sunny day and all. They were going to go in just to find out that even for little kids the cost would be about $12 to get in and they didn’t think it was worth it for such a short stay. Then a topic was brought up on how buying single passes to places like the aquarium was just as expensive.

My brother was then saying how when he brought his son to the place a ticket was about $20 for the child. But then he noticed that the annual pass was about $100. Even though he only intended to go there for that one day he figured that the $100 pass seemed like a way better value and therefore he bought that just incase they return in the future. He figured his son would ask to go back anyways and that one day they could always just plan to go all of a sudden.

I was just thinking how that can be a great way to save money where one would try to find passes that allow to you attend places continuously as opposed to buying single tickets. Example, I guess this can hold true for things like movie rentals where getting annual plans can be better than just renting things individual. You have to make sure that there is a reasonable or likely chance that you will use the value of the pass as well. Otherwise it will end up like those unused fitness centre passes that so many people have.

I was reading a story today on how this one family saved well over $2000 a year when they simply stopped purchasing bottled and filtered water. I was thinking how they must have purchased a lot before as I would think a more common expense amount is around $500 to $1000. This is probably way too hard for a lot of people to do just based on the thought that many people have where if you drink tap water that it must mean it is contaminated.

When I think for myself, when I was a kid I never used any bottled water and everything was fine. If there ever was fear that the water was in any way bad the simple solution was to just boil it. I never purchase bottled water in stores as it just seems so expensive when you think about it. You can literally just make your own bottled water for virtually nothing even if it is tap water. Yet many won’t which is surprising to me.

For example, you see people flocking to the stores to buy bottled water that are on sale when really it will probably only take you a few minutes to do yourself. It’s just a matter of making it a habit too I guess if you want to start using the tap water instead to save money you just got to stick with it for at least a few months. If money is the main motivator too then I’m sure seeing how much you save a month will be a good enough reason to keep doing it.

I was reading this story today about a person who has recently proposed to his girlfriend for marriage. Of course, congratulations are in the air and the person did all of the traditional steps in proposing. The amazing thing was that the person is currently unemployed with no form of an income and yet I suppose for traditional sake he still purchased a ring that was well into the four figure range.

In scenarios like that I was thinking of the cliché train of thought where materialistic items shouldn’t matter that much. Especially if it comes at the expense of putting you into debt. I suppose you can argue that it is a once in a lifetime moment and so for the rest of the “ordinary” days you can just work harder to pay off the debt. It usually just doesn’t turn out that way though as one just seems to make the same justifications for similar scenarios.

At moments like that I think it is a better accomplishment where you can celebrate something together and then work your way in being able to afford the more luxurious items if that is your goal. The sense of accomplishment and memory will probably be just as good as you can see where you started and then where you are now. While realistically either way can work there just seems to be less risk involved by not spending too much if you can’t realistically afford it.