I’m sure everyone has been reading how 3D printers are starting to be offered in consumer retail stores with the price being with the four figure range. While with that price it seems like these things are currently only for the extreme enthusiasts or large businesses, it did make me wonder if people are already starting to think now if they should start research technology to see if it could completely change their business or personal finance.

For example, for a business you can literally just start printing out things like action figures or phone accessories to sell for the public. For an everyday consumer you could probably stop the need of having to say purchase a clothes hangar or maybe even cases. At the same time, this could probably open up more opportunities for people to create a home based business. It makes me wonder if it could put certain people out of business too. Imagine for example a situation where when we buy a new home we will get the print design for our keys and therefore and just print one out if we need spare ones. That wouldn’t bold well for a key cutter.

Situations like that makes me think where irregardless if I am going to be using one or not in the present moment that this is something people should be trying to educate themselves about now. Is it wise invest like $1000 early on to better understand the technology? I suppose that all depends if you feel you have an immediate use for it aside from the educational point of view.

I was kind of surprised today that I read how a person was trying to convince others that if you want to have fun in life then that means you have to spend money. For this example specifically, there was a hockey game and while people were there watching it and having fun one person was saying how people should all wager some bets as that is the only way to have fun.

I just had to think about that comment for second. While I recognize he could have just been saying that as a peer pressure way to get people to spend money, it’s actually not that uncommon for people to say if you don’t spend your money in ways like that then you are not enjoying life. I was even trying to think of this in a silly scenario such as a parent going to their kid’s sporting event where the fun and enjoyment should be about watching them compete and all only to then have two parents say they need to bet each other to make this fun.

In like high school this was things like cigarettes where people said if you don’t do it then you must not be having fun as you only live once. Speaking for myself, it didn’t make sense then and it doesn’t make sense now. I find that around a more mature age group of people this scenario is the same except the most common example is people say you either you spend all your money like how they do as well or else you are classified as having a boring life.

I think the main mentality I have developed to overcome this peer pressure type of mentality when it comes to spending money is that I recognize in many cases people say things like this because they want to live that experience through you, if that makes sense. For example, if you are the only one that has five thousand dollars to spare and you went with another person where you both saw this crazy TV that he/she can’ afford, them pressuring you to buy it would be almost the same as if they bought it themselves. So when you think about it, is you spending money in that case more for your entertainment or someone else’s?

I was even joking how isn’t it the other way around many times where if people want that kind of entertainment then they are usually paying the person to see them do it? Either way, it should be more about doing what is best for you.

About a week ago I was talking to a person about money and how just talking about the future can trigger a lot in your mind to the point where you will continually make good financial decisions. The example that was used was let’s pretend you were offered two choices in getting a free gift certificate for a store. You were told that if you take the offer right now you would get $20 and if you wait about two weeks you would get $50. So the question was which one would you take?

To me I obviously said the $50 as it sounded like it made more sense in the long-run. He was then saying of course people like myself would choose that. However, he was expressing how for this test if you actively engage people in conversations about what they plan to do in say the next week or two beforehand they will more than likely choose the $50 based simply on the notion that they are thinking about something in regards to their future. For people who usually don’t surround themselves in conversations such as those apparently they are more likely to simply go for the immediate gratification route.

That’s interesting I thought. If you think about it too this doesn’t mean you have to get people to talk about money or finance specifically. Instead, it could be a simple topic such as what are they planning to do for fun next week or talking about say where they plan to visit for their next vacation. The more I think about it the more this makes sense too I suppose for myself as I am usually always thinking about the future regardless of what topic category it may be.

Not a bad concept to take away I say especially if you are trying to find ways to teach like say a child on how to save money or how sometimes waiting a little can result in getting better rewards in the future.

Today I was hearing an interesting situation where a person was so upset that the people who he thought were his friends suddenly ditched him to pursue opportunities that they felt would provide more money. Basically, they were working together for years to build a casual part time business and just like that they decided to leave. That then raised the debate of if that was right or not.

I thought situations like that are kind of weird even though I recognize that in many cases the bottom line is about making money. Like many people say, if individuals are holding you back you need to cut off ties. However, unless this is a cartoon or TV show I don’t see how it is smart to simply wash people away like that whom you have a long term business relationship with as it’s like assuming you will never encounter them again where in the future you might need their help still.

I always remember the saying of where it is something along the lines of be careful on who’s toes you step on going up. You meet the same people on the way down. If you really just see a better opportunity elsewhere then it would be wise to leave in good terms.

I was talking to a person who was fairly young and he actually ran his own business. He still lived with his family and all too. Since his business is doing very well and his living expenses aren’t massive he usually has an excess amount of money at the end of the week. Not surprisingly, at times it seems like he doesn’t know what to do with it and so it is either spent on things like dining out or even gambling.

What is funny I thought is that usually for like myself when it comes to spending money I would think “Is it worth it” or “How much return can I get” whereas it seemed like for him in many cases it is more like “If I don’t spend it here I would there anyways” and so he just ends up using his money. I suppose it’s hard to break a habit like that in his scenario as he has an excess amount of money coming in and there is no real need for him to change when you think about it.

I know one person who broke that habit by simply getting a hobby of all things. Strange huh? You would think that you would need to work hard to show them the importance of saving for the the future and all. But really, just doing something that occupied his time more for when it is not business time worked like a charm. No reason why this couldn’t work too for most other people if there are people you are struggling with to try to change their financial habits.