Over the past week there seems to be so many stores that are having sales for various health supplement items such as vitamins. I don’t usually shop for these items, but since there were so many deals to be found you can’t help but to hear all of the rumblings about it. Especially with the vitamins, it seems to open up so much dialogue on which ones are the best, how certain ones are unhealthy for you, etc.

Afterwards, people start getting skeptical why items like these are so cheap as the assumption is there is something wrong with it. Since it is something you put in your body I guess you can see why one would get so paranoid too. Interestingly enough, some people then just buy the more expensive items as the assumption is that it costs more so it must work better.

In general, for these types of products I would usually try to do as much research and due diligence ahead of time as oppose to relying on the price tag to make a purchase. The way I see it is that you shouldn’t need these items normally if you live a healthy and active life. If you must have them then I would think that you would have someone helping you like a doctor.

If I ever do spend money specifically to try and be healthier I usually invest it in items where I can do it myself, so to speak. Example, instead of buying that miracle juice that is suppose to be super healthy I would buy a juicer and fresh fruits and vegetables to make it myself.

I know for myself as soon as you get into things like capsules and tablets that it is way over my head to know the difference between all those brands and choices.

Just the other day I was going to a workshop that wasn’t too far away from where I lived as it was only about 5km away. By car you are probably looking at about a 10 minute drive. Guess what? I decided to use the free form of transportation and walked there. One way took about 30 to 40 minutes.

Aside from saving money for the transportation, usually what inclines me to do this too is for general fitness. Every time I think about it, look at how much money people spend on things like the gym membership. So in that sense I am kind of killing two birds with one stone in situations like these.

Yes, many people think I am crazy to be walking that far. On the other hand, I tend to think some are crazy to think walking that distance is like climbing Mount Everest or something. But in general, I think many times we tend to focus too much on the money aspect when it comes to situations like this as oppose to the overall benefit that it would provide us in the long term.

Example, in this case one could argue that all you really save money wise was a few cents worth of gas and the time I lost by walking makes it look like a silly decision financially. On the other hand, I think of the bigger picture where I am keeping myself physically active and won’t be one of those people who struggle to walk a flight of stairs where in the end they will have to spend even more money to adapt to the fact that they rarely get any exercise.

The same applies to other things too such as learning to make certain things yourself. I guess cooking would be a great example where you can say it is a lot faster to just buy something pre-made from the store versus the amount of time it will take you to learn how to do it yourself. Similar in that situation, thinking about it for the long term it can probably be more beneficial to learn it.

Not only can you cut the labor cost that you are essentially paying for with pre-cooked meal, but imagine what else you can do with that newly acquired skill/knowledge. Teach others….….write a book? Basically, don’t always just think of things purely from a direct dollar point of view I’d say as there is usually so much more benefit to not having to rely on things because they are so convenient.

Had to see a pretty sad situation today where two couples were in a dispute and it resulted in one of those “Divorce me now” type of scenarios. The sad thing too is relationship wise nothing is there anymore. However, they have been married for like over 30 years and have just recently retired.

This is not exactly a millionaire couple, but they have fully paid off everything in life such as a house and were going to live off the savings from then on. The thing is, both of them were so concerned about the lifestyle change since they just retired and life was pretty much planned financially to live at this house and all. Therefore, that seemed to be the only real thing that floating in the mind regardless of the health and well being factor. One even commented how the house was the “life savings” in many ways.

People often say that getting divorced is a double whammy in terms of finances as it is more then just splitting assets in half. The new lifestyle such as having to pay more for items as you won’t buy in volumes too are another factor. Especially at that age where you have pretty much mapped out your financial map, it will probably be a huge setback.

I have never seen a couple actually stick with it like this though simply for the financial reasons. Again, the only thing that is really holding them back it seems is the agony of having to sell a house that they worked so hard in paying off together that it is hard to let go. I suppose in the end both of them have to go back to work to a certain extent if it did go through and this comes down to a your health and well-being or money type of scenario.

About 5 months ago I started having this irritating cough and at first didn’t think too much of it. Now for myself I can say I am probably above average in terms of health as the last time I had say headaches and those minor things was when I was in elementary school. At the same time, I am super active all the time and rarely if ever see a doctor and usually avoid medications of sort. But when I started to get this cough that lingered on for about a month and a half I noticed that it was a bit harder for me to breathe on one side which was odd.

So, I figured this was serious enough to try and get some professional medical advise/analysis. At first the doctor told me that it was probably just a cold and to wait it out as from what he saw everything else about me was perfect. So, two weeks later it still persisted and then I was asked to try some kind inhaler (Looks like that was meant for people with asthma). That did absolutely nothing and so his answer was just he was out of ideas. Again he told me to wait it out as I seemed to be perfectly healthy from what he saw.

That brings me to today where it has been a little over a month again and I can still feel the problem. Similarly, the doctor checks me up such as getting me to breathe and says I seem perfect. As well, he mentioned since I don’t do things such as smoke it can’t be anything serious such as cancer and so as long as I can tolerate it I should again just let it be and check again later.

I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but it is almost as if he just wants me to keep visiting him as I know here in Canada the doctors get paid to a certain extent depending on how many patients they see in the day with the way our healthcare system works. It almost reminds about the theory of other professional services such as say a subscription based dating site where they rely on you in not finding the right partner as that would be a loss of customer as a result or say a weight loss program.

I feel like one of those lost consumers in this point too as you are trying to just follow “professional” advise yet you know yourself something is wrong. Add to the fact that this case deals with something that is generally not viewed as a commercial offering which makes it more confusing. Am I being used as simply an income source in this case? Who knows, but I’ll definitely be trying to explore my options as staying in a cycle that costs you time or money usually means change is necessary.

I was watching this TV segment just yesterday that talked about compact florescent light bulbs (CFL). I knew before that they must be disposed of appropriately as it contains mercury which is a health hazard. There is supposed to be a law coming in place too where in 2012 traditional incandescent light bulbs will be banned. As a result, most people will be forced to change to more energy efficient light bulbs like a CFL.

Maybe this was just sensationalized to a certain extent, but in the report they talked about how CFL’s emit a lot of UV rays or “dirty power” which is causing health implications to some unsuspecting people. An alternate it seems from the report is to buy light bulbs that use LED technology. This is the video for those who are interested:

Out of curiosity, I looked at the prices of these LED lights and wow are they ever expensive. For an LED light bulb that gives you the equivalent of say a 40W light bulb in brightness the LED model costs about $40 to $80 just for one. While there are still ways off until 2012 before we are all forced to spend money on these more energy efficient light bulbs, this report also brought up another interesting point.

There are a lot of products that we blindly spend additional money on as we believe we are being more earth friendly and I guess this is an example on how you still need to consider all of the factors that can come into play. From the sounds of it too, a lot of people are simply holding off until the products become cheaper. Although, realistically you should be able save more with the electricity in the long run.

I have actually never tried an LED light bulb meant for home use. Would I be willing to spend like $80 on one? I actually wouldn’t mind trying it out, but not many places sell them here that I know of. Manufacturers should start giving people some samples or offer some good rebates as I’m sure it will make the decision making process easier for people to choose a CFL or LED light.

For myself, when it comes to items where I have to surround myself with for a long period of time I usually don’t mind investing the dollars to get the better product. There was actually a good advice in the video too about buying a cover for the CFL if you are worried about the radiation. I guess this is one of those times when it comes to spending money you better be safe than sorry.