Has anyone else been reading about these so called bitcoins? Apparently it is like an online currency where people are treating it as if it is real world dollars to buy various goods and services. What was a little odd to me was based on some quick reading it sounded like you can earn these in the same way that you would in say some kind of video game.

Of course it comes with its critics as some say it is like a money laundry scheme. It is kind of fascinating how it appears that people have essentially created their own economy this way. I personally don’t see how this is supposed to in anyway solve money issues though as it feels like it’s simply something created for like club credits which still relies on real world currencies. I am surprised at how long apparently this has been going on or though.

I was at the supermarket today and they had these large watermelons for sale. At the same time I was walking past the pre-cut fruit section and saw how those small package of watermelon were like the same price but you get so much less. Literally, if you simply bought a whole one and cut it yourself you could probably make like five boxes of them. The person I was with was then saying those were targeting people who simply don’t have the time to cut the stuff themselves.

While that is understandable to a certain extent, I was thinking to myself……how much labor is it really to cut something like a watermelon? The person then told me that for how much you save in this case he would find time to do it if he were one of those people who normally wouldn’t as people make too much money this way. That’s interesting I thought where if you think about the motivation to save money in this case isn’t so much about saving money but rather one feeling like they are being taken advantage of.

The more I think about it this can even be true with things like a real estate agent as many people tell me that they sell their own home not so much because of the potential financial savings but rather they can’t stand someone making so much for what seems to be so little effort. If that is the simple psychology to get people to try and do as much as they can themselves to save money I was thinking how watching documentaries or even instructional type of shows about various industries regularly can probably make people more savvy financially.

It almost sounds too simple but makes sense in many ways. Come to think of it, I have watched a lot informational kind of shows which were more about how certain industries work which indirectly made me more aware of what I buy and what is a reasonable price to pay. Maybe that will work for others as well.

This was something that I thought many people would know already but apparently people feel funny in doing it. Basically, we all know that you can save money by using a coupon on an item. At the same time, a lot of companies say if you find a lower price anywhere they will match it along with a percentage of the difference. What was funny to me was that a lot of people apparently feel that you can’t use both of these techniques at the same time even if it is applicable. Example, price matching and getting the cheapest price possible where they also knock off more due to the competitor being cheaper and then after using a coupon as well.

That’s how a lot of people get things like grocery items for free for example. I was even saying that many times people feel this is wrong because if you get something for too little in this fashion that it feels like you are stealing. If that is the case, just remember that many times things like these coupons are essentially paid advertisements for companies or say a loss leader where they are trying to use it as a way to get more customers. One way or another they need to advertise to get you to use the product.

Why the coupon would work in cases like this is because the business itself that is selling you the item will get reimbursed from the manufacturer of the product. So technically they don’t really lose anything. So don’t feel bad if you get a really good deal this way.

For one reason or another today I saw this quick video that talked about what you must do in life to save money. While watching it there were the usual points such as tracking your budget and finding discounts. However, the list just kept going on to the point where it felt like if the question was how do you walk you are then bombarded by all these instructions on how first you need to wear socks, shoes, calculate the gravity and wind turbulence, etc.

To be fair, maybe they were trying to aim more for a “Ways to save money” approach. I then started to read some articles on the same topic and sure enough it seemed to follow the same theme. I was thinking too, is one of the reasons that we over complicate it so much is because the simple answer sounds too simple? For example, I would think the the biggest answer on how to save money is to simply not spend it. I’m sure that answer would usually generate a “but” response.

I still think the most important thing about saving money is your mindset first and foremost. For example, I’m pretty sure people would say things like “You have to spend money, otherwise you can’t eat.” Like in that case though, you could still say the main way to save money is to find ways to not spend it. Example, find a way to say grow your own food. The key point out of that is so that you develop the mentality that you are essentially spending money for the convenience in having someone else do it for you as opposed to it being something you have no choice over.

Another more straight forward tip that a lot of people use which makes perfect sense is that if you want to save money then stop buying stuff that you don’t really need. Similar in that case, is the concept of simply not spending too simple to accept? That would make more sense to me if you are truly in a position of wanting to save money. For example, instead of only trying to find ways to reduce the cost of that $200 pair of sunglasses that you can’t really afford maybe it’s wiser to not buy it all. It all starts with how you perceive money I think. If you can’t get past the notion of saying there is no way you can do anything with no money then that is a good first step to work on.

So today is Mother’s Day and like most people I spent the day with my mom. Funny enough, one of the thing she wanted to see was that new Target store where since there wasn’t a local store at the moment so we had to drive a little to a mall that did have one. Every mom must have a similar way of thinking as the place was packed with what seemed to be kids taking their mom to go shopping for the day.

What was interesting to me was that in some stores there were these signs on the shelves saying “This is a perfect gift for moms” where at first there didn’t seem to be any real theme to it. For example, at first you would see one on the shelf that sells candy and then the next one would be in the area that sells light-blubs. It wasn’t until I went to the computer section when it dawned on me.

Basically, I saw the same signage in the section that sold computer routers and of course my first reaction was “I’m sure every mother in the world wants a router for Mother’s day.” Having more knowledge in this space I was able to see that the product had a crazy markup on it. Hence, the company makes more money and so it would make sense that they are trying to convince people to buy it.

I guess that goes to show that if you are one of those people who are desperately looking for a gift the last minute and are solely relying on the store to give you knowledge on what’s best prepare to pay more than you should in a lot of cases. Always pays to do your own research as oppose to relying on like the salesmen.