Apparently a Zellers store at Metrotown mall is closing down tomorrow and my first thought was to drop by to see if there would be any good deals. A person then asked me if there was even anything that I needed to buy otherwise I am kind of wasting money. That is usually the first thing I think about too. However, in this case I was thinking the place does have like a mini grocery department too. For example, maybe canned stuff would be good as they last a long time and it is usually stuff that you eventually buy.

It does sound kind of sketchy I must admit in terms of buying things like groceries from a store that is closing down. The assumption is that you are getting everything that has already or is near to expiring. Though I would say that is up to you to actually inspect the product before buying it just like any other time. Either way, no harm in looking I say as if they really want to liquidate everything then there must be some good deals.

Today I was kind of surprised to hear that this person who owned a fairly successful business had no idea what to do with all of the money he makes aside from giving himself a roof and buying the essentials. Therefore, he literally just throws it away at the casinos because he has nothing better to do with it in his mind. Naturally people say things like why not donate it or invest it into something else. Interestingly enough he said his answer was that he wasn’t able to find anything else that he was passionate about to spend his money on.

I think examples like these are why at times it’s great to explore and venture out into different things even if it is for nothing but to give you a different perspective in the world. That way you will never run out of things to think of that you can do or may want to explore. I often find literally learning about a new culture whether it be the type of shows they watch or the way of living can often inspire me to want to accomplish more. I think that’s how I personally avoid the not knowing what to do with your money scenario.

It’s a great way to make you think outside of the box too when it comes to money and how much you truly need to survive. Especially when you see people who are less fortunate you tend to not want to just blow it away on like a game of poker or something.

I was having a conversation today with a person and for some reason or another the area where we hung around appeared to have a lot of retired folks. There wasn’t anything out of the extraordinary as it seemed like it was just people gathering together and having a few meals. The person then telling me that most of those people are retired and simply don’t know what to do with their money and a a result they just do things such as go out and have meals. That then brought up the topics such as how others who are not in any kind of financial obstacle would do things such as go to the casino as they don’t know what else to spend their money on as they just want to do something with it.

It kind of makes you think too as there are a lot of people who save for no purpose other than people saying that is what you are supposed to do as you can’t work forever. So when it comes the time that they have all this money they just buy say a super expensive car as you need to spend it on something so to speak. I think for myself the key thing is to recognize that money is just the means to helping you achieve something as opposed it being the focus in general. Example, for some their ultimate goal may be to create efficiency in the world and so that constantly gives them continuous goals to strive for where you then want to earn the money to help you with it. You can even use the more simple example of growing a family too.

I can’t imagine being in that situation where I would just buy like a mansion with an airport in the backyard for example because I can’t think of what to do with it. I think in that scenario I would rather spend the money in exploring new things to hopefully get some inspiration in what the next goal would be. So if anything, grow yourself I say if you have an excess amount of funds.

You often hear how sometimes when kids grow up they are spoiled to the point where they expect to be given everything as opposed to having to earn it. Therefore, when it cones to things like saving and planning for the future isn’t in their vocabulary. What was interesting in regards to this today I was told was how my nephew had a birthday and in the morning he was cooked an egg for breakfast. To be a little original it was boiled and decorated a bit as it wasn’t something that he was used to. Apparently the very first reaction that came out of his mouth was “That’s it?” where he thought that was his birthday present.

Of course he is still at that age where whenever he walks into the toy store he just wants to get everything as it is always someone else’s money being used. I was then thinking how you would get one out of that mentality as I would imagine it would carry on into one’s teenage and adult life where they will say become reckless spenders when it comes things like using credit to making purchases. I guess the first idea that most people would have is to be aggressive such as saying if they want something they have to work for it or showing them less than lavish lifestyles to try and make them appreciate what they have.

I know for myself it generally came down to having a competitive spirit and wanting to do better as I thought the reward at the end was greater that way. Example, constantly seeing how others had or were given more money than myself became like a contest to me where it’s like playing a difficult video game as it was a challenge to figure out how I can do better with what I was given. The most common scenario was seeing how people wasted so much money on things with impulse purchases and therefore I opted to save instead.

So essentially, I think it is more about trying to provide one with the right tools to self realize that it is smarter and more fun to take control of your own finances as opposed to having others give you things and acting as if you don’t have control over it.

I usually prefer to just use one credit card as it is easier to manage your spending that way I find. I personally have two for the sake of having a Visa and Mastercard as I have often found it to be a nuisance when various companies say that they only accept one type of card. So today when I was buying some items I decided to use the one that I don’t normally use much for the sake of maintenance, so to speak, as to my knowledge if you don’t use the card for about a year there is a $2 fee that you have to pay.

At first when I heard about that fee I was a little turned off too even though you literally have to not even use it for a year for you to get charged as I usually dislike plans like that in general. It would almost feel like having a free library card where they say if you don’t come to the library in a year they will charge you an admin fee. I guess it’s kind of good in some ways as this makes me use the other card to stay in check too if there are any funny charges happening on that card which I would otherwise not pay too much attention to as I assume there should be no balance.