A person was telling me the other day that for their business they created their storefront environment in such a way where they are perfectly equipped to attract people that want to try to escape the weather outside. For example, since it is like summer weather now they have a ton of air conditioning to make sure that people will want to be inside which will increase the chance of people buying things from them.

This may sound so simple but surprisingly a lot of their competitors seemed to have neglected this. I saw one of their competitors make no changes at all which meant at this time of the year their storefront is just boiling hot. Even for myself I would be inclined to go to the store that is a little more cozier. I can only imagine how much more business they take from the other companies just because of that factor.

Imagine if there was say two malls side by side where one has no air conditioning during the summer versus one that did. Would be interesting to see how much of a factor that would play in drawing customers when it comes to a larger scale. For other weather types such as if it was raining I have even seen companies place these mini heaters of sort to specifically help people dry off which seems to work wonders too in making people feel like it is a business that is looking out for them.

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.

It’s starting to get very cold around here and as a result people are beginning to buy equipment and items to help get them through the winter times (Especially for travel and commuting needs). One thing I was debating about was buying these pair of gloves which was about $20. After thinking about it though, I thought that I could probably find it for less and so I held off.

As well, this is one of those things where I think there are so many other ways to adapt to the weather situation without spending more money. Like in this case, the only reason I was thinking of buying it was to stay warmer, but when you think about it I have pockets is my jacket that could essential do the same. So, I would rather wait until I see a very good deal.

Another common scenario I see others do, which a lot of people think is silly though, is during the summer time I see so many people use umbrellas in a sunny day. During then most people tell you to protect yourself from the sun and so you see people buying hats and other things to block the sun. Instead, many people simply use their umbrellas to accomplish the same thing and hence didn’t have to spend anything extra.

It’s always neat to see people being resourceful in those ways. I guess the hardest is for people who try to live a more green life such as riding a bike normally as I’m sure the winter weather doesn’t exactly help while making their options limited.