Spending

Speaking of inflation, I noticed that people have irrational sensitivity to gas prices. Warehouse club Costco stores in my area also sell gas. The price is usually a little cheaper than the price at other gas stations. I can tell by the length of the lines how much cheaper it is. If it’s five cents […]

For those keeping track, I’m happy to report that I’m writing this from safety in Argentina. I, together with some other foreign tourists,  got out of the literal tourist trap set by the Chilean protestors by walking 6 hours, refugee style, to the Argentina border. We successfully crossed two blockades before we reached the border. […]

When you are overseas you can still call US toll-free number free of charge, only if you know how.

I wrote about paying more for good service. This time I’m facing the opposite. I’m debating if I should complain about bad service. It’s getting cold outside. Some mice or rats decided to come into my attic for shelter at night. I called a pest control company I used in the past. They provided good […]

I wrote a while ago we should be ready to pay more for good service. I have an example to share today. I bought a file cabinet from the office products store Staples a few years ago. I only used it for storing random things, not files. As such, I didn’t install the rails for […]

If I ask people "Would you pay more for better quality or service or do you go for a lower price?" I’d imagine most people will say they don’t just go for a lower price and they would pay more for something better. However, my observation tells me people aren’t willing to pay more for […]

I heard there had been riots in Greece. People in Greece rioted because the Greek government cut public sector employees’ wages. The government cut their wages because it paid the employees too much in previous years. The European Union requires its members to keep the budget deficit to 3% but Greece was running 13% deficit […]

Reader Ace commented in a previous post: I’m afraid that we have to live with the fact that people have been buying snake oil for centuries, and will certainly continue to do so. That got me thinking. Why do people buy snake oil? I can understand why people sell snake oil but why do people […]

The furniture I bought during the New Year’s holiday finally arrived. By the time they arrived, I almost forgot what they looked like. I’m so used to comparing products online. Buying furniture proved to be an entirely different experience. Although many stores sell furniture, there is actually very little information online. Many furniture stores don’t […]