Live Real, Now

The no-pants guide to spending, saving, and thriving in the real world.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-07-17

Misc

  • RT @mymoneyshrugged: The government breaks your leg, and hands you a crutch saying "see without me, you couldn't walk." #
  • @bargainr What weeks do you need a FoF host for? in reply to bargainr #
  • Awesome tagline: The coolest you'll look pooping your pants. Yay, @Huggies! #
  • A textbook is not the real world. Not all business management professors understand marketing. #
  • RT @thegoodhuman: Walden on work "spending best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy (cont) http://tl.gd/2gugo6 #

New Year Goals

Misc

I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions.  They are generally drunken promises made  on December 31st that are broken by the middle of January, if they are remembered at all.  I don’t make resolutions.

My goal for 2010 is to complete one major self-improvement project each month.  That’s an entire year of 30-day projects.   As each month goes on, I will be updating this blog with the status of each project.  Some of the projects will be physical, some will be mental, some will be improvements on my relationships.  My goal is to do something meaningful, useful and challenging each month.

Here’s my list:

  • January:   Wake up at 5am AND read to my kids every night before bed.
  • February:  Do 100 push-ups at one time by the end of the month.  There is also a secret project this month.  I’ll be keeping notes and posting in March.
  • March:  Do 100 sit-ups at one time by the end of the month.
  • April:  Spring Cleaning.  I will declutter every room in my house this month.
  • May:  Have a sit-down dinner with my family, at the dining room table at least 3 times per week.
  • June:  No computer use, while anyone else in the family is awake, except for household necessities, such as bills.
  • July:  Write fiction every day.
  • August:  Buy nothing new this month.
  • September:  Attempt to learn a new language.  http://ijaar.com/29-free-websites-to-learn-a-new-language/
  • October:   No yelling at the kids.
  • November:  No complaining.  Not at home, not at work.
  • December:  I will have done 14 projects this year.  December is a month off.

Regret

Life

There comes a time when it’s too late to tell people how you feel.

There will come a day when the person you mean to talk to won’t be there.  Don’t wait for that day.

“There’s always tomorrow” isn’t always true.

Delayed Gratification, Take II

Finance, Life

English: Zach Galifianakis as Alan from "...
English: Zach Galifianakis as Alan from "The Hangover" (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How much would you pay for a kiss from the world’s sexiest celebrity?

That was the focus of a recent study that I can’t find today.   There is no celebrity waiting in the wings to deliver the drool, and the study doesn’t name which celebrity it is.  That’s an exercise for the reader.

This was a study into how we value nice things.

The fascinating part of the study is that people would be willing to pay more to get the kiss in 3 days than they would to get the tongue slipped immediately.

Anticipation adds value.

Instant gratification actually causes us to devalue the object of our desire.

This goes well beyond “Will you respect me in the morning?”

The last time I talked about delayed gratification, it was in the context of my kids.   That still holds true.   Kids don’t value the things that are handed to them.

The surprising–and disturbing–bit is that adults don’t, either.  If I run out to the store to buy an iPad the first day I see one, I won’t care about it nearly as much as if I spend a week or two agonizing over the decision.

The delay alone adds to the perceived value.  The agony turns the perceived value into gold.

If I spend a month searching for the perfect car, the thrill of the successful hunt adds less value than the time it took to do the hunting.

Here’s my frugal tip for today:  Delay your purchases.  While it may not actually save you any money, you will feel like you got a much better deal if you wait a few days for something you really want.

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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-29

Misc