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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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Flatbed Trucks: Why Buy When You Can Rent?

Business

English: DAF flatbed truck in Bremen
English: DAF flatbed truck in Bremen (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is a guest post.

The goal of any business is to maximize profits while limiting expenses. Yet sometimes, a business may need a certain piece of equipment for a special project or other task. For example, a flatbed truck may be needed sometimes, but not enough times to justify spending the money to buy one. When this is the case, renting the truck becomes the smart option.

Renting a flatbed truck is perfect when working with heavy, oversized or irregular shaped cargo. Many times these trucks may only be needed for one or two days, perhaps only a few hours. When this is the case, renting a truck makes perfect sense. Any town and city has numerous rental truck options from which to choose, with the most popular brand being U-Haul. Flatbed trucks come in a variety of sizes, ranging from 8-22 feet in length. They can be rented for several days or only a couple of hours, depending on one’s needs. If necessary, the trucks can also be rented on a weekly or monthly basis.

A truck hire can also be very cost-effective for a business. Buying a flatbed truck can cost a business $40,000-$50,000 or possibly more, depending on the size of the truck. As with any new vehicle purchase, as soon as it’s driven off the dealer’s lot it begins to depreciate, therefore giving a business owner an investment whose value is less and less as time goes by. By renting a truck only when necessary, it saves a business substantially in terms of making a capital investment. Rental prices vary among different businesses, with most averaging $50-$100 per day depending on the truck that’s rented. Generally, the bigger the truck the more it costs to rent. There are usually no hidden charges or fees associated with renting trucks, so long as they are returned on time, in good condition and with the same amount of fuel they had when they left the rental lot. Also, the person who rents the truck is not the only person allowed to drive it. Most rental places allow up to three other people to be added to the driver’s list for an additional fee, often averaging around $10.

Most truck rental places allow reservations to be made online, and payments can be made with credit cards. Reserving online and paying with a credit card allows a business to take advantage of discounts, for most businesses will offer discounts for reserving online. Those who drive flatbed trucks only need to be at least 18 years old with a valid driver’s license, and the trucks do not require any special licenses to operate.

Many companies also provide 24/7 roadside assistance for renters, so if the truck breaks down while being used it can be picked up and replaced at no charge. With all these benefits, it makes far more sense for a business to rent a truck for its occasional needs rather than purchase one for a task now and then.

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Automatic Oopsie

Finance

When I found myself doing an abrupt unemployment tour this month,  the first thing I did was dig into my budget.  I did it so I could see how long it would be before our finances got scary and to see what could be eliminated.

English: A Netflix envelope picture taken by B...
English: A Netflix envelope picture taken by BlueMint. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Gah!  So much could be eliminated.

There were things that I’d set up on automatic payments, added to my budget, then ignored.

There were things that I’d signed up for and used, but didn’t get as much enjoyment out of any more.

Example Number 1:  Netflix

We love Netflix.  It gets used every single day.  But the DVDs often sit on the kitchen counter for a month before we get around to watching them.  We clearly don’t need the DVD plan any more.

Example Number 2: Software Subscription

I use some software to track the Google rank of several of my websites.  There is an addon that makes the software work much better.  The addon costs $20 per quarter.   The problem is that I’m not looking at the rankings of these sites any more.  Some of the sites have been shut down, or I’m no longer involved with the clients.  That makes the paid addon a total waste.  I canceled it and told the tracking software to run slower so it would give Google a fit.

Example Number 3: Extra Domains

Hello, my name is Jason and I’m a domain addict.  Seriously, for a while, I was buying domains every time I had a good idea for a website.  Some of them were developed, and some were sketched out and put on hold.   I also bought domains to help with the search engine rankings of the developed websites.   I topped out at about 120 domains.  All of them were on auto-renew.   I’ve been letting them expire, but some didn’t have the auto-renew settings changed, so they (surprise!) renewed automatically.

These are just three examples of several years of development, exploration, and automation of my complicated financial life, and they add up to more than $100 a month essentially wasted.

Here’s what I want you to do.

Right now.

Not “tomorrow”, not “when you get around to it”.

Now.

Pull up your bank statement, your Paypal account and your credit card statements.

Is there anything in there that’s happening every month that you forgot about, don’t need, or don’t even want?

Ax that crap.  Kill it with fire.  Nuke it from orbit. Stop wasting your money.

I’d be willing to bet 99% of everyone has something they are paying for every month that they don’t even want, but either forgot was happening or have just let inertia keep paying the bills.

Be the 1%.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-05-29

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