Have you ever gotten the feeling as if your enemies were purposely waiting for you to make another mistake?
Maybe in HS you were convinced the macho football team had a hidden tally chart in the locker room of the number of falls youâve made throughout the season or your colleague in math class counted under the table each time you asked a dumb question?
Well thatâs the sad truth behind the mentality of most businesses.
They donât really want the best for their customers. They want sales and to be a monopoly.
They capitalize on your mistakes because they count more than your wins.
They want us to mess up, be late, become forgetful, lazy, anxious, tired, fat or skinny, cold or hot, hanger (hungry and angry at an extreme level), impatient or patient, dunk, sober, and be innocent gullible consumers because thatâs where the real money lies.
Thereâs no doubt airlines cash in millions each week from flight tickets to and from a location yet thatâs only a sliver of profits. When you account for the fees attached to extra heavy baggage claims to transfer flights and upgraded seats, pure hunger to mask mandates on the plane, airlines are earning more than what they are intended for.
Is this cruel?
Yes and No.
We are living in the most convenient and accessible age.
Everything is at our fingertips. No more waiting. Itâs an auction system. If you are willing to pay top-dollar for something you can get for less, you will certainly get it.
Prior to endless options, touchscreens, hidden access and comfortability, if you wanted to upgrade to first-class, you couldnât.
You get what you get and you donât get upset.
Now if you want to upgrade to a more comfortable seat, just pay $700 extra and youâll get it right away.
Can we do anything about this speedy spending and overconsumption?
Yes.
Your Choice
Believe it or not there was a time when it was hard to spend. I wasnât around then.
These days we must pay attention to what weâre signing up for. Donât overpack, know what you need not want, double, triple check everything and most importantly expect to pay more than what was on the dotted lineâââespecially when you go on vacation.
Vacation mode is an entirely different mindset. We splurge like thereâs no tomorrow and countries that rely on tourism and hospitality capitalize on our innocence and gullibility big-time.
Have you ever noticed why casinos offer free parking or a drink prior to gambling or why people are way too nice on exotic islands? They practically hypnotize customers into spending more. I canât blame them.
Since majority of Caribbean countries and vacation hotspotsâ GDP comes from tourism, they not only have to charge us more, they are incentivized to lure us into more things we donât need or else the country will sink!
That extra access pass to overdraft fee is deliberate. That ticket for the concert wasnât just that price. Frustration is meant to be. These days companies make it impossible to speak to a human and everyone dreads customer service. As impatient consumers we donât bother fighting for nickels and dimes. We just end up paying for more.
Fair Game
We are all humans and make mistakes. To be fair, that extra charge will come up somewhere. Just because we didnât deserve or need to pay more doesnât mean we shouldnât give back. We have to delay instant gratification and realize what we pay for wonât immediately become a benefit. Of course in a sense you could argue thatâs the whole point of paying for something via currency for an exchanged good but in a sense not always.
Experiences to memories have a hefty price tag but we donât negotiate as much for them as we do with materialistic items like a handbag or that discounted ham at the deli. We are secretly paying more for things that are not worth the price tag whether we want to or not and canât control it while small ticket items are not worth fighting for.
Is that $600 per night at a random hotel worth it?
Most definitely not unless it has a golden bed but when you evaluate why you are paying for it you donât feel as bad and end up receiving a benefit later on. You realize that is the only hotel on the island or in-fact could be the least expensive one and you know you deserve a vacation after all and can splurge a little.
It doesnât feel great to have to give $60 out of our pocket for an extra bag to a billion dollar company that wonât need it but a little extra tip, bonus or cash payment elsewhere can go a long way for a person who really deserves it such as to a friendly waiter or a struggling musician especially during this time.
Expecting there will be hiccups is your best bet to stay afloat. Whatâs advertised doesnât include tax, insurance, shipping, etc. that is magically sprinkled into the total that you wonât want to bother fighting back.
We must plan for the worst hope for the best to stay ahead and be prepared for what businesses will throw at us. At this point, if you plan on spending anything, expect to pay a little more and tally everything. Inflation is only bitting everything nowadays.
You donât know what the future will hold so thatâs why whatâs certain is uncertainty so expect to pay more, allocate more time to focus on what you can control, stay prudent and pay attention.
Just like being on time is already late, being prepared is not special or a unique trait. Itâs expected and necessary for your own financial health.
Be aware of what you are giving up. You may have saved big time during the pandemic but it will probably be gone faster than you know it without awareness behind the scenes. Donât be distracted and mix a little creativity and imagination into your life to go the more frugal not cheap route.
Happy strategic spending!
You better not blow it!