The relativity of values causes us to use money irrationally. I go to the supermarket to buy a $15 pen, and the clerk smiles and says, “You can buy this pen for $7 if you walk 5 minutes from here.” Then, most people walk five minutes and buy a $15 pen for $7. But if you want to buy a $1,000 jacket and the clerk smiles and says, “You can get a $992 jacket in five minutes from here,” most people simply buy the $1,000 jacket. Reasonably, walking for 5 minutes equals the effort, and the profit of $8 is the same. However, people might go to a store that sells pens cheaper, but not for the jacket, because the discount rate is too low. In other words, the relativity of comparing values makes us act irrationally. The pen’s discount rate is 55%, and the jacket’s is only 0.8%. Yet, the total amount is the same for all $8, and the effort to gain that profit is identical. Attitudes and misconceptions about consumption influence how we build wealth. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”
Feeling fear often can lead someone with a strong will to try to compensate for their weaknesses or prevent dangers. However, if that person is also smart, they may easily overcompensate. In worldly affairs, change and wealth arise from taking action, not merely from thought. If people experience a lot of fear and are both strong-willed and intelligent, they are more likely to become poor. This happens because they might believe they can achieve their goals through only thinking instead of taking further action. What these individuals often overlook is the value of time, which money cannot buy. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”