Saving 14 cents

[chris_gerrib]

Yeah! I saved 14 cents!

Now, if you’re wondering why I care, well, so am I. But bear with me. First, a little background.

Here in the US, the postage rates went up 2 cents on Monday. So, on Saturday, I made a point to take my bills to the post office, so I could use the old stamps. (Actually, I had the “forever” stamps on my desk when I left, so I could have used them as well, and I only paid 42 cents each for those.) At any rate, I had 7 letters, so that’s 14 cents. I also counted my remaining 42 cent stamps, so I could be sure and order 2 cent stamps. (20 stamps = 40 cents additional postage needed, for those keeping score at home.)

Now, normally, I wouldn’t even notice 14 cents. Like, when I go out to eat – you could short me 14 cents all week and I would neither notice nor care. But postage – I care. And the hell of it is, I don’t know why.

Certain expenditures matter more than others. Postage, or certain grocery items. Green beans are green beans, and I’ll go store brand for a nickel. But I refuse to eat store brand pop tarts, even if they are more than 14 cents cheaper.

My question to myself is “why do I care?” I mean, Kellogg’s Pop Tarts taste better. But postage? Why does it matter? Hell, I could pay more bills online and not pay a dime for postage.

So why do I care? And what things do you sweat the pennies about?

Comments

[sinthrex.livejournal.com]

My biggest 'crime' probably is not wanting to spend money on things I don't see the need to have/replace (mostly replace) that the other half does.

She's a very reasonable person. If she's saying it's done and needs to go or has defect X that drives her nuts, it probably time to stop making do and get a new/better one. And I inevitably end up going back to the subject a couple of months later and telling her that we can replace it. But that didn't stop me from getting bent at the time.

[jetfx.livejournal.com]

People tend to notice the price of things when they buy them on an individual basis. You here lots of complaints about the price of gas, but rarely with milk and meat, as they are usually purchased as part of a larger order. It's great evidence as to why the rational economic agent is a myth. Too often we do things without really being aware of the underlying behaviors that guide all our actions.

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[rodney-g-graves.livejournal.com]

"Never hire a soi dissant 'brilliant' man."