Claire’s Random Thoughts

I define the “All or Nothing” concept as the curse that makes me either not do anything at all or go “all out” but never in between. I also believe that this is why it is often difficult for me to start an assignment or studying for a test. Before I start to focus, it’s very difficult to get started. Once I start to focus, I continue until the project is perfect and complete or I think I understand the material on the test completely (provided I have at least some interest in the topic). My philosophy is to “either do something right or don’t do it at all.”

Why is it so difficult to focus on many things in life but each of them in moderation? I know that once I get into one thing, I drop the previous “addiction” and move onto the next. Right now it’s at posting on online forums and blogging. Of course these “addictions” always come second in priority after spending time with family/friends (mainly friends, because I’m in college now and living away from my family). If I ever become indulged enough in something like World of Warcraft and choose that thing over hanging out, somebody shoot me (or maybe just give me a shot of reality). If I started playing such a game, I would probably just farther prove the “all or nothing” concept, but I definitely don’t want an addiction like that lol.

Now that I’m getting back into the groove of blogging, I understand why it was so addicting before. Yes, I think it should be safe to call myself a blogger again at this point in time, because I have been posting fairly regularly for a while. It seems like whenever I’m doing anything, I’m constantly thinking, “Hmm…is this bloggable?” Whenever I think of anything, I start a blog post for it. My reaction to everything is, “Let me blog about it!” I typically have an average of about 10 drafts at any given time that I started when I thought about a “bloggable” topic. However, I would say that fewer than half of these drafts are actually finished and not eventually deleted after being deemed blog unworthy or never finished and out of date for publishing purposes. Anyway, now I understand why I used to post so much when I first started my blog. When I kind of stopped, I couldn’t only post occasionally. I just posted once in a blue moon. I guess this might also explain why you can find so few personal blogs that have consistent posts every week or two. They typically either update every couple days or very infrequently altogether.

I remember a while back when I was obsessed with paid to post online forums and spent many hours per day posting on them, even though the pay was definitely not worth the time I spent on them. After a couple weeks on such forums, I stopped posting altogether, because I felt like the discussions that took place on them were not the highest in quality, since people just posted to earn forum “points” that they would get paid for. I somehow reminded myself of these forums again and started posting on a few of them. Fortunately, this time around I only check each forum a few times per day. Maybe this is just because I’m a busier person right now than I was the first time I signed up for such forums.

Previous addictions included chess-live (an online chess server that is now dead) that I was convinced was the secret to my downfall and Guitar Hero that I played way too much last semester, because I had no job and no challenging classes. I don’t spend my time on either of these two things anymore, because once I got over the addiction, I ceased to waste time on them completely. As far as I’m concerned, this is probably a good thing, because I should be able to find a more useful addiction. Just think about how great it would be if I got addicted to studying for actuarial exams.

All in all, living under the “all or nothing” concept could either my greatest strength or my greatest weakness. I could argue for it to be my greatest strength, because I make sure to get things done properly once I get started. I just need some interest and motivation to spark my initial focus. In a working environment, this could prove to be a valuable asset, because I would put in my best effort to finish my projects as long as they are worthy of the effort and not out of date. This is similar to me finishing blog posts that might potentially be worth reading while deleting my outdated drafts that are no longer appropriate for publishing at a later day. Even blogging can be a good addiction, because it can become a way for me to exercise my coherency, express myself, and eventually get paid when I can get this blog approved for paid posts. As long as I can become addicted to the right thing, my “all or nothing” motivation will push me to finish what I started with top quality. The problem, however, lies in focusing on the wrong things, such as chess-live or Guitar Hero. If I can find some way to improve my selection process, the “all or nothing” concept could greatly work to my advantage.

The holidays, and hence the gift-giving times are approaching! Perhaps if you are trying to save money in the current economic state, a relatively inexpensive personalized photo gift could prove to be both a cost effective and thoughtful gift for your loved ones.

Hmm…if my friends are reading this, they’ll probably have an idea what I’m getting them. Oh well. I’m telling you guys now, don’t get me the same thing

Please help me get free prints and sign up with my referral link if you decide to sign up. Not only will you help me out, but you will also get 1200 free print credits, 3 photo books, other great gift credits. This is more than you would get from signing up regularly.

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Useful coupon codes:

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I also have several coupon codes for 8 inch by 8 inch 30 page photo books for the discounted price of $11.99 with free shipping. If you would like one, then let me know.

I joke about things that I think should cease to exist with my friends. Ok, maybe ceasing to exists is a little harsh, but these are things I definitely dislike to say the least. So far on the list are:

1. Berries
I’m weird, I know. I’m quite aware of the fact that this makes me look ridiculous and immature, but I absolutely can’t stand the smell or taste of any food with the word berry in its name. I repulse berries as if they were hazardous to my health and safety. Oh, wait, maybe they are hazardous to my health and safety, because I might freak out if I eat one.
My roommate’s ex roommate (Confusing, isn’t it? This person is not me, even though I may have made it sound that way. The keyword here is ex, in this case from last year) had a theory that I was really subconsciously afraid of berries and that I was scarred from something that had to do with them. Maybe they killed or seriously injured me in a past life. Or maybe I was stranded somewhere, and the only food I got to eat was berries. Or maybe I at a poisonous berry and died.
If you know me in real life, you probably have seen or at least heard about my extreme disdain for berries. I understand that it seems irrational to the normal person, and I’m open to any theories for its explanation.

2. Libraries
Haha, maybe this is just an inside joke between me and my book/library loving friends. Realistically, I don’t really think libraries should cease to exist, because they have proven to be a valuable asset to those who take advantage of them. Compared to the current wasteful spending of our tax dollars, I would say that libraries are not a bad deal at this point in time.

3. Taxes
This goes together with libraries in a way, but not really, so I made it a separate item on the list. In reality, a certain amount of taxes are necessary if there’s a government. However, I do believe that the current United States government and separate state governments are overtaxing and spending inefficiently. For every dollar the federal government receives from our taxes, they have to spend two, no matter what. Rather than taxing us constantly and using the tax dollars to interfere with our lives (like bailing out companies that deserve to fail with $700 billion), the government should just tax us less. Simple, isn’t it?

Haha, I like how the berry explanation, the weirdest one on this page, was the longest. More to come as I build this list.

The lost money fallacy is often also known as the sunken cost fallacy. When we spend money on something we own, natural human psychology produces the desire for us to keep it or put more money into it when it is most cost efficient to let it go. The bottom line is, no matter how much you paid for something, it is worth whatever it is worth at its present state. The money you put into your investment or purchase that has been lost will not be recovered simply because you’re making desperate attempts to keep the investment or product afloat. The price you originally paid for it should not affect your decision in what to do with it. Take a look at the examples below, and see how you would act if you were in these situations.

Example 1:
In the current economic state with declining securities, such as stocks, housing values, and commodities, we are often hesitant in selling our losing securities. People often irrationally hold onto their losing stocks that are currently trading at less than they paid for, because they don’t want to lose the money they originally invested. This causes them to lose more money on their bad investments as the stocks continue to decline.

Example 2:
You buy a show ticket on impulse thinking you got a good deal, but later you decide that you really don’t want to watch it anymore after you find you don’t have the least bit of interest in what it’s about. Natural human psychology will cause you to spend time watching the show anyway, just because you paid for it. You end up watching the show wasting valuable time and needing to endure watching a show that you would really prefer not to see.

In example 1, if you would not buy the stock at its current market price and state, then you should sell it regardless of how much you paid for it. Holding onto the stock when you don’t think it will be a good investment will only lead to greater losses.

In example 2, it would be most efficient if you didn’t watch a show that you wouldn’t enjoy, because you could spend that time and energy doing something else. The fact that you already paid for the show will not make it any more enjoyable for you. Give the ticket away and find something better to do with your time.

Remember that money already spent and lost should not affect your financial decisions. It’s just gone.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers”, he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20″. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free.
But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his “fair share?”

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay…And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $20,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, “but he got $10!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too.
It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!”

“That’s true!!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”

So, the nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore.
In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier. From Mike (Corporation and the wealthy are already doing this!)

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of Georgia
Oh, and I originally found this on Billy’s facebook note.