Is what really free you may ask…well is anything really free? I’m sure I speak for many in saying that, we’ve all taken up cellphone contracts for the free gift that comes along with it…‘free Playstation 3’, ‘free home theatre’, ‘free plasma set’ ! If not a cellphone contract then maybe a 3G contract to get a ‘free laptop’…okay, okay…let me be a little bit more practical, purchasing a combo goodie pack for the ‘free lunch box’…
What am I talking about?? Marketing gimmicks!!! …we all know that there are hidden costs but the excitement of a ‘new toy’ just gets our heart pumping, before we know it, we’re walking out of the store with a big bag of unnecessary items (junk, if I may mention) in our hands.
Lets face it, we all know that we’re experiencing a recession, many companies have already forewarned their employees that increases and bonuses are expected to be much less that prior years.
We all know how to do the math but do we really do it…For example, how much is the cellphone contract costing you? (R315 per month for 24 months) …R7560, how much does a PS3 cost…on special, you would probably pay about R5000. Ask yourself; would you pay R5000 for a Playstation; secondly, ask yourself, are you really going to play with a PS3…I’m guessing that you answered no to the first one and maybe to the second one…
So what am I trying to say…evaluate the financial decisions that you make, ‘think things through!’ If the financial impact is significant, draw up a pro’s versus cons schedule. If not you’d always be chasing after a ‘few action figures’!!