Why did AK buy an atas mattress but a cheapo TV?

Every dollar counts.

UPDATE (DECEMBER 2016):
After more than two years, my cheapo LED HDTV is still brilliant and trouble free. I think it is safe to reveal the brand now:

If  you are not brand conscious, you can get this brand of TV in Giant hypermarts. I feel that it is definitely good value for money.



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2014:
I have been super busy and super tired recently. I would get home at about 11pm, take a shower, read the news a bit and go to bed. So, you can imagine that I have not had much inclination to blog.

Today, I took some time off from work to do my own things and chatted a bit on FB with readers and thought it interesting enough to share with readers who don't follow me on FB:

Some of you might remember that I bought an expensive (but value for money) bed and mattress recently but I have settled for an inexpensive TV even more recently. 

This is even less expensive than the Chimei brand 26" LCD TV I bought 8 years ago for $699 for my old place.

I don't know if I should reveal the brand for my latest purchase or not. I don't want to have readers who might be unhappy with the quality hounding me.

Anyway, with age comes aches and pains and with these come wisdom. This lately acquired wisdom tells me that the bed is more important than the TV. Hence, my decisions.

Unless born with a spoon made of some precious metal in our mouths, all of us have rather limited resources and must make the wisest use of our money.

Related post:
I could not afford it but now I can.

Financial freedom: Your children will become what you are.

I was out and about when I overheard a conversation a father was having with his young son whom I thought must be 9 or 10 years old.

Son: Daddy, can we go to USA for holiday? My best friend says his family is going to USA next month for holiday.

Father: Go to USA? Will be very expensive.

Son: Mommy says maybe next year we can go.

Father: See whether daddy gets a good bonus or not this year. OK?

Son: Cool! I pray tonight and ask God for help.






AK thought to himself: 

"I will pray for you tonight too."

Of course, it is no business of mine what the father decides to do but if I were in his shoes, I know what I would have said to his son. 

I am sure you know what I would have said too.





I strongly feel that delaying gratification is something we should teach the young even if we are very rich and money is not an issue.

Something I said to my niece before was how she could be getting free money as a young working adult because of her investments in stocks made in the last few years. 

Basically, by the time she is in her early or mid 20s, she would have recovered her capital invested. 





The annual dividends that she could continue to receive then would basically be free money.

I fear that many people are trapped, running like hamsters in their wheels. 

They are not able to make progress in their financial well-being as they are stuck in a culture of consumption and instant gratification. 





What makes the wheel scarier is that people accept it as an integral part of life and, therefore, their young will also have wheels of their own in future. 

It is a depressing thought.

"Your children will become what you are; so be what you want them to be," David Bly.

Related posts:
1. Financial freedom is a family affair.
2. At what age to start investing in stocks?
3. They were just showing off their wealth.

Read:
More needs to be done to provide Singaporeans with investor education: Lawrence Wong.