My parents don’t tell me to “do my best”, but I often hear phrases like that on sitcoms. If I understand the phrase correctly, the phrase translates to try as hard as you can within reason. The phrase doesn’t mean you have to be better than your competition, but to just push yourself. I believe that since you are competing against a comparable subject, yourself, that you can possibly push yourself further. But to ask anyone to be the best, sounds unreasonable, because the other parties may have significant benefits over yourself; the playing field is not equal. So that’s why I believe the phrase implies, within reason.

The reason that I bring up a silly topic like this is because people that I know disregard what is best for them and try one up everyone around them just for the sake of being the best. For example, one of my friends wants a new computer next year to replace his aging one. The problem is that the computer he wants has to be the best. I told him that a basic computer would meet and exceed all of his needs, saving him thousands of dollars. His response was rather typical being that it had to look amazing and be better than everyone else’s computer. Ugh, people like him frustrate me. I wonder if his tunnel vision is based off of some sort of an elitism complex or whether he just can’t differentiate needs from wants.

I also experienced a similar situation the other day. I bought popping popcorn, not knowing that there is a difference between the non-microwavable type and the microwavable kind. Michelle made it painfully clear that there was a difference -multiple times. She said that I needed a popcorn maker to turn these kernels that I purchased into the popcorn that I know. So I loaded up the Google and began my search. I found a model that would meet my needs at a reasonable price, but there were negative reviews. So I continued looking for a better model. I eventually found an awesome popcorn maker for $80. I could easily afford the price, but I did not need the genuine popcorn taste nor did I need another hulking appliance in the kitchen. On top of that, the crazy woman next to me was not too pleased with that fact that I was going to spend $80 for another appliance just to make up for a mistake of purchasing the non-microwavable kernels.

I had no intention of having the best popcorn maker out of all my friends, but I wanted a product that would consistently produce. And even though I did not purchase the product I always use the same reasoning when purchasing products:

What are my needs?
How often would I use it?
Is there a reasonable cheaper alternative?
What does the lady thing? (since my money is hers and vice versa)

I have a purchasing system in place to minimize wasteful spending. About wasteful spending, I wonder why would anyone ever purchase a new car? The vehicle depreciates substantially over the first two years. Why not just buy the older version of the same model for %20-%25 cheaper? The risk of purchasing a used vehicle from a dealership is minimal at best. I bought my car from a place that restores cars that have been in accidents. I got the incident report from ICBC and I got it checked out by a mechanic to minimize any surprises. There is a negative stigma associated with purchasing vehicles like this, but for a savings of $4000 and being told by my trusted mechanic that everything was good to go, why wouldn’t I buy?

I really wonder. If you need things shiny and new and value your money, you might want to check into that complex that is costing you your hard earned money. I wish I could relay the message through to my unreasonable friend and save him thousands of dollars. Sigh…

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