Nothing Is For Free - Welcome back to my blog! - It just hit me again like a rock as it does every now and then: Nothing in life is for free except for love. Sure, hope, compassion, dreams, wishes, even vengeance and hatred are usually free of charge in monetary terms, but all those sentiments as well as resentments are usually connected to specific conditions and therefore either consume time or energy or both. True love in its purest and most unselfish form, however, is not just cost-free but does not require any effort whatsoever. This being said, as for today, I'd rather focus on a few separate examples of what comes with a certain price and thus classifies for "nothing is ever for free".
As far as bargains in the vast and ever tempting world of retail, I just can't help admitting that I, too, love discounts, price reductions and special offers. The more, the better actually. If I like freebies? You bet, I do! Believe me, whenever I have a chance, I'll gladly help myself a little here and there. Lots of times though, I wonder about the nature of such free gifts. If someone is perfectly content with a couple of samples or gifts, these indeed remain free. However, I often find that I like certain perfume scents, food flavors, fabrics, colors, sounds, etc., and consequently put myself on another pilgrimage to the local shopping mekkas usually with the result of purchasing the little teasers' big brothers and sisters at full price. - "Nothing is for free, not even death" is a commonly shared proverb in my country, almost like a cynic conviction which I grew up with back in the good old days.
I was taught that everything in our materialistic world came with a price tag and that as a rule it always took money to make money. The first part was rather easy to accept, not so the second piece of wisdom. Not being geared too generous myself, I've always had a hard time to live by this idea.
Why possibly waste money by potentially betting on the wrong horse? This red flag has always been on the forefront of every single financial endeavor of mine. Against all fears though, over the many years I've gradually managed to somewhat mellow out as most risk- taking steps have actually paid off sooner or later. On a different level, giving money to beggars unconditionally, at least once in a while, has changed my view on money altogether. Provided, of course, that individual is truly in need - which at times is rather impossible to tell, I gladly give some of my money because for that beggar it takes quite some time and energy to make enough money in order to survive. Again, without effort there are no results. - On an entirely different note, at least at first sight, in the last few weeks ever since health care can be shopped for online, a new trend seems to be surfacing labelled as "haggling with new health care". Some medical clinics offer or rather bid health care services at considerably cheaper rates than other facilities here and are consequently being flooded. The prices for specific surgeries read so incredibly reasonable compared to what they usually cost that thousands are flocking to those sites in order to not just save a buck or two but up to tens of thousands of dollars for one and the same procedure. In my opinion, it speaks for itself that this new bidding platform is now being fought tooth and nail by the medical boards across the country causing a lot of unnecessary uproar. This piece of news actually made me giggle because it instantaneously triggered this familiar sensation of me always trying to venture off to places where I can get the same item, product, good, service, etc. much cheaper than elsewhere. Let's be honest, aren't we all like that? I think, we are. Why pay more for something we can get at a cheaper rate somewhere else? "Nothing is for free" may very well apply in most situations, but a lot out there is certainly available for much less than expected or generally believed.
As far as bargains in the vast and ever tempting world of retail, I just can't help admitting that I, too, love discounts, price reductions and special offers. The more, the better actually. If I like freebies? You bet, I do! Believe me, whenever I have a chance, I'll gladly help myself a little here and there. Lots of times though, I wonder about the nature of such free gifts. If someone is perfectly content with a couple of samples or gifts, these indeed remain free. However, I often find that I like certain perfume scents, food flavors, fabrics, colors, sounds, etc., and consequently put myself on another pilgrimage to the local shopping mekkas usually with the result of purchasing the little teasers' big brothers and sisters at full price. - "Nothing is for free, not even death" is a commonly shared proverb in my country, almost like a cynic conviction which I grew up with back in the good old days.
I was taught that everything in our materialistic world came with a price tag and that as a rule it always took money to make money. The first part was rather easy to accept, not so the second piece of wisdom. Not being geared too generous myself, I've always had a hard time to live by this idea.
Why possibly waste money by potentially betting on the wrong horse? This red flag has always been on the forefront of every single financial endeavor of mine. Against all fears though, over the many years I've gradually managed to somewhat mellow out as most risk- taking steps have actually paid off sooner or later. On a different level, giving money to beggars unconditionally, at least once in a while, has changed my view on money altogether. Provided, of course, that individual is truly in need - which at times is rather impossible to tell, I gladly give some of my money because for that beggar it takes quite some time and energy to make enough money in order to survive. Again, without effort there are no results. - On an entirely different note, at least at first sight, in the last few weeks ever since health care can be shopped for online, a new trend seems to be surfacing labelled as "haggling with new health care". Some medical clinics offer or rather bid health care services at considerably cheaper rates than other facilities here and are consequently being flooded. The prices for specific surgeries read so incredibly reasonable compared to what they usually cost that thousands are flocking to those sites in order to not just save a buck or two but up to tens of thousands of dollars for one and the same procedure. In my opinion, it speaks for itself that this new bidding platform is now being fought tooth and nail by the medical boards across the country causing a lot of unnecessary uproar. This piece of news actually made me giggle because it instantaneously triggered this familiar sensation of me always trying to venture off to places where I can get the same item, product, good, service, etc. much cheaper than elsewhere. Let's be honest, aren't we all like that? I think, we are. Why pay more for something we can get at a cheaper rate somewhere else? "Nothing is for free" may very well apply in most situations, but a lot out there is certainly available for much less than expected or generally believed.
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