Today, I just bought extremely cool headphones that amplify the bass, reduces ambient noise, and it also has a microphone, so I can hook it up to my iPhone … I think it was slightly overpriced, but I think it’s well worth the $80 I paid for it!
Once a day, I usually grab a cup of coffee from Costa Coffee or a chai latte from Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf … this usually costs about $4.2, which amounts to roughly $30 a week.
Once a week, I go to church to pray and give thanks to my daily bread and all the blessings bestowed upon me … as part of the Eucharistic service, a collection plate is passed along to collect alms from the congregation … I never put in over $10!
So I started asking myself, why is it easy to pay $80 for a pair of earphones, or $30 a week for coffee … and it’s so difficult to chip in more than $10 at church??
Here’s what I believe the reason behind my religious stinginess is: “Timely Perceived Value” – let me explain: with the coffee and headphones, I can instantly get the gratification of the money I paid … I can sense (taste, hear, touch, see, smell) what I paid for! At church, it’s a matter of faith and hence my apparent resistance.
Lesson to be learned is, if you’re going to charge for something, make sure you’re selling value in a timely fashion!
