This Reflections will be a little lighter—about being cheap. These days we are lectured about spending too much money, but let’s look at the other side and hear your stories (good and bad, friends, relatives, significant others) about experiences with cheap. What does cheap mean and what does it say about us and our intentions? There are several kinds of cheap. The first is frugal—use it up, make it do, wear it out. Can you think of a time where this saved you a lot of money, like hundreds of dollars on a house repair or a time when it backfired and a tire blew out at midnight in the middle of nowhere? Another kind of cheap is social obligation. Like the office Xmas party or bridal shower or baby shower or house warming you have to go to but you dread. Did you buy a really cheap gift? Or did you receive a really cheap gift? What happened? Are your friends still talking to you? Did you or someone you know ever get caught recycling a gift? What about retaliatory cheap? Like getting even with that relative who always buys you crappy stuff for your birthday. Did you ever threaten to kill a significant otherover cheap—or the other way around? What did you do or she/he do? What are the results and ethics of cheap? Is this a good life philosophy? Can it backfire, like the homeless guy pushing a shopping cart with $5 million in the bank? Did you ever miss an important opportunity by not focusing on the long-range rather than the upfront cost? Can you fix cheap, or is it forever?
For the meeting, please bring the usual pot luck, and host Bob Morris will provide some drinks and paper dinnerware. The driveway has a bit of an incline, so if you have strong legs, please park at the bottom so others have less of a climb.
