Little things are different than big things… or are they?

How excited would you feel to save $30 on dinner for your family? That’s a pretty ridiculous discount, and a pretty ridiculously good deal.

How excited would you feel to save $30 on a new car? Or on a house?

People are geared to think about saving money in terms of percentage, not in terms of the actual amount. But the $30 you save on the car or the house is just as thirty as the $30 you save on dinner. It’s worth just as much: exactly thirty dollars. You can spend it on exactly the same amount of things, or save it for exactly the same raininess of day.

Earning is different than saving… or is it?

How much effort would you put into earning $500 by the sweat of your brow, or by the tapping of your fingertips?

How much effort would you put into saving $500 on a large purchase, like a new car or a house?

Most people wouldn’t even put in a tiny bit of effort. Either they’re intimidated by the large-thing-buying process, or it just doesn’t seem worth it, because it’s less than 1% of the total cost. But remember: that $500 you could save is just as five hundred as the $500 you worked those many hours to earn.

Wouldn’t it be worth putting in at least one hour to try to save that much?

Isn’t your time worth $500/hr?

The next time you make a big purchase, remember that every dollar you can save is just as dollar as a dollar you save on pretzels, and just as dollar as a dollar you earned from your own hard work.

The next time you buy something big, think about what you would charge for an hour of your time. If you think you could save that much or more by negotiating, shopping around, or looking for opportunities to save, do it. Money saved is just as money as money earned.