The Hype: Are you brainy or bamboozled?

Mama’s Best Advice

These guys get paid millions. Restaurants  make money selling chicken, wings, sushi or pizza,  liquor flows, the city makes money on DUI tickets,  city judges work overtime and broadcasters get rich and the poor increase their debt and divert their sustainability and responsibility dollars for a little of the hype, leaving a larger gap between them and the pie in the sky.

So it’s the big event. It’s happening in your town or on television and either way live or on cable it is going to take a huge disproportionate chunk of your budget. Do you pass? You don’t want to be left out of the conversation that everyone will be talking about. On the other hand, being in the conversation is going to cost you, big time. Decisions decisions, what do you do? Here are some things to consider.

Is there a way to be in the conversation, know all the details without putting out the cash. When there’s a party at a restaurant, you can always go and just come in late, make excuses, order an appetizer and make excuses for why you have to leave early. You leave your cost, plus a little something and you’re off the hook for having an elaborate meal and dishing out money that is not in your budget. You have participated and saved face.

When there’s a big event that won’t be on network television and the only way to view it live is either to go out – which means you’ll need a sitter, because your wife will want to go, gas in the car and money for the meal or bar which then it seems that you haven’t really saved much money and you would have rathered being comfortable in your favorite chair – or stay, at home where  the pay per view is $100. Well, there are ways to get around that as well. By morning, everyone will know how the concert went, who won and, the newspapers in print or online will have the play by play and the entire event will be free on youtube or other social media a few days following.

Finally, what about that newest phone, flyest purse, hippest new kicks or swankiest new car? Anything hot off the press is going to cost more. If this is something that will hold its swag, then waiting until the dust settles will give time for the cost to go down. Often, someone will have purchased an item, gotten over the hype and be ready to trade it in or let it go at a discount within days, weeks or months and you can  clench a great discount by being less impulsive.

Recently, there was the Mayweather McGregor fight. These guys get paid millions. Restaurants  make money selling chicken wings, sushi or pizza, liquor flows, the city makes money on DUI tickets,  city judges work overtime and broadcasters get rich and the poor increase their debt and divert their sustainability and responsibility dollars for a little of the hype, leaving a larger gap between them and the pie in the sky. For most folks, the Mayweather vs MCGregor hype was for a night out or cable television at home in which average costs were mostly around of $35-$100 per person. There were some ways to get around putting out this wadd of cash. Sharing the cost by inviting friends and dividing the cost of the pay per view and including drinks, getting to a smaller neighborhood establishment where you could stand on your feet with one beer for long periods. But,  the cheapest way is to watch online a few days later, for free. https://youtu.be/D6rzEYD3Q_o

There will always be hype. For each incidence, stop, think and decide if you will be brainy or bamboozled.