Hey everyone, it’s Finance Fridays again. This is a little off-topic, but today is going to be a short post that sometimes “It’s the Little Things” that matter.

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It’s the Little Things?

Yea.

In general, I talk about Value Cost Ratio and how I value Experience over Things. However, today I wanted to talk about perspective when it comes to being a consumer.

For example, if you want to buy lunch you can go grab a quick bite to eat at McDonald’s. Of course, with the convenience of the drive through and fast food, the quality probably isn’t as high as other places. Don’t get me wrong… I love McDonald’s, probably too much.

However, your other option would be to go sit down for lunch somewhere. This of course would cost more money, but then you are making a trade off of time as well. Sometimes you don’t have an hour to sit down and eat a burger, and more so than that, is the premium of the quality of the burger that much more than that of McDonald’s? A lot of this subjective of course, but the point I am trying to make is that it isn’t just Big Mac versus Sit Down Restaurant Burger. Context matters. If you’re running behind one day, it makes more sense to grab a Big Mac from McDonald’s because you’ve kind of eliminated the option of sitting down for a restaurant burger.

Then there are other things that make a difference as well. I think there is a certain satisfaction to making your own burger on your own grill — or have someone you care for make it for you. For this reason, I still think the best burgers come from my own grill.

It’s not just the end product that matters, but how it was made, where it was made, who made it, and who it was made for.

I see.. but what do you mean by “It’s the Little Things”?

Well, let me try to explain:

Our weekends have generally been filled with activities since the kids have swimming and a host of other activities that come up. Previously, we used to go to Cheesecake Factory every once in awhile. You might recall that before we maybe went too often Trimming the Fat on my post. However, as of late we probably haven’t been there for a good 6 months or so — maybe longer. There are a couple reasons for this. One is that I was actively trying not to go too often and another is that our mornings were usually filled with activities.

To refresh your memories, the Cheesecake Factory in Waikiki is probably the busiest in the world. For that reason, I only go there when it opens. This used to be around 11 am, but now they offer brunch on both Saturdays and Sundays and so it opens at 10 am on both days.

One day my daughter Kylie said “We never go to Cheesecake Factory anymore…” After thinking about it, she was right, it had been a long, long time. Then, it dawned on me that Kylie has very fond memories of Cheesecake Factory. She associates it with friends coming to visit us in Hawaii and getting to meet new people. In case you were wondering, she likes their angel hair pasta with meatballs/sauce on the side. Her brother, Lucas ,eats the meatballs, and she eats the angel hair pasta. Of course, she loves the cheesecake too.

Long story short, we’re planning to go to Cheesecake Factory some weekend when we’re not busy and Kylie is really looking forward to it.

I see.

This serves as a reminder to me, and I think maybe even to everyone that sometimes “It’s the Little Things” that matter.

You don’t have to spend a ton of money to make happy little memories. While we made a lot of great memories on the California Family Trip of 2018, it’s good to realize that these smaller little outings you have with your kids provide just as much enjoyment and lasting memories.

As a side note, I used to pick up Kylie from preschool early on my days off and get her udon from Marukame Udon… she has fond memories of that as well. Of course, she has told me, “We need get Udon anymore…” as well, so I’m going to try to make that happen soon too. However, since she’s taken an interest in cooking, maybe we’ll try to teach her to make it at home. That will be a great memory too I think, she can take pride in her work and be fulfilled.

TL;DR

Sometimes “It’s the Little Things” that matter.

An outing doesn’t have to be expensive for the memory to be valuable and long-lasting.

-Sensei

Agree? Disagree? Questions, Comments and Suggestions are welcome.

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