Pimp Your Finances

Hi

Interesting analogy. It's made me think about the correlation between my physical life and my mental life.
What I mean is, I had crowds (physical), so I would go with the alternative route.
Mentally I also don't like to follow the crowd.

Perhaps I should look at some other areas of my life in this way...

Juliet

Hi Juliet,

It's interesting how closely our mental and physical personalities are linked. You'd think that being opposites, they'd be separate, but they're really interwoven and have a great influence on the other.

Your comment got me thinking...our mental lives are similarly tied to other areas, like our financial lives for example. Maybe we could all benefit from taking a new outlook on the connections in our lives.

Thanks for the comment!

Hi David, Nice blog!

I always thought that was a quote from Thoreau, thanks for clearing that up. I've lived my life by that quote.

I always take the stairs next to the escalator.

Stop by sometime...

Hi Tim! Glad you like it. I'll make sure to check out yours too.

There is a lot of confusion about that quote...I knew it was Frost, but I was completely off on the quote itself. It's incorrectly quoted as "the path less taken" in many places.

I try to take the stairs when I can....more room, and better for my health.

Thanks for the comment!

Great way of thinking but what do we say to those that take neither? There are people in the world, myself sometimes included that cant decide what to do. What then? ;)

So to follow up on your point about indecision...

Eventually, indecision becomes a decision on its own.

You can say you won't choose where to get off the subway, but eventually that defaults to a choice to get off at the last stop.

You could refuse to decide what to eat,but eventually that becomes a decision to starve to death.

So I'm not sure of the significance, but eventually indecision becomes a choice in and of itself.

Nice way of putting it, and I say I have to agree. A choice to not choose is still a choice. Nice work ;)

Thank you very much!

I really do appreciate your original comment....like I said, it forced me to think outside the box. That's something I normally pride myself on doing, but I didn't even consider it at first.

You know, that's actually a really insightful question (and very similar to the comment above... I need more time to properly respond to that one!).

There are not just the two choices I presented. Someone could choose to stay on the subway, and go to a different stop altogether.

Or, they could have avoided the subway altogether.

I really like your question, because it kind of forced me to look outside the box. I just assumed that there were only the two choices - I didn't even mention anything outside the box of "with the crowd or against it".

Thanks for the thought provoking comment!

I know this is meant to be a reference to financial situations, but I'm taking this literal here...
So, are you taking an escalater in the direction it's travelling that does not connect directly to where you're going, then another (or two) to get where you are going? (IE: take one empty escalator that goes up one floor then take another empty escalator that goes down two floors).
Or are you taking an empty escalator *against* the direction it's travelling? (IE: walk down the up escalator)
If you're just taking a longer route that is quicker (but following standard escalator use), then I'd say go ahead, you found a shortcut - lucky you.
However, if you're using an escalator "against the grain" (running up a down escalator or down an up escalator), then I'd say you're in the wrong. Running against the grain can cause issues if you find yourself facing a group of people in the opposite direction.
I heard that you can judge an action as "socially/morally correct" by asking what if *everyone* did it, not just you? If everyone randomly jumped on an escalator and started running around, it would be mass chaos (and probably injury) as groups of people are shoved out of the way.
I'd find an empty stairwell to use instead. You'll be healthier and may even beat the slow escalators! :)

I like your thought provoking comment!

It was meant literally, so I like where you're going. I'll respond to all of your points/questions.

I take two escalators up. Neither goes down. However, one escalator goes away from the exit, so I'm forced to double back and walk further.

I do not go against the intended direction of the escalator. As fun as it would be to run the wrong direction, it would be rude to others that may be going the opposite way.

So you are correct - it is a longer route that follows the intended usage, but is actually a shortcut due to people traffic.

I agree that actually running the wrong direction would cause problems, and would be a safety issue. When I say people get mad at me for going the wrong direction, I mean that I am walking the opposite direction of the crowd on the subway platform. The platform has no intended direction. It just works out that everyone else takes the direct route.

And while we can use public reaction to gauge the correctness of our actions, it does have its faults. If everyone jumped off a bridge, it wouldn't make it the proper thing to do. So even if my actions would cause chaos on a wide scale, it could still be the proper choice of action.

And last but not least - I wish there was a stairwell. There are no stairs. You're forced to take an escalator up.

But what I could do - is not take the subway. It is structured in such a way that I could get off a few stops earlier, and actually walk along under the surface.

That way, by the time I got to the escalators in question, there might not be any crowd there at all.

Thanks for the long and well thought comment!

The contarian approach also changes your view. When I was newly single again years ago, I used to go walking/jogging at a park near the town beach and I would go counterclockwise while everyone went clockwise. I did it for two reasons: 1) I didn't get boxed in and could move at my pace and 2) I am a people watcher-- at the time I was more focus on the girl people watching. It was much easier to look at, smile at, and meet girls going my way . . .

Ha ha. I like the way you think :)

I definitely like going at my own pace, and I've always been a people watcher. It's more fun to look at peoples eyes and faces than backs...especially the girls.

It's just like the heard mentality in investing. If everyone is scared, jump in. If everyone is greedy, jump out.

I prefer to take the 'escalator' less traveled and I think my fiancee hates it! I hate following crowds and always want to do my own thing. However, if I am in an unfamiliar place (new city), I tend to follow the crowd so I don't look like a sightseer!

I agree about the heard mentality. Hasn't Warren Buffet said that you should go the opposite of the crowd? It seems to work pretty well for him.

I also think that it will help you avoid making the same "buy high sell low" mistakes that everyone makes.

I like going the less crowded route, even if it is more difficult. My wife is pretty good about it - she actually does it more than I do when it comes to traffic. She'll take any backroad shortcut she can think of,.

Yeah, you have to follow the crowd sometimes if you don't know what to do. I do it sometimes. But I would say when it comes to money - make a point to learn instead of following!

Thanks for the comment.