I rarely get old fashioned snail mail. Where I can, for most solicited mail I will choose a paperless option, so I think the only things I get are car registration and insurance notices, Visa statements and offers to “The Pizza Lover”. A few weeks ago I got a statement for my Credit Card, I rarely even read them because I do all my banking online anyway. The statement sat around unopened on the kitchen bench for about a week, until I was hassled to open it because it was getting in the way.
When I did finally open the statement I kind of skimmed over it with disinterest.. that is until I got to the very end of the statement and that last little bit that said “from the start of your next statement period your interest rate will increase by 2%.” Really? Well that’s not very fun is it? I wonder how long it would’ve taken for me to notice if I hadn’t opened the statement.
As I was whinging out loud, I was reminded that a friend had recently switched his credit card to a new provider with a much lower normal rate and 0% on balance transfers. “Why not change to another credit card with a better deal?” It was a great question. I actually had considered it briefly before, but that’s about as far as I got.
I’m really not great with change. I live quite a habitual existence in many ways; I do things in a particular order, and even some at a certain time of the day. Just a few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon (when I always do grocery shopping) I was out at the birthday party of a friend’s little boy. The party was a fair drive away from home and I was planning to shop straight after it had finished. On the way home, I realised I wasn’t quite going to get to my normal Woolworths in time to shop before they closed (!), so I conceded to go to the Coles that’s a little closer instead.
I thought it was going to be a complete disaster! The aisles were all over the place, I didn’t know where anything was, the fruit and vegie section was backwards and I had no idea where the bakery section even was.. in the end, I did get my shopping done fairly successfully, it was actually kind of fun cruising the aisles (I love grocery shopping) and seeing different brands and versions of things, and the worst thing that happened was that my mandarins were pretty horrible.
So, why do I not like change? It’s not uncommon – lots of people stay in situations that are average, bad or even horrific, all because we fear change and the unknown. We stay in bad relationships and in unfulfilling careers, we continue to live in areas that experience bad weather and where we feel unsafe due to crime and violence, we keep going to schools that don’t teach us anything, we continue shopping with outlets that are too cheap/expensive, we keep buying from providers who supply poor quality goods and services. We stay with Banks and Credit Card issuers that charge too much interest.
As consumers, we need to change. We do the same as we always have, we purchase from the same suppliers, we buy the same things yet we complain when the outcome remains the same. What are you not getting a result from that you need to change? What are you missing out on? If you change and it doesn’t work out how you hope will it really be the end of the world? Do some research, ask some questions and see what you find. You just might end up saving time, money and/or your sanity.
About Emily
