Yesterday, I saw an embarassing sight. While shopping for groceries, I witnessed an entire family gathered around the bakery counter, where they have the free samples. The family was literally stuffing their faces with these samples. Not just that, they were blithely having conversation while continuously biting into and reaching for more pieces of bread/cake/doughnut, like they were at a restaurant. I was standing in line for about five minutes and the family was still eating when I left.

Does anyone else see something wrong with that picture?

Another example would be those who "rent" items for a weekend from Walmart or Target. I admit that once upon a time, like during college, I had friends or roommates who purchased a dress for a party but did not cut off the tag. After the event, they would go return the dress. At the time I thought they were being smart, but now I question the act. Recently, I watched some father, still decked out in flip flops and smelling of suntan lotion, return a whole bunch of beach gear to a rather peeved Walmart associate. The cooler looked in ok condition (though I wonder if the inside still contained ice or water) but the umbrella still had sand on it. He even shook it out (all over the counter, too) and then proudly showed his receipt. Wow. All I can say is, he had some guts.

Again, I wouldn't do it- I'd feel too guilty about purposefully buying stuff that I intend to use and then return. But are these people smart or stingy? There's some moral line here that I feel is being crossed...

July is the best month for me because my birthday is in July, hehehe. But what might make it even sweeter is if I end up hitting my net worth goal of $50,000. Back in October, I'd estimated that I'd reach this magical number in October of 2007. Now wouldn't it be great if I could beat that prediction by 3 months? Stay tuned!