March, 2007:

I live very close to my current work place in the city. During the cold weather I take mass transportation. It takes me 20 minutes by bus and train, and costs me $76 for a monthly unlimited Metocard. When the weather is nice, I usually walk to work. It takes me 20 minutes to reach work by foot, and costs me nothing. During the summer, I buy Pay-Per-Ride metrocards since I don’t use the metrocard everyday. But more importantly, walking is a healthy exercise. Sometimes waiting for the bus can get frustrating. Walking lightens your mood and relieves stress.

Of course, I know not everyone walks to work. Tell us about your commute. How much do you spend for your commute? And how long is it? Do you think it’s worth the time and money?

In tonight’s episode, two different contestants picked a case with a million dollars in it, but both sold the case for a cheaper offer. One of the contestants was a retired General and another one was a body builder. The General sold his case for $99,000 and the bodybuilder sold his case for $81,000. Had either one of them gone all the way, he would have hit the million dollar jackpot.

I can understand why the bodybuilder took the offer. He was broke, so $81K seemed like a huge amount to him. But, why the retired General? I was surprised the General took the offer for $99,000 when he still had a fair chance to hit the million. I presume he would have a nice pension by his age and wouldn’t need to worry about money. Why not go all the way? $99,000 may seem like a lot of money, but after taxes, paying fees, buying dinner, passing off some gifts, this and that, there’s really little left. Correct me if I’m wrong, but taxes would chop the $99,000 to roughly half the amount, or about $45,000. And then you take your friends and relatives out to dinner. You give some money to your relatives and friends. Eventually, you’d end up with $20,000. $20K is still good money, especially when it’s free, but it wouldn’t change your life.

I thought if I had a chance in the Deal or No Deal game, I would aim for an amount that would change my lifestyle. For god sake’s, $100,000 is not even enough for down payment these days in NYC. So I would not settle for less than $500,000. Again, I think taxes take about half of the amount off, so I’m really settling for $250,000.
If you were either one of those two contestants, would you have gone all the way? How much of a risk-taker are you? How much would you sell your game for?

Starbucks is giving out free coffee on March 15 from 10:00 to 12:00 pm in participating stores.