Feed Me, Seymour!

Ah, good old “Lil Shop of Horrors”. One of my childhood friends loved this movie AND Rick Moranis. She’s probably the only person I know with a crush on him but as my childhood crush was Darth Vader, you know what they say about people in glass houses …

Staying out of and getting out of debt is easier for some types, and there are tips for all types at Feed the Pig. You might have seen the Ad Council’s commercials for this website. In one, an armored car lets out bags of money by accident and a guy on his way to work with a purchased cup of coffee thinks it’s his lucky day until a man/pig, Mr. Benjamin Bankes, brings the poor shlub back down to reality (checkout the ads here).

People who have the easiest time being frugal are Classics and Funs. Organic Structures are pretty decent as well. Smarts and Organic Freedoms can have a tougher time. Smart Structures will push the envelope (knowing that they’re doing so) but when push comes to shove, they keep it within reality. But, everyone can do the latter if they find ways to save that are easy for them.

The main reason that Feed the Pig is good for all types is because it has different ways of delivering advice (tips, games, quizzes). If you go to their Free Savings Tips page, they have an e-mail tip newsletter you can sign up for (good for Classics, Funs & Organics). They also have a Habit Breaking Help section, which is advice that Classics or Funs would give but there are a few gems for other types. On “Shoe Addiction,” they give typical Classic & Fun advice: buy classic styles that never go out of fashion (duh, but, easier to do when you’re 85 & not 25). In the “Latte-a-day” section, they get better. They start with: bring coffee in a travel mug from home (Classics & Organic Structures) but then they drop in: lobby for the office to get a coffee maker. Now that is a Smart solution if I ever saw one, plus quite a few Organics who’d embrace this idea as well (as long as doing so didn’t rock the boat).

As a Classic, I rarely do online games (time waster) but did them for the sake of this post (good for Funs & Organic Freedoms & Smart Freedoms). Point is, they get you focused & thinking about how to save more $$. I did the “Me, Save?” game where it maps out potential financial futures for you. This is where I learned that the man/pig doesn’t have high hopes for my financial prospects as an entrepreneur. As a Classic, I work hard to keep this particular worry at bay so now I know that Benjamin Bankes is most definitely a Classic!