Money

I have been thinking (worrying) a lot about money lately, with the national lottery Euromillions jackpot tonight standing at 131 million pounds which for the average person is just a ridiculous amount of money.

Recently a lot of the radio stations have also been having these competitions, one for example if you heard a certain artists songs  - 3 in a row & if your phone number was picked it could have bagged you 30 grand.  I must admit I did enter a few times as I was working 3 days a week and able to listen to the radio all day at some points in the week.

As you may have gathered I didn't win but it did make me think listening to the DJ's going on about a 'life-changing' amount of money that they were giving away - is 30 grand a life-changing amount?

After some consideration and taking into account my own monetary situation I would have to agree that it is.

I read that the average Credit Card debt for your average adult in the UK is £8,000 each - which is probably about right.  So if we take that as £16,000 of Credit Card debt alone for the average family / couple who may only be able to make minimum payments each month to get by thirty thousand pounds would certainly change things.

For myself and my husband it would wipe out our debt - what a weight lifted that would be!!! And it would still leave a good chunk over - so life-changing?  You bet your sweet ass it would be.

So if you then consider the Euromillions jackpot tonight split equally could do that for approximately four thousand four hundred families it makes me a little uneasy - one person could win that entire jackpot and yes they could be the most wonderful and generous person in the world or well they might not be.

Its a bigger question for me I guess and I am being quite simplistic about it but I often wonder would the world be better off if money didn't exist? 

If every human being had a home, medical care, access to education and enough to eat - no wars or fighting because there is nothing to be gained - we found cures for disease because we need to, not for profit - we all took pride in doing something we loved - we took care of the planet so it was able to better sustain us - the food we produce is quality and not the cheapest option - invention and knowledge was not halted by lack of resource - what would that look like? 

Would we be a better race for it if we were united in ensuring that human beings will survive and excel?

I don't know the answers but I do know because of money we are divided, a lot of the time we do because we have to not because we want to, we have the cheap options because that's all we can afford, we worry and struggle because of what we do or don't have, does money make you happy? - I don't think it does because the massive rich poor divide is too big, too unfair. 

If there was no money, no debt, no worry because of it, no banks, no loan sharks - there would be better mental health for billions of people right there!  Money is a huge problem for a lot of people because the balance of what we earn, how we earn and costs of what we need are all wrong.

I would love to see a world where people were happy - people would still work hard but for a better future - better food, housing, medicines, inventions, exploration, arts - but for all of us, no borders just Earth.

You probably think I am being naive but I despair seeing the world as it is now, getting more and more divided, we treat each other and this planet so badly and the way we are going as humans our race will not survive, and to be honest if things keep going as they are - should we?

Supermarkets!

I am having problems, as many of us do with my supermarket shopping.

As a lot of us busy folks do I often choose to use Asda click and collect to pick up my groceries, however this service is not without its issues.
 

Asda seem to be under the impression that making customers wait for said groceries for longer than a few minutes is acceptable.  I have on numerous occasions been kept waiting by Asda, once for 40 minutes, after complaining about this Asda had the audacity to tell me that as my shopping was ready within the 2 hour slot and that the wait was acceptable.

I have to say Asda I bloody disagree!  By their thinking then it would have been acceptable for me to turn up at 8.00am to collect my shopping  and been kept waiting until 10.00am as this would have been within the allotted time.
 

Crap.  If I order my shopping to be picked up between 8-10 then I should be able to turn up at any point in that time frame and take my shopping away.  This morning I turned up at Asda at 9.30 am to collect my shopping, only to be told it was not ready. My slot was 8.30-11 am, if I had turned up at 8.30 I would have been waiting for over an hour!
 

I understand that these services are free but does that mean they should be no good?
 

Asda you need to sort yourselves out, if you offer a service you need to staff it properly and ensure that your customers shopping is ready and waiting at the start of a chosen slot, if you can't do it properly, don't do it at all.

Social Media..Angel or Devil?

So, something that's been on my mind a lot lately - I keep reading stories and unfortunately catching bits of Jeremy Kyle and things like Tool Academy where a relationship has been destroyed sometimes in no small part by Social Media and Messaging.  So what the hell is going on?  I use Social Media sites to speak to friends, promote my Blog and things I write for Charity and so on.  And when I say speak to friends I mean speak - not flirt, not be inappropriate or send dirty pictures.  So I am wondering - is Social Media and the advances we keep making in technology not only making it easier to connect with the wider world but also to cheat?  Can anyone have a normal trusting, respectful relationship anymore?

If you have said "I Love You" to someone and are in a committed relationship then by all means catch up with friends, be there if they need you but don't disrespect your partner and your relationship by crossing the line.  A good rule is this - if you are speaking to someone using any form of Social Media - read back what you are sending - if you know damn well it would hurt or upset your partner if they saw it, you shouldn't be sending it.  It's like thinking before you speak and should be done much more often, if you wouldn't say it in front of your partner - don't say it.

I just don't understand why people seem to think that texts/messaging etc don't matter or don't mean anything - I'm sure if your other half saw what you were doing they would not agree.  And what is the point in the end? A cheap seedy thrill with someone that you probably don't want anyway?  If you cant be honest or respectful  - don't be in a relationship, if you are thinking of cheating - don't be in a relationship.  And something that annoys me even more - if someone is messaging you in a flirty and inappropriate way and you cannot 100% say they are single or even worse you know they are attached - what the hell are you doing????  Be a better person and have the guts to say no - this isn't right - I want no part of it - stop and think, how would you feel if it was happening to you?

I am so sick of reading and seeing relationships end and the hurt that is caused and trust broken by this type of behaviour - what is so wrong with being a good, honest, trustworthy and respectful person?  Is it too old fashioned nowadays????? I honestly despair, as much as all of this media can be a good thing when used appropriately we have seen more and more that is used for terrible reasons.  I apologise for ranting and certainly don't mean to send everyone running for their partners phones and laptops, because there are good and decent people out there, they just seem to be getting harder to find. 

New technology makes it so easy to hide things, if you are in a relationship be honest, be open, be the best person you can be.

Don't throw a diamond away for a rock.

Intro

I'm in my 30's and life has been a rollercoaster to say the least, this Blog is about general life and any subject I want to talk about, so while I contemplate life over a Gin and Tonic this Blog will be the result!  Please note these are just my opinions!