My boy Nate randomly texted me this the other day and I can’t stop thinking about it…
Such pros and cons either way!!
Would you rather…
Have unlimited money to buy things online but you can never buy anything in person (can’t go to restaurants, shops, movies, games)
Or have unlimited money to buy things in person but you can never buy anything online (can’t get anything delivered, but could walk onto a car lot and buy a car with cash)
******
I immediately shot back “In person 100%!” and then had to marinate on it to make sure it was the best answer?!
He quickly reminded me this means “No Amazon! No buying things from around the world and no deliveries or Ebay!!” and I’ll admit that last one would be hard as it is where I find all my old rare books and coins I collect! However, with *unlimited money* I can just FLY TO ALL THE PLACES and look for them in person, lol… Or do anything else I wanted in person for that matter!
I could eat anytime I want in person. Buy anything I want in person. Buy things for other people or donate lots of $$$ in person. With UNLIMITED MONEY you can live as rich a life as Bill Gates or Warren Buffett once did just 30 years ago before Amazon or the internet was even a *thing*! Lol… It was normal life to buy everything in person!! :)
If you were tied to *online* purchases you’d also find yourself in a pickle more often than not… When you’re out and about and you get hungry? Sorry – no food for you! If you see something for sale (or even worse – your kids find something for sale – like Pokemon cards!) or you just want to grab a coffee on the go – nope! And if you’re traveling the world to far exotic places which you probably will be with that much money, good luck!! I hope you’re a master planner and organizer ‘cuz I sure as hell am not, lol…
And God forbid the internet goes down or you lose your phone… You better have back ups for your back ups! Also hope that you can pay your rent or mortgage or anything else you need/want in life online, though I suppose these days you’re 80% in the clear already with probably another 5-10 years until there wouldn’t be anything you couldn’t buy online?
So really the question comes down to what you prefer to have more of in life – in person interactions, or online interactions? There’s massive pros and cons to both, and with unlimited money you’ll be just fine either way, haha, but I know at least for me I’d much prefer going back to human life than digital if I can help it. Which is probably why I answered “in person 100%!” right away. I don’t want to lose myself more online!! I want to be in the real and flesh!!
That’s what my gut is telling me at the moment anyways :) How about you? Which would you prefer if you had to make a choice: unlimited money to spend online only, or unlimited money to spend in person only? Or do you prefer to opt out of the whole silly option and just keep everything the way it is with your current money and all the freedoms in the world??
Fortunately for those who choose the latter you already got your wish, but a fun question to ponder regardless ;) Never know when you’ll have to for real decide!! Lol… Leave your thoughts in the comments below or hit “reply” if you’re reading this in email and let’s keep the discussion going!
Your friend both online, and especially in-person,
PS: Some other fun Would You Rathers to digest:
- Would you rather… Win $15,000 in dollar bills, or win $20,000 in quarters?
- Would you rather… Have your student loan debt wiped away or FREE healthcare forever??
- Would you rather… Have $250,000 in cash but also $250,000 in debt -OR- Have $0.00 cash and $0.00 debt?
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I’d rather buy everything in person. When I shop now… I like to touch/feel what it is I’m after. I want to know if the quality matches what I’m expected to pay. THEN… I try to find it online to see if I can get it cheaper. :)
I’d rather have $20,000 in quarters. Why turn down an extra $5,000?
If I had student debt, I think I’d still want free healthcare for life. At some point, you expect to pay off student loans, right???
Hmmm… that last one. I think I’d rather have $250,000 in cash and debt so I could leverage some interest while paying down the debt. Maybe? That’s the hardest one!!
Our answers align 100% here :) Def. more options with the $$/debt equation, but i know people DO like feeling 100% debt freedom!
In person, this is what creates experiences and supports our local communities. Online shopping is great and convenient, but experiences trump the convenience.
Ooooh great answer!! never know who you’ll run into, or what conversations will take place or any other wonderful joys in life (of course, that also comes with the unexpected *pains* in life too lol, but I still think it’s worth it)
Very cool. I love thinking of things in extreme cases. For some reason I like to tell people if I had to choose between ONLY eating Greek and Lebanese food for the rest of my life or NEVER eating it again, it’d be a hard choice lol.
But I also use this mind game in my day-to-day as an engineer (thinking of extreme ends of examples). e.g. if something was extremely thin vs extremely thick, how would it react to XYZ…
You’d make for a great artist/designer too :) most of my best stuff comes from extreme tweaks, even if half of them are accidental!! lol…
I want both! Either/or cancels the joy of the wealth I have and aim to have. I don’t eat out often, and enjoy it tremendously when I do. Some purchases are better made in person. I love online shopping for many things. The only kind of shopping I really enjoy in person is at the grocery store. I do not enjoy clothes shopping but feel it needs to be done mostly in person. I want no limits and freedom of choice.
Then lucky you – you already have it! (Minus the unlimited funds ;))
In -person all the way! We didn’t always have online, and did just fine. And to your point J, you could just go anywhere you wanted with unlimited money. Even though I can get household items on Amazon or Target online, I would rather go in person because you never know what you want to touch or try before you buy. Now, this generation that buys stuff off social media, uses Instacart, Doordash, etc (all things I don’t use) they might prefer the first option. But not me!
Maybe one of the few benefits of being so old – we can remember the days before internet!! lol…
omg, online all the way! stock in physical stores these days is pathetic – plus I live at the bottom of the world haha which doesn’t help.
Hi ol’ friend!! Feels like 2010 again with you here :) hope you’re well!!
Definitely online. I have already moved most of my shopping online because I can’t find what I want in stores, especially clothes. Why did stores stop stocking clothes for petite women anyways? And traffic is a mess now so I don’t like driving around to a a bunch of stores, hoping they have what I need. I’m ambitious eating in restaurants and going to movies, since I can do both at home for less. And only shopping online stops a lot of my impulse spending too.
Online is so much better for a lot of things… not clothes-wise for me as i always need to try things on and like finding hidden gems (thanks Goodwill!), but on so many levels I agree it’s changed the game.
^ ambivalent
Thanks, autocorrect.
100% in person, for many of the reasons stated by others above, BUT also because all the packaging and shipping is a huge load on the environment. Surprised no one else has mentioned climate change …
Happy Turkey Day everyone.
This is true!!
Oof. This is particularly hard to answer as an Alaskan since I’d be severely limited. I’d lean toward in person as well but am not sure I’d survive!
Hah!! Def. easier in other parts of the country :)
Tamping down my inclination to loophole it (does paying with a we based app like square or apple or Samsung pay count as online? Can I ask my neighbourhood shopkeeper to order in anything I desire?), even though the vast majority of my shopping is online currently, I’m pretty sure that online shopping would start to feel like a prison very quickly. Give me life!
haha yeah – my friend Nate who inspired this post said it’s perfectly okay to use apps in this scenario, however I’d have to disagree with him since it’s basically still “online” shopping and uses the internet. hopefully though in this make believe world you can still use all OTHER apps that makes life easier!! like banking and directions!
I donate online. What about investing and Vanguard? Like someone else commented above, I enjoy restaurants. Tricky choice. Glad I don’t have to make it tonight.
ughh!! didn’t consider investing or giving!! that really screws up my plan lol… (unless maybe that stuff doesn’t count as “buying” as you’re giving $$$ away or just saving it for later??? yeah… let’s go with that! :))
Besides I’m sure the Vanguard (or investing group if your choice) would tire of a gaggle of FIRE folks showing up in person with wads of cash.
haha… would be quite the site to see 😂
While the internet has undoubtedly revolutionized our lives, offering unparalleled convenience and access to information, it has also inadvertently distanced us from the very essence of human connection. Go with your gut!
Amen to that.