The Paradox of Riches

What better way to end the year than with some profound wisdom about true riches. I suppose the true pessimist would say something like "Ptooie! So-called 'true riches' only exist as an excuse for people to compensate for their lack of wealth!"
Firstly, please don't spit while you're around me. Secondly, if there's anything I've learned from sharking trading cards from innocent students back in primary school, it's that value is almost always a relative construct. Whether it's how shiny something is or the fact that something smells like carbon, value can be derived from any arbitrary attribute.
Having said that, you can also exploit this insight to improve your own sense of wealth. But then you also have to deal with moral dilemmas and ethics-based variables, which is a whole other barrel of monkeys...

Bad Memories

Partially inspired by that one horrid experience with Centrelink that still scars me today, where I was *this* close to spending the following 10 years paying off a few thousand dollars in debts, all because I switched from full-time university studying to part-time university studying in 2016 and forgot to tell Centrelink about it.
I suppose I've somewhat gotten over that painful experience in one way or another. For instance, just the other day, I spent $45 on a medium-sized unicorn onesie and didn't feel destroyed when I actually bought it. Perhaps I should invest more effort into measures to blur out this unfavourable memory?

Just eat it

I'm sure we've all been in that situation at some point: You're flat-out full after stuffing yourself with gourmet food at some fancy restaurant you'll never be able to afford to visit again, and you're thinking to yourself "Is this really how it all ends? On the verge of throwing up, with a food bill that's large enough to constitute a decent mortgage payment?"
If this graph tells us anything, it's that unless what you're eating has an unusually high dose of radiation, you may as well double-down until you pass out eating a plate full of crab claws. Again.

Freed with Speed

Largely inspired by an offer from Red Rooster (for those who aren't aware, think of it as an Australian chicken shop) as described in the first frame. And I have to say, I am rather impressed at the strategic distribution of their store locations.
Based on observations from Google Maps, it does seem that you can pick almost any arbitrary location within the Sydney area and there's bound to be, at worst, a 30-minute driving distance between the nearest Red Rooster and the target location.
Although this doesn't factor in traffic, weather, store popularity or other indirect variables (such as drowning the in Nepean River), it would be more accurate to say "30 minute guarantee when the odds are not stacked against us, or your next chicken is free... I guess"

Saving Money with Neighbours

Arguably, the main reason I make friends in the first place. Of course, one does need to balance the social benefits of good company against the material advantages of freeloading off them, so that your devious motivations aren't blatantly obvious to your social circle.
Although you could always be, you know, a "normal person", and just enjoy the presence of other people without secondary motives. But how do you know the other person isn't playing you just to take advantage... of YOU?! As preposterous as the truth may seem, sometimes you just gotta believe.

Lack of Incentive

"Doing good works... FOR FREE?!" Some people would get overly mad at the very thought, and it's not that surprising to see why: Because finding people who are truly passionate about any charitable cause is like trying to obtain those snazzy new $2 coins that are periodically placed into public circulation - It's actually really difficult, and it's usually when nobody is looking for them is when the true altruists show themselves.

But with the festive season creeping towards you, why not give the give the gift of reasonable moral judgement? You probably can't get that at a Black Friday sale. At least not where I live anyway...

Splitting the Bill

Here's a semi-practical tip for spending less money than you need to when you're at a social event: Deliberately carry around high value bank notes to make it more difficult to break up into smaller currencies. Best case scenario, your friend of the hour will just say "You know what, I'll pay for and you just have to pay me back" and all you have to do is sit back and let time work its magic as all is forgotten, as with many things.
Although worst case scenario, you single-handedly end up paying for the entire bill simply because you have the capacity to do so, and people end up "forgetting" to pay you back.

The Money Tree

The whole idea of a money tree is deeply flawed, if you think about it as briefly as I have. If a plant can naturally produce precious metals, would that mean the value of gold would consequently plummet? What would the stages of growth for a $10 note look like? Is there a way to tell the difference between a conventional coin and a "naturally grown" coin, and if so, would both still be considered as the same form of currency? So many questions, such little time...