Because marketers often use logic to entice us to buy things we don't need
we can mange our finances wisely by finding the fallacies in their logic.
Logical fallacies are holes in the marketer's logic. Recognizing logical fallacies can help us make frugal decisions.
One such logical fallacy is called a False Dichotomy or False Dilemma. A False Dichotomy is a logical fallacy that involves a situation in which only two alternatives are considered, when in fact there are additional options. A dichotomy is a division into two mutually exclusive, opposed, or contradictory groups.
"Either I can buy a new car with payments or get a clunker that needs repairs." (what about a reliable used car or a 3-5 year old car in cash?)
"Either I can replace my bathtub for $5, 000 or deal with mold and other problems" (what about hiring a handyman to install an insert or DIY at 10-20% of the cost?)
"Either I can get my child a $30-50 month cell phone or have them live in the dark ages." (what about Firefly for under $10/ month or let them borrow your cell?)
"Either I can do my own taxes in a few hours or hire some high priced company." (maybe a good accountant will save you hundreds or thousands at an affordable price or outsource it.)
There are many options in any commerce situation and the options typically coalesce. Thus I consider Infinite Integration to be the antonym and preference to dichotomy.
An example of Infinite Integration is a family with dingy carpets decides to look at more options than simply buying new carpet ($1,000-3$,000) or hiring a carpet cleaner ($100-$300). After asking the carpet retailer, the carpet cleaner and some friends what options exist they discover many alternatives. So they gather and integrate many ideas into a synthesized decision. The one they settle on is to borrow a neighbor's carpet cleaner and pay for $20 in carpet cleaner solution.
Although false dichotomy examples occur daily, Infinite Integration is rare. Nevertheless it is a great asset for the frugal.
Image via Wikipedia
Recent Comments