How was your last shopping for “Numbers”? “Shopping for “Numbers”? you might ask.
You probably think that is a crazy idea or baloney, but wait a minute, before you reach such a conclusion.
Let me ask you a few questions; what is usually at the back of your mind when you go for shopping or you wait to make a capital purchase for example home, car, refrigerator, furniture, fix a roof, buy insurance, go on vacation, take flight and cruises, undertake a major surgery etc., What goal do you strive to achieve in all these endeavors to acquire personal properties and needs? My guess is as good as yours. You look for “big bang for the bucks”.
Yes, “big bang for the bucks” is the goal of every consumer of goods, no matter the type or cost of the good or commodity. But what actually is “big bang for the bucks”? The phrase originated from the usage of the slangs ‘bang’ and ‘bucks’ which mean ‘excitement’ and ‘money’ respectively. Hence, when we talk of “big bang for the bucks”, we are referring to your getting ‘big value for the money spent.’ A number of variations of the phrase are being used in various settings. Examples are ‘bang for your bucks’, ‘more bang for the buck’ and ‘bigger bang for the buck’.
‘Bigger bang for the buck’ was used in 1954 to summarize the ‘New Look” national security policy of US by Secretary of Defense, Charles Erwin Wilson during the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. It referred to the policy of depending on nuclear weapons to checkmate the Soviet Union, rather than depending on a large regular army. However, the phrase is strictly being used today in a commercial sense, to mean ‘greater value for the money spent’.
The process of looking for the best savings as much as possible for your hard-earned money or looking the best value at the least cost possible, which is referred to as ‘big bang for the bucks’ is simply and nothing but ‘shopping for the numbers’.
For one to be good at shopping for numbers, however, you need to have certain personal qualities. These include good observational quality, basic number operation ability, and most importantly, basic Math skills.
When you endeavor to acquire these basic skills, you put yourself in a good position to effectively and efficiently ‘shop for the numbers’ or get a ‘big bang for your bucks’. A little cash savings here and there will actually stretch out your savings and result in bigger savings that can make you live a day longer.
So, remember, when you are gathering your independent estimates for any project, comparing quotes and using your smartphone in the groceries stores to compare prices of food items, you are actually “shopping for the numbers!”
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