I am sorry if I had you drawn into reading this blog with a shocking title. Though I wish it were to be true, there is not yet a total ban on smoking cigarettes. But I believe we are going in the right direction. I am referring to a news article which states that soon there is going to be a ban on cigarette display in convenient stores in the province of Ontario. It might appear to be funny to see a transaction go through in a hush-hush manner while buying just a pack of cigarettes. But it is required.

I would even recommend that cigarettes be sold in specific outlets like the ones for buying liquor. And also restrict their sale at specific time of the day and some days of the week. The idea is not only to keep it away from the curious eyes of kids/youngsters but also to make it inconvenient for smokers who may otherwise pick it up from ‘convenience’ stores. I wouldn’t buy the argument that this will result in the loss of jobs. If you consider the cost to individuals themselves who smoke and the social cost incurred by the rest of us by way of increased medical attention given to smokers in the later years, these are small prices to pay.

In so far cigarette companies continue to make healthy profits even if their patrons tend to become unhealthy in the process, they will do all that they can to oppose such moves as outlined above. So we (smokers and non-smokers alike) should do all that we can to attach a stigma to cigarette smoking. Youngsters tend to pick up the habit of smoking at parties and told by their friends that to smoke a cigarette is a cool-thing to do. They should be made to realize that their identity or self worth is not derived in holding a roll of tobacco between their fingers.

I very much look forward to the time (I don’t know if it will happen in my lifetime) when cigarettes are no longer sold in convenience stores or gas stations or any specific outlets. And that the cigarette companies have given up this business for good and have taken up some other businesses that add value to life, the farmers who hitherto cultivated tobacco have replaced it with some other cash crops to produce ; making productive use of their land.

When that happens you may still find some unscrupulous elements selling cigarettes to vulnerable customers in the dark alleys (in the wee hours of the night) just as they sell drugs now. Youngsters and potential smokers my advice to you: ‘don’t do drugs or cigarettes’.

Recently I read an article on multitasking. I recommend that you should too. In this age of competition where one tries to outsmart the other, we are under ever increasing pressure to multitask without knowing the effect it has on our mental and physical health, our life and even on the quality of our works we multitask. For instance this article is typed even as I was listening to some music on my headset, while simultaneously looking past the computer screen to see if there is anything interesting shown on TV! At least these are harmless activities carried out in the comfort of my home that don’t endanger my life.

But yesterday while I was driving, I was holding the wheel with one hand, eating a donut with the other, and cleaning out my windscreen with wiper fluid using my little finger (the weather was OK but the windscreen as well as the side windows were moist and prevented clear visibility. They desperately needed cleaning if I were to avoid collision) all at the same time. The result, my vehicle started to wobble and I had to slow down and pull over voluntarily to fix the problem. But my responsible act attracted the attention of the patrol police that pulled over behind me to see if things were OK with me.

Sir, are you lost? was the polite question posed by the police officer. If it were a philosophical question, I could have replied, Yes Ma’am (yes, it was a lady), I am lost in my life and don’t know which way to go. Well, that may not have gained her sympathy, but would have got me a ticket instead. Luckily some good sense prevailed upon me to tell her the truth. Her verdict was that I wasn’t good at multitasking and was kind enough to let me go without penalty. They say, more often than not you get a ticket from a female officer than the male. Was it my lucky day or am I a ladies’ man? I would prefer the latter though.

I resolved then and there never to multitask. So I focused on my driving till my car was out of sight from the patrol car, and then picked up the donut. That’s another one of my resolutions down the drain (It’s not the new year yet to make and break the resolutions, you say and I hear you).I would rather blame it on the donut than on my will.

Anyway let my incident be a clear reminder to you not to multitask. Hope you are not reading this while drinking your coffee or coke or whatever. Remember I am supposed to be your guide and I am not lost.

Recently I read a sensible article Gasoline’s New Math: Miles per Dollar.

Miles per Dollar (MPD) = Miles per Gallon x Gallons per Dollar

Simple equation but profound implications.

We are lulled into thinking about the above normal MPG or KPL (Kilometers per Liter for those following the metric system) that we get from our SUVs and even our sedans and forgetting about the all important hard earned dollars that go to pay for it. So we go about merrily swiping our credit card / debit card filling up our tanks either accumulating debts or diluting our savings in the process.

Thinking about MPD (Miles per Dollar) helps us to think if the casual trip to the shopping mall is really necessary. Not only are we burning up our dollars for every so many miles that we mindlessly drive, we may end up buying more stuff (probably with credit cards) that we hardly ever are going to use. Not only can we save on gasoline and related expenses but also the avoidable wear and tear on our vehicles and even prevent the possibility of an accident! We will even start questioning if the so called ‘investments’ in SUVs is really needed for my (our family) needs.

MPD is simple enough to understand for our commuting needs to bring in some financial discipline in that aspect of our lives. What about our other spending habits or even necessities of life? Is there a simple enough measure that we can use?

In my opinion, yes there is. How often do we see TV commercials for charitable donations to destitute children in Africa / Bangladesh and such other poor countries? No matter how small our contribution may be they are welcome. They detail how even a small amount say 39 cents / day can keep a child properly fed and clothed and how say 25 cents /day can provide clean drinking water.

These efforts are commendable but my point is to borrow this concept ‘cents per day’ or better still ‘dollars per day’ (DPD) in our daily lives to make way for productive spending. Instead of thinking, “Switching my service provider I save so many dollars with my Voice/ Data plan and I got a new phone for free”, we should start thinking, “My Voice/Data plan costs me so many Dollars per Day by way of subscription fees”

To give ourselves a start here I have a list just for illustration:

• Rent (or Mortgage including interest) – $ 40.00 per day ($ 1200/month divided by 30 days)
• Credit card Interest – $ 5 per day (Assuming $ 10000/ outstanding at 18% interest)
• Utilities – $6 per day ($ 180/month divided by 30 days)
• Cable TV – $ 2 per day ($ 60/month divided by 30 days)
• High Speed Internet Connection – $ 2 per day ($ 60/month divided by 30 days)
• Cell phone charges – $ 2 per day ($ 60/month divided by 30 days)
• Coffee on way to work and in between – $ 4 per day

And so on.

On the surface of it, this may appear to be meager and so justifiable or at least tolerable. But they add up.
The point is, at the end of the day we definitely have to cough up so many dollars for our needs and wants whether we fully utilized our spending or not. DPD brings into perspective how productive is our spending.

You may ask, “Can you put a dollar figure on the memorable trip I made to Niagara Falls. And it was thrilling to blow away a few dollars at one of the casinos at Niagara Falls. Incidentally I took my girlfriend with me in my SUV”.

While it is debatable whether everything can be reduced to dollars per day, I want you to be wary of credit card companies touting such trips as ‘priceless’.

For me, peace of mind is priceless.

Just when you thought times are hard and what a dollar can buy you these days, Starbucks is test marketing $ 1 cup of coffee in its home town area. Recession has its benefits. Numerous dollar shops in your neighborhood are proof positive that a dollar still buys something. Recently I picked up a pack of excellent greeting cards for this season for just a dollar a piece.

And I was pleasantly surprised to hear Gallan Weston, who owns a big chunk of George Weston ( Market Cap. $ 7.2 billion) / Loblaws ( Market Cap. $ 9.1 billion) on the radio (Easy Rock 97.3 fm) entreating potential customers to come to his store.

His message: They have reduced the price of organic baby food and for this reason it is worth switching supermarkets for.

You may say, “Thank god, he didn’t meant it is reason enough to have more babies”.

Believe me, I am not making fun of his message, (I am a great admirer and beneficiary of President Choice products). I am merely pointing out the trends. I read somewhere Loblaws is gearing itself to meet potential competition from Walmart and Metro Inc. its close competitor locked down prices in response, to retain its customer loyalty.

And in the end, we the customers enjoy the benefits.

Or consider this: a dollar buys more of stock in say Bank of America (with 30 consecutive years of dividend increases page 19/20) in three years and probably giving a better yield than any time previously.

You might have heard or enjoyed the Alison Krauss song, “……. Another day another dollar Sure can’t buy my blues away ……. Just gets harder every day”, but don’t take it seriously.

I am of the firm conviction, things are not getting worse. Instead it is getting better every day.

So my dear readers don’t despair, but if you do, enjoy life in despair.

The other day I was seeing the movie titled “The closer you get”.

The movies tagline may run like any of the following:
– A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
– Dont miss the wood for the trees
– John Lennon s famous quote Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans
The point is the closer we get, the harder it is for us to see.

It is figurative and talks about our relationships with others. It tries to sharpen our awareness about cherished moments in our life which we may otherwise tend to pass by as ordinary.
But can we take the phrase literally too?
Try telling that to finance professionals. They will swear to God, that the Devil is in the details.
Or to a professional photographer who is devoted to editing photos to create the best effects.
Talking about photos, imagine a photo like this:
– A man on a scaffolding painting an attractive lady in a swimsuit on a very large billboard.
The closer I get, I will miss the lady for the man. (Dont get me wrong. I am not gay)

But I am sure you would miss the man for the lady any day.

Recently I read an excellent article titled “Worth a thousand words” in the magazine Economist, Dated Dec 19th 2007. on Charts and Graphic presentation of quantitative information . I was truly amazed at how charts and good graphics can be very effective as persuasive tools to change even some well entrenched policies. What makes it more interesting is that these charts were drawn in the 19th century and one even dating back to the year 1821!

And one of them was drawn by Ms. Florence Nightingale! Yes, you heard it right. None other than the Lady of the Lamp, mother of modern nursing. She prepared one of these innovative charts titled “Diagram of the causes of Mortality in the Army in the East”. The article goes on to say that she was an accomplished statistician as much as she was a compassionate and competent medical professional. It is evident tha she used her statistics to great effect. For she was instrumental in setting up a royal commission of inquiry into sanitary conditions during the Crimean war.

There was this other chart by Charles Joseph Minard drawn in 1861, giving gruesome details of Napolean’s Russian Campaign in 1812. To quote the article “it inspires bitter reflections on the cost to humanity of the madnesses of conquerors and the merciless thirst of military glory”.

I wish we have some modern day Nightingale or Minard to make the case for the casualities in Iraq.

While charts made by Google Spreadsheets (in its present state) may not match the one made by Mr. Minard, it sures serves everyday business. Here you can see some sample charts made with Googe Spreadsheets

What do you think?