A Dollar’s Worth

You can trust your car, to the man...

I still remember the wonderful times when you actually received value for the money you spent on everyday purchases.  Do you remember when you were so important that businesses fought over your spending dollars?  Who remembers full service gasoline stations where you never had to leave your car, even though you might only be spending a dollar for gasoline?  The attendant would check your radiator, and oil level, than clean your windshield, not to mention use a Wisk broom on the passenger side of the car.  This by the way was for everyone not just the young pretty ladies.  Quite often your gas station attendant after taking your payment had to return with your S&H Green Stamps.  By today’s standards you were receiving $20 dollars’ worth of service for that one dollar you were spending on gasoline.  On top of that if you needed oil you could purchase a quart of bulk oil for about 10 cents.

Everyone talks about how much better the world has become, I for one would trade many of today’s frills for the quality of life I remember.  Just think, if we never experienced it, we wouldn’t miss it.  There is no argument that many great things have evolved such as medical science; including medications, but the way we are going we are going to start meeting our maker in our forties soon because who can afford the new medical improvements.  Many people in our age group should be retiring or retired right now, but many can’t afford the medical insurance so they keep working.  This material about medical costs belongs in a different post.

I remember that my stepfather couldn’t wait for pay day to go buy groceries, because he had a target item he was going to get with S&H Green Stamps.  His favorite purchase was a carton or two of cigarettes that came with extra bonus stamps.  Whenever you bought powder soap detergent, it came with a gift inside, saucers (small plates), drinking glass, coffee cup, towels; I know my mother would buy the soap before it ran out because she was trying to complete a set of dishes or something.

I know that many of my friends and myself included use to influence our mother’s purchase of breakfast cereal depending on whose 45 rpm recording was inside the box for free.  Advertising on television for the various products, including gasoline, was aimed at the consumer with regard to who could offer you the best service for least cost, and of course today you can take it or leave it, because if you don’t buy it there is someone in China or, some other country around the world that’ll buy it.  That my friends is what we call Global Marketing; boy what an improvement that turned out to be.  I’m sure I can come up with a bridge if you want to buy one. 

I almost forgot in today’s wonderful world of marketing you can get up to a $1 off of a gallon of gasoline if you spend $1,000.00 in groceries (10 cent discount per $100 dollar purchase).  Don’t do the math it will only give you a head ache.  The best is yet to come…