Often times I get made fun of by people who know me well, because they say I am very frugal. As frugal as I may be, there is one particular practice that I never shy away from overpaying.
I’m sure we’ve all had a moment where a perfect parking spot becomes available right in front of the place you’re trying to get to. You go to pay the meter and you see the green light still flashing. First thought of course before it shows how much time is left on the meter, you think, “Oh it probably only has a minute left on the timer.” Miraculously, to your surprise, it has 50 mins left! Plenty of time! At that moment you think you’ve hit the parking spot jackpot. Most people immediately think funny thoughts like, “Wow who did I pay it forward to, to get this lucky”? As minuscule of a moment this may be, to many, this makes someones day, especially when living in LA where there is never any parking.
I decided to experiment with this idea a bit more and see how things panned out. I was curious, if I was to overpay the parking meter every time I parked, would it result in miraculously finding parking spots easier than usual?
From that day on, I decided to overpay the parking meter by about an hour or more than the time I actually needed to be there. I figured, at the very least I’m going to make someones day just a little better once they find this spot with plenty of time left on the meter.
Now unfortunately I don’t have any direct data to back my findings so you’ll just have to trust me in knowing this concept actually did work! I am not kidding when I say, 9 times out of 10, I will either find a spot quickly, easily, or someone will just be pulling out of their spot in time. In fact, my odds get even better when parking in busy places like malls during the holidays. For those of you who know my close friends and family, ask them, they’ll tell you my parking spot luck is unbelievable.
I can’t say this philosophy will work for everyone, and I certainly don’t think you should overpay your meter to gain future benefits. I would have to say the biggest benefit of doing this little act, is the joy you get by potentially making someone else’s day just a little better.
On a biochemical level, one of the best ways to feel joy from a purchase is to give. Furthermore, these joyous effects last for a greater period of time when we give to others rather than to ourselves.
It is funny how the universe works and I truly believe that whatever kind of energy we put out in the world is what we will get in return.
So, how can we add value to the world in what we do, say or act, in order to receive more abundance and joy?
To me, it’s becoming a better version of myself each day to evolve and grow along with providing value to others to do the same. In turn, this rewards me with the the greatest joy I have in my life. If you constantly improve who you are and what you give, that’s the ticket to true freedom, abundance and joy.
So I ask you, what do you do, or what ideas do you have where you can “Overpaying the meter”?