My Choices and Why.
You have the freedom of choice, you can choose who you do business with, where you shop and what you think and believe. Every dollar you spend is a vote for the way that company does business, are you rewarding a company for having good prices or good policies. The choice is yours. The important part is the WHY, why do you choose to do these things. It is very interesting to see what people pick and why they pick it.
Please post your what who and why on these following subjects. If you pick more than one please state them. Some are very important and some are trivial but will shine insight on how you think.
My Choice of Political Party (If none state why)
My Choice of Operating System
My Choice of Religion
My Choice of Grocery Store
My Choice of General Merchandise Store
My Choice of Vehicle
My Choice of Housing Type
My Choice of Primary Bank
My Choice of Brokerage Account
My Choice of Gas Station
My Choice of ISP
My Choice of TV Service (Bonus Entry)
My Choice of Wireless service
My Choice of Cell phone
My Choice of Drinking Water
My Choice of Browser (Bonus Entry)
If you fill this out and make a post with your answers please post a comment on the blog where this all started, at http://capitalactive.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/14-choices/ so that everyone can read it, if you don’t have a blog of your own then put your whole answer as a comment on that blog. Simply copy and paste the above section to start your blog, then copy the subjects again and answer them. Also use the tag “14 Choices”.
My Choice of Political Party (If none state why)
Republican. I generally think that government should be smaller. I think that the republican party still stands for smaller government. Democrats stand for more services but more taxes, which is why people who need more services often vote democrat. In general both parties mostly are the same on most issues.
My Choice of Operating System
I choose Windows Vista. If you asked me a year ago it was Ubuntu, and before than windows xp. The reason I use vista is because it is more stable than XP, able to run more things than XP, and simply works better than XP. The reason I don’t use Ubuntu any longer is because I needed to be compatible with windows to run all the software I need for my business, and the games I like. Too many things still did not run with Ubuntu, but as an OS for stability, and fun/ease of use Ubuntu was by far the best OS. If I was making a computer to for office us and the internet I would go with Ubuntu for sure.
My Choice of Religion
I am a Christian. I have been my whole life, I grew up in it. Mostly I still choose to be because I think it is the right choice for my life. I think that it is true, and that Jesus actually did die for my sins. It also gives a good way to live and a great community to be a part of.
My Choice of Grocery Store
This is complex for me, I choose different stores for different reasons. I like a local store called LeeLee’s for asian food. I also shop often at Fry’s (Owned by Kroger) for the sales, but the stuff that is not on sale is often too much money. I also buy some items from walmart but often they are not a good deal on food. My favorite store recently is Fresh and Easy. They have great quality and they make home made meals you can just microwave, and if you use the coupons they always give out they really are cheap.
My Choice of General Merchandise Store
Well we find ourselves at Walmart at least 4 times a week. The main reason is that they are only 200 yards away from our house. I like target a bit more but they are simply too far, and they have too small of a food section, there is no super target near where I live. Walmart seems to have at least 80% of the items I am looking for and usually at a good price. They also usually have a good amount of stuff on clearance, I have noticed that prices change a lot there and there are a lot of things that are usually too much.
My Choice of Vehicle
The Vehicle I drive is a Pontaic Aztek. It is an odd vehicle. It is what is called a cross over. I originally bought it because it had huge cargo space, good gas milage and it was high profile so I could see over all the cars out there. I also really liked how unique it was and it was very comfortable for me to drive. It has been, by far, the best vehicle I have ever owned, but it is getting older and I should replace it soon.
My Choice of Housing Type
I live in a nice large house, in the suburb of a Major US city. I love close enough that I can go downtown is under 15 minutes yet far enough that it is nice and yuppie. I bought a house larger than I needed so that I could rent rooms out if I wanted, and also have room for a large office and a workshop. I don’t really care for houses too much because there is no community, no one here talks to each and I have only talked with my neighbors a few times.
My Choice of Primary Bank
My primary bank is really a Credit Union. They are cheap, no fees and such, and they usually have no line or a very small line. I also banks with Wells Fargo, US Bank and B of A just to have flexibility but none of them are my main bank.
My Choice of Brokerage Account
I have tried a few out there but I have stuck with eTrade for quite a while. They have great software that gives you a ton of information. Some other places out there have been advertising better prices for trade, and also have built great software tools so I may try them.
My Choice of Gas Station
By far I like QT (QuickTrip) the best. They usually have good gas prices but the reason I like them is that their gas seems to work better in my Aztek. I get better mileage when I use their fuel vs most other brands. I also really like their drinks, they have a ton of unique and very good drinks, including a Horchata shake, and a Hot Milk drink, both only $1.09 for a very large cup.
My Choice of ISP
Again the choice is clear, I choose Cox, they have the best service, best uptime and best prices. Internet over Cable is always much better than DSL.
My Choice of TV Service
For this I also use Cox, they have a fairly good Digital Converter with a nice list of HD channels. I have been looking into Dish Network recently, they have even more HD, and more channels for an even better price, the problem is that I have three other TV’s on analog that may not work, I will find out soon.
My Choice of Wireless service
I use T-mobile. They have far and wide coverage, great customer service and a plan that perfectly fits my lifestyle. I have a family plan with 4 phones, that has unlimited texting, unlimited nights, unlimited weekends, unlimited in network calling, and each phone can pick their 5 favorites and call for free but the killer feature is that when I am near a hotspot (such as at home) my phone will connect using the Wi-Fi and all those minutes are free. Because of so many free minutes I am on a plan with only 700 any time minutes, and we have never used more than 400 of them. I get all of this for only $140 including taxes, and I have sub leased two of my phones for a total of $80 per month so my out of pocket cost is only $60 per month. Quite nice.
My Choice of Cell phone
I have chosen the Samsung Katalyst, I have been a huge fan of Samsung phones for a few years now, they simply are much easier for me to understand. I also love the slide feature, and the Wi-Fi compatibility that is a must for my service. It has a nice crisp 2.1 inch screen, and has a great camera and a great music player with good sound. Call quality and battery life is also excellent.
My Choice of Drinking Water
I choose Reverse Osmosis Water. I like the clean taste. I also like the fact that there is no fluoride in it. I think fluoride is really a bad thing. I get it from the local water store down the road and they charge only $1 for a 5 Gallon refill. They have filters that are larger than my car and the taste is great. I often fill up bottles with it and take it while I drive.
My Choice of Browser
I have chosen Firefox, it works great, and is much more stable than IE. It also shows the websites better. It has a ton of features I can set and generally work well.
Thanks for reading, be sure to post your answers also.
My Choice of Political Party -Republican
My Choice of Operating System -XP Pro
My Choice of Religion -Christian
My Choice of Grocery Store -Frys
My Choice of Vehicle -Ford
My Choice of Housing Type -Single Family
My Choice of Primary Bank -Wells Fargo
My Choice of Brokerage Account -NONE
My Choice of Gas Station -QT
My Choice of ISP -Cox
My Choice of Wireless service -Alltel
My Choice of Cell phone -Blackberry
My Choice of Drinking Water -Bottled
My Choice of Browser -IE
Thanks Kathleen. you did it first. The only thing is that the important part was the why, so we can see the thinking process. I would love to know why you choose the blackberry, or why you bank at wells fargo. The why is much more important than the what, and who knows we all may just like your reason so much we will change to think like you.
Also, before it happens, I will just say now that I will remove any post that says anything bad about anyone elses choices.
Hi Jason!
Thanks so much for the kind things you said about Fresh & Easy! We are honored to have you shop with us.
Here is our little way to say thanks –> http://www.freshandeasy.com/coupon
~Sallie