This morning, my son gave me one of those school photograph packs from school. You know the ones I mean? Where the schools get the photographer in and then encourage us, the gullible parents, to pay over the odds for the photographs? I do understand that school get a cut but I suspect the photographer doesn't do to badly out of it either. Of course, this prompted the question of justifying paying the exorbitant price with the boy vocalising his opinion that the photographs must be purchased. After all, these are school photos.

So finally, I suggested that a couple of weeks' pocket money would help to make the price a little more acceptable at which point you could hear the screeching of locked tires and the smell of burnt rubber. Wait a minute; now that was a different matter, there is no need for that kind of sacrifice!

It made me think on my way to work about how many times we 'need' or 'want' something until it's suggested we make some sort of sacrifice to get it. We demand stuff from our governments, our employers, dads and mums that we are quite happy not to pay for but if we were, we would not find so important. In life though, we do pay for it in some way, shape or form but if it is not obvious, as in demands from Government, we insist in its provision. That makes us a little spoilt and we start to believe that we are entitled to more, increasing the level of dissatisfaction we feel.

So next time you are asking or being asked for something, think about whether you or the requester would pay for it. If not, you don't need it.

And yes, I will be buying a set of those over priced photographs; his grandmother would never forgive me if I didn't. Spoilt woman!

May you find the balance.

[First published on my Talking2Myself blog on specified date]