Figures Don't Lie, (But Liars Figure) Part II
In part one of this series, some years back I wrote how the farmer was always able to make a profit on cattle because of the way he figured the fertilizer; and how that when we boys were so tired of driving in station wagons, we convinced our Dad that it would pay him to buy a small car, etc.
If you want to go back and read it, you can find that on my website, www.nicholsaccountinginc.com. Click the button on the upper right “Tax Tips Blog.”
The other night we went to Lake Charles to eat out for my son's “Gotcha Day” celebration. (How many of you know what a Gotcha Day is)? It was his choice to go to a Texas Roadhouse. The wait was going to be one hour and 15 minutes. That doesn’t work when you have a one-year-old. So, we decided to go to on down the road where they are supposed to say “Good Day Mate” when you walk in.
We got all settled in and the waitress brought our menus. When it was time for drink orders, my wife and I asked for ice water with lemon and of course, our children ordered sodas. I took a risk and ordered a blooming onion without knowing the price. We looked over the menu and it turned out that my wife got a salad, my daughter got mashed potatoes of all things, and I got a sweet potato. My son went all out and ordered a hamburger.
While we were eating, my daughter who works at a fast-food restaurant had that look in her eyes. She was calculating. She said, “the way we ordered, and y’all drinking ice water and all, the bill will surely be under $60.”
The total before tax was $72.
I’ve learned before that the easiest way for a restaurant to raise prices is to keep the same price for the entrees on the menu but add it back with the soft drinks. I’m not criticizing you people that have restaurants, just illustrating the way that it works; $3.99 for a coke.
They had this little gadget on the desk that you could use to slide your card at your convenience. After it ran the first part it put on a 20% tip. You had to scroll down to the hidden part at the bottom of the screen where they had buttons, 18% 25% or “choose your own.” (Some time I need to tell you the story about how an older brother taught me a lesson on tipping).
That got me to thinking about prices, and it got me thinking about trickery.
With our appetites satiated we hit the road, and we hadn’t gone a half mile when we saw this big sign: “20 prime steaks for $25.”
My wife said, “huh uh, that ain't happening, that's a lie.”
I’m just saying, you can't get 20 steaks for $25. I’m having to pay $4.98 for hamburger and $5.98 for stew meat and I don’t even look at the better stuff.”
(see how she is supporting poultry farmers below):
My son was driving, and I was puzzling that thing over in my head. Where could you go to get those 20 steaks for $25? Being an accountant, I coaxed my tired brain to calculate. My first conclusion was, “that’s just $1.25 a pound!”
Then suddenly it dawned on me! When we go to our local restaurant for lunch, I support cattle farmers and get a lunch special; a six-ounce sirloin for a decent price. It’s small, but it’s enough with a sweet potato on the side.
See, all of us in the vehicle were just assuming that they were referring to pounds! And I'm certain most everyone else did too, when they saw that sign. But when you figure that the steaks might be six-ounce steaks then, yeah, you might be able to get 20 steaks for $25! I’ll do the math for you:
16 oz = 1 lb., so 20 six oz steaks come out to 7.5 lbs. (20 steaks at 6 oz per steak = total of 120 oz. of steak. 120 oz divided by 16 oz per lb = 7.5 lbs. $25 for the lot divided by 7.5 lbs = $3.33 per lb. Even that is really cheap, but I’m sure there’s a caveat somewhere. Maybe the steaks are pork steaks? Or maybe their version of prime is our version of gristly, if that’s even a word.
I know one thing: If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is! Learned that awhile back! I did a little checking on the world wide web and people say when you go to that place, they tell you that you get the advertised deal AFTER you buy several cartons of expensive meat. And they say the steaks are small and thin and taste kind of like meat, but they aren’t sure what kind of meat!
At the risk of getting long winded we can see some other examples of this kind:
We buy alfalfa pellets so that we can mix minerals for our horses and convince them to eat them.
One day when I couldn't go to the local feed store (it was after hours), I had to go to Tractor Supply. I was pleasantly surprised to find that their price was the same per bag as the feed store. I was only happy about that until I lifted them and put them in my cart: “Uhm mm, what’s going on here?”
I realized that they were 40 lb bags instead of 50 lb bags! Instead of them disappointing their customers by going up on the price they just used smaller bags! Say it ain’t so but it is! They have used 40 lb bags ever since. I asked the clerk about it, and she told me:
“I think they started doing that because they were easier for the customers to handle. At least that’s what I figured anyways)!”
We have a local gas station that advertises their gas for a very competitive price per gallon. So, I swung in and pulled up to the pump. When I pushed the button on the pump the price came up 5 cents higher than what the sign said! But then, underneath the little price screen there’s a sign that says: “Save 5 cents a gallon! Enter your phone number on the keypad. So naturally, you put in your phone number, and you agree to let them text you so that you can save 5 cents a gallon. (At least you do that if you have the “frugal” in your blood like I do).
Once you get finished with that, the little screen says: “Congratulations! You have saved 3 cents per gallon up to X number of gallons!)”
What?!
And then I look at that sign a little closer and there's some small letters that state “Save UP to 5 cents a gallon!)” Exactly how you get 5 cents instead of 3, that I haven’t figured out yet.
We have quite a few poultry farming clients. Believe you me, we are out there to support you.
In fact, we don't bother buy our eggs by the dozen; we buy them in packs of 2 shrink wrapped cartons with 18 eggs in each. They are soon gone, let me tell you. Gotta have that protein to feed our highly charged brains!
I didn’t think anything of it until my wife started to send me pictures of chicken houses she wants me to build! I told her I would enjoy building them, yes, but why now? She was opposed to the “stupid chickens” I had when the children were little!
Come to find out that lately eggs were almost a dollar a piece! Whoa!
So, what do people do?
I haven’t seen it myself, but I hear it told that there are stores out there selling eggs with 10 eggs per carton instead of a dozen!
Helps with the sticker shock, I suppose.
And I suppose some people don't really notice that.
Nope, they just pick up a carton of eggs.
So, where are we going with all this?
Jesus says in Matthew 5:37: “But let your communication be Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” To paraphrase it, I think we could use the old saying “Say what you mean and mean what you say! Don’t be sneaky!”
Let's be careful that we don't get into playing tricks and disappoint people by not conducting business in the way a Christian should.
I'll close with a quote from one of my accountant friends: “When all is said and done, there's usually a lot more said than done!”
Are there any questions?
If not, stay tuned for the next article in this series where we discuss “How stimulus payments work.”