I never thought that I'd ever (ever, ever) be the kinda person who actually worried about the exchange rate or made a point of catching the tail-end of the news just to see what the gold price is doing.
Artists are not supposed to be concerned by such business-y type stuff... When someone says 'so and so's stock dropped by two points' I'm meant to just smile and nod, making every effort to disguise the blank look covering my face from forehead to chin. In the past I was far more likely to be concerned if the price of wine by the glass hopped up a rand or two than if a US$ cost me three cents more than it did last week.
Alas! The times they are a changing and as a result of my recent foray into the world of diamond solitaires and platinum wedding bands I am being forced to dip my toe in the waters of 'money makes the world go round and a cent or two here and there can make it turn a little slower'...
Every morning (in between my cup of green tea and bowl of fibre) I make a point of knowing the price of platinum and the price of gold per gram as well as the US$ to ZAR (South African Rand) exchange rate (yawn) sorry, even typing about it bores me. I may as well have typed blah, blah, blah-dee-dee, blah-blah.
It's SO not my cup of tea but I am willing to learn all of the tools of my new trade and must therefore succumb to calculators and fancy financial terms. I'm actually quite proud that I've mastered the RAP x price per carat X 1.6 X 0.6875 Plus VAT (14%) formula. Impressive huh??? My high school maths teacher would be so proud.
Anyways, the point of this post (I know, I know, it doesn't seem like I'm going anywhere with this) is this...
Word to the wise: If you are in the market for a diamond keep your eye on the US$... 24 hours can mean the difference between a bargain and an extended period of broke-ness.
Those shiny, sparkly little lumps of carbon that you see women around the world prancing around with on their ears, necks and fingers are deceptive little rocks. Never mind the minefield that is cut, colour and clarity (a difficult enough set of rules to grasp on its own) the smart buyer knows that once you've chosen the rock it's time to sit, wait, be patient and – most of all – be ready to pounce the moment that exchange rate dips.
This is one area where impulse buying is advised and (weirdly) may save you a hard earned buck or two that you can plough into a hard earned glass of wine or two to steady your nerves after blowing a year's salary on a glorified rock.
Artists are not supposed to be concerned by such business-y type stuff... When someone says 'so and so's stock dropped by two points' I'm meant to just smile and nod, making every effort to disguise the blank look covering my face from forehead to chin. In the past I was far more likely to be concerned if the price of wine by the glass hopped up a rand or two than if a US$ cost me three cents more than it did last week.
Alas! The times they are a changing and as a result of my recent foray into the world of diamond solitaires and platinum wedding bands I am being forced to dip my toe in the waters of 'money makes the world go round and a cent or two here and there can make it turn a little slower'...
Every morning (in between my cup of green tea and bowl of fibre) I make a point of knowing the price of platinum and the price of gold per gram as well as the US$ to ZAR (South African Rand) exchange rate (yawn) sorry, even typing about it bores me. I may as well have typed blah, blah, blah-dee-dee, blah-blah.
It's SO not my cup of tea but I am willing to learn all of the tools of my new trade and must therefore succumb to calculators and fancy financial terms. I'm actually quite proud that I've mastered the RAP x price per carat X 1.6 X 0.6875 Plus VAT (14%) formula. Impressive huh??? My high school maths teacher would be so proud.
Anyways, the point of this post (I know, I know, it doesn't seem like I'm going anywhere with this) is this...
Word to the wise: If you are in the market for a diamond keep your eye on the US$... 24 hours can mean the difference between a bargain and an extended period of broke-ness.
Those shiny, sparkly little lumps of carbon that you see women around the world prancing around with on their ears, necks and fingers are deceptive little rocks. Never mind the minefield that is cut, colour and clarity (a difficult enough set of rules to grasp on its own) the smart buyer knows that once you've chosen the rock it's time to sit, wait, be patient and – most of all – be ready to pounce the moment that exchange rate dips.
This is one area where impulse buying is advised and (weirdly) may save you a hard earned buck or two that you can plough into a hard earned glass of wine or two to steady your nerves after blowing a year's salary on a glorified rock.
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