What is the cost of free?
In the material world, too much is free—for instance, free trials, software, information, training, search, etc.
It does not stop there. The loyalty programs offer free loyalty points, birthday gift coupons, and other free goodies.
Regarding food, many restaurants offer kids free on certain days and times, free drinks with a combo, and free fries with a drink.
Artists happily upload their popular albums on YouTube for free; most social media sites are free.
With so much free stuff around, as consumers, we may think we are winning.
But the free stuff is not free.
It costs us our time, attention, resources, and money. Maybe we should first ask ourselves if we really need the free offer. We may first need to determine how much the free stuff may actually cost us.
In a nutshell, find out the potential cost (time, attention, resources, and money) before indulging in it for free!
