"Coffee or Tea?" The host politely asked the question while inviting me to have a seat. The simple question has become a ritual when greeting guests at gatherings today. The small convention almost always makes me think about why and when we should let people make choices. 

We give people choices to show our respect. Choices can root in the differences in culture, healthy decisions, taste preferences, and even the mood we are in at the time. Because we can't know a person the first time we meet, giving choices shows respect. 

We give people choices when we try to understand. The answer to our questions helps us understand others. We need to think from others' perspectives. 

The choice questions need to be simple. That makes the host have less preparation and allows the guest to make an easy choice. It's not an idea because you might like to have a latte or choose from milk tea or earl gray. But too many options can cause fatigue and complicate the situation. It's the art of avoiding overthinking.​​

The choice questions remind us of differences and embraces them. 

The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional celebration in Chinese culture. It is also celebrated in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other countries in East and Southeast Asia.

I recently scheduled a nutrition consulting session as part of preventive care covered by my health insurance. I want to share some of the discussions and finding as they might be helpful to you. 

In summary, the session is a virtual meeting in Zoom. It covered little if you have done extensive research and learned much about nutrition. Otherwise, a nutrition specialist will chat with you on the following topics: 

• Calories watching: The main goal is to control weight. Calculated calories for each mean and 2000 calories per day without exercising is the general guideline. If we have more exercise, we can eat more. The calorie intake also needs to be balanced. 
• Control Carbohydrates intake. Carbohydrates are found in various healthy and unhealthy foods—bread, beans, milk, popcorn, potatoes, cookies, spaghetti, soft drinks, corn, and cherry pie. They also come in a variety of forms. The most common and abundant conditions are sugars, fibers, and starches. During each meal, eat veggies first, cauliflower and broccoli, to slow the adoption of Carbohydrates. 
• Sugar Watching: To control sugar, we must avoid drinking juice and high-sugar fruit like grapes, watermelon, pears, and bananas. Adding protein like hard boil eggs and nuts can reduce our demand for sugar. 
• Balance the calories throughout the day (add lunch+boil egg, tuna fish - wild caught tuna-lean, Heather fact, the mercury level is high, avocado -> lunch fiber) 
• Fish for VD
• Weight Loss: Intermittent Fasting is a viable option.
• Women Watching home changing menopausal time (where we store fat, cholesterol level) Insulin level. 
• Exercise (walking 6000steps after meal 1-2 days a week to increase the high, initial machine, increase resistance, hill walking, resistant training, resistance training (resistant ban, burn more energy)
• Stress level - personal stress 
• Sleep really well 
• Less processed food 

 It sounds geeky to use economic concepts to explain our daily life but it's Amazingly interest to me recently.   Here is one of interesting ones.

Opportunity Cost "Opportunity cost is the value of the next-best alternative when a decision is made; it's what is given up," (source) I have to give up 15 min of sleep for making a delouse pouring coffee.  If I spend $10 on a music record, I have to slow down my saving for my dreamed $200 backpack. How to pick and choose? Is there any better solution? The opportunity cost reminds me to the trade-off in my decisions.

After J heard the story of the big watermelon, there was a family discussion. Starting with if we can waste some watermelons when the supplies exceed the demands, we extend to the debate about how much we should spend.

​We discussed whether we should pay for a feature we are not likely to use and if we need to limit spending each month. J's point is that spending is related to people's cultural background. Asking less is a Buddhist concept, and consuming more is the basis for capitalism. Reducing spending in a capitalist society can hurt the economy. Reduced consumption in Japan has led to sluggish consumer demand and dragged down the economy. J's point of view made sense. Americans' spending habits drive high demand and have been in the economy since 1970. Americans generally have a better quality of life. However, how much we spend is not a simple cultural and economic question. 

I would say everyone has a comfortable amount to expend. Some like to spend based on the ability to pay down the debt, some like to spend based on the income limits, while others budget only 50% (50/30/20 Rule), 20%, or 10% of the income . There is no definite amount. However, I would say the following a generally agreed upon.

• When money is in our possession, we have the opportunity to invest to maximize and increase its value. If so, we should take the chance. 
• Ultimately, We spend money to make our lives better. We need to be frugal, but happy purchases are justified. At the same time, if overspending will cause problems in the future, then it's necessary to limit it beforehand.  
• All the spending is tied to the core values we have. If we value our knowledge, we spend more on learning. If travel makes our life enjoyable, we spend on traveling. We may donate money to help others and invest in meaningful causes because we believe those are the right things to do. 

We have the freedom to spend what we have, but it's also a responsibility. How much would you spend?