What some people wouldn't do for a 50-inch TV

This shocking bit of news on a radio talk show this morning got the attention of one of our partner bloggers: Nearly half of British men surveyed said they would give up sex for six months to get a 50-inch plasma TV.

The survey -- done, incidentally, by an electronics retailer -- found that only a third of women responded in kind. Also, 25% of the 2,000 respondents said they would give up smoking, and about 25% would stop eating chocolate.

This talk show blather would seem like a testimony to the power of marketing, but Jim at partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity found a lesson in personal finance in the exchange. (This is also the blogger who detailed the PF lessons contained in Monopoly and Scrabble.) 

• Bing: Shop for a new TV
  

It became apparent when one of the talk show hosts observed that you could buy the TV if you quit smoking for six months. In other words, Jim said, you should reward yourself for frugal behavior.

"If you're a smoker and you want a new 50-inch plasma television, why not give yourself an added incentive to quit?" he asked readers. It depends on how much you smoke and what cigarettes cost in your neck of the woods, but you could easily save up for that TV in less than nine months.

Published March 3, 2008