The 400 Dollars Voucher from the Herbal Jelly Shop

The Tortoise Herbal Jelly was worth every cent of it. Made from more than 20 herbs, not to mention the sacred tortoise shell, it is an elixir of great health. We paid 50 bucks per bowl for this black bitter jelly that needed honey syrup to appreciate it's potent aroma. Delicious - absolutely delicious. I could feel my sore, dry throat rejuvenating to it's original grandeur.

On the table was a tiny advertisement:

"New promotion! Buy a voucher for $400 and use it to get $500 dollars worth of goods. Plus you will get 2 free take-away Tortoise Herbal Jelly!"

Excellent. This was an enticing idea. $100 more to spend just because I buy the voucher? I must get it. I mean it seemed at that moment I SHOULD get. What is more satisfying than getting a discounted supply of elixirs? The lady came by and almost vehemently promoted the voucher to us. I listened to this vision of having herbal jelly every morning when I wake up for the next couple of weeks. Yes! Youth and great health, at a lower price.

As the lady walked off, I digged into my wallet and found only a one hundred dollar note. Just enough for herbal jelly for the 2 of us. It dawned upon me I was almost the victim of a well plotted advertising scam. Their main aim was always to earn more money; my main concern was always to use less money. And this scam nearly suceeded on me. I thought I would be saving money by getting the voucher. But once I thought about it again, I was in fact going to be spending more! Instead of giving the creator of this wonderful Tortoise Herbal Jelly just $100, I was now contemplating giving him $400!

Ridiculous. It must be an elixir of stupidity as well. I was not going to eat more of it.

I paid for my two bowls of jelly and walked out of the shop.