Less Expensive Alternatives

Alternative #1: Ask a Friend
(or: The Top 10 Mistakes Made by Friends When Giving Advice)

You could just ask a friend for advice....
But do you have a friend who:

• is experienced
• and good at explaining
• and won't tell you you're just imagining things
• and won't tell you to Get Real™, cheer up, grow up, or stop being a victim,
• and won't act like you're stupid for not knowing the answer to your own question
• and won't use your question as an open invitation to nit-pick everything he or she doesn't like about you
• and doesn't automatically side with everyone who insults you
• and won't blab to the other people involved
• and won't think less of you for asking
• and doesn't charge by the hour?

If you have a friend like that, by all means, ask him or her.

And if you don't, I'm here for you.

About the Price

This service is for people who have their priorities in order.
To be more specific, use my service if you agree that your relationship is a lot more important than two dollars and fifty cents.
If you don't feel it is, then I'll have a hard time justifying spending my time to help you.
When people aren't willing to spend money to improve a situation, that immediately tells me they think their problem is trivial, and immediately tells me *I* shouldn't take it seriously either.
I help people with real, urgent problems. If you're not willing to spend even $2.50 to solve an interpersonal problem, then you don't have a real problem. If you won't spend any money on it, it's not really bothering you.

Is your question important to you? If it is, then it's important to me too.

A Dose of Perspective

The average couple spends thousands of dollars on their wedding and dozens of dollars on roses.
Nationwide, people spend millions of dollars on greeting cards every year, and big bucks on couples counseling.
In that context, anyone who expects to solve his or her relationship problems for less than $2.50 has
only one problem: Cheapness. An attitude that (other) people must give and give, unilaterally, and receive nothing in return.
Such people are asked to consider if that same cheapness might be the problem with their relationships.

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