Lessons Learned From Old Phone Photos

Do you ever get bored, grab your phone, go to its photo gallery and flick back through old pictures? If you do, you are not alone. If you don't, perhaps you should try it- there are many great lessons to learn from photographic evidence you have taken yourself- and best of all, since you are the one who did it, the age old excuse of "yeah, they can do it, but that doesn't mean I can" doesn't apply.

In todays blog I'm going to provide three examples of lessons learned from my own nostalgia.

Lesson #1: Save Your Coins

If you are somewhat well off and living in a country with a reasonable economy, coins are often seen as an inconvenience. Charities take great advantage of this by placing 'coin tins' at almost every cash register in the world. That's because they know what everyone knows but lacks the patience to realise.

Coins add up.

One of the best investments anyone short of cash can make is a $3 money tin. One that is solid and can only be opened once. I used to hate these tins as a kid- I would buy them, spend a day looking for coins in couches, laundry and the car ash-tray, and then deposit them into my brand new tin. The next day I would need a dollar for chocolate and bam- a three dollar investment is wasted for 1/3rd of its value.

But last year I bought a large one, I put it somewhere out of sight and was diligent in depositing my small change whenever I felt my wallet getting unnaturally lumpy and heavy (a rare occurrence, mind you). Twelve months later, I opened the sucker up, expecting a modest $400-$500. As you can see in the photo, I was pleasantly surprised with that actual result.

The moral of the story? Save your coins.

Lesson #2: Don't Spend Money on Costumes
I love dressing up. Not in a weird way, but whenever there are themed costume parties, no matter what the theme, I will always make an effort to look awesome. Why? Because awesome costumes always make for a hilariously fun time and great photos to look back on.

Unfortunately, even cheap dress ups cost money. I went as a giant ghoul monster to a Halloween party and shopped exclusively at the cheap-budget stores, it still cost me the same amount it probably would have to rent a costume. I went as a black haired emo-kid to an emo themed party but I still had to pay for hair dye and fake jewellery.

But it doesn't have to be that way, after my brother-in-laws surprise 'Spongebob' Party, I realised that costumes are all around us. Old rags, empty bottles, unused boxes can all be utilised in awesome and often hilarious ways.

So next time you have an excuse to dress up for something, remember: Every move you make, every step you take, awesome costumes will be watching you.

Lesson #3: You can have an endless amount of fun with a piece of paper, a lead pencil and your lunch. 

I do this whenever I get bored (mainly when I'm studying). It's a great way to exercise creativity and entertain yourself, even when nobody else finds it funny except for you.





I mean, who needs an iPhone with that type of improv? Talking nuts! Hilarious!

Love it.


But the biggest lesson of all is that we all have silly, creative and the occasionally remarkable ideas hidden away in our own lives. They might be in your phone gallery, on a sheet of paper in the back of an old school book or just hiding in plain sight.

Go and find them!