1 00:00:03,000 --> 00:00:09,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning, 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:16,479 Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's 3 00:00:16,520 --> 00:00:21,800 Speaker 1: tip is to try a low by month. You might 4 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,120 Speaker 1: try minimizing new purchases for a month and see what happens. 5 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,360 Speaker 1: People often save money, but handled right, it's possible you 6 00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:35,320 Speaker 1: might save time. So I have noticed that people love 7 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 1: month long challenges dry January, Nino Raimu, which is National 8 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:44,200 Speaker 1: Novel Writing Month, thirty days of yoga, the whole thirty diet, 9 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:48,520 Speaker 1: and so forth, and I understand the appeal. A month 10 00:00:48,560 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: long commitment feels doable, but it's also long enough to 11 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:58,960 Speaker 1: be meaningful. You can make real progress with that in mind. 12 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: A lot of people have sung the praises of doing 13 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:04,959 Speaker 1: a no by month. Now I know it's my questioner 14 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:07,720 Speaker 1: side coming out, but I doubt most people who do 15 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 1: a no by month truly by nothing. Groceries are an 16 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,120 Speaker 1: obvious exception, and most of us are still going to 17 00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: pay for ongoing services, or at least we should. If 18 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:22,720 Speaker 1: your kids are signed up for piano lessons, you will 19 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,520 Speaker 1: pay for piano lessons during your no by month. If 20 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:29,399 Speaker 1: you get a parking ticket, you should probably pay for 21 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:33,640 Speaker 1: your parking ticket. In general, money is a tool, and 22 00:01:33,680 --> 00:01:36,640 Speaker 1: in many cases money can be used to solve problems. 23 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:39,960 Speaker 1: I have zero problem with that. I also think many 24 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:44,800 Speaker 1: people might enjoy spending more on experiences. It would be 25 00:01:44,840 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 1: stupid not to go to a girl's night at the 26 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: Paint your own pottery studio with your dearest friends because 27 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: you happen to be in the middle of a no 28 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:56,760 Speaker 1: by month. However, I know that a lot of people 29 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:01,040 Speaker 1: feel they have way more stuff than they need. Buying 30 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:05,000 Speaker 1: less of that could be a worthy pursuit. So let's 31 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:10,760 Speaker 1: reframe this as a low by month. Before purchasing another 32 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: thing that isn't strictly necessary, consider waiting a while and 33 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: evaluating what would it feel like to try that. When 34 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,480 Speaker 1: people do try this, they often realize that they shop 35 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: for entertainment. Your board while sitting in your kid's room 36 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:30,160 Speaker 1: while waiting for them to fall asleep, and hey, looks 37 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: like Nick and Zoe is having a sale. A hard 38 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: day at work leads to stopping at paper source, which 39 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,519 Speaker 1: happens to be located where your train stop empties into 40 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: the mall. A low by month could help you identify 41 00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:47,840 Speaker 1: that this is what is going on and encourage you 42 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: to find new forms of entertainment. Maybe you could read 43 00:02:52,919 --> 00:02:55,519 Speaker 1: an ebook as part of the challenge, you find something 44 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: in the public domain or borrow it from the library. Perhaps, 45 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:00,960 Speaker 1: instead of stopping at them, you meet a friend for 46 00:03:01,040 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: a wine down walk or a glass of wine, which 47 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: again would not be a no buy option, but might 48 00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: be cheaper than a department store hall. A low by 49 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,520 Speaker 1: month can also help with clutter. If you don't acquire 50 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:17,639 Speaker 1: much new for a month, the clutter won't build up, 51 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:21,680 Speaker 1: and you might start making progress on using the things 52 00:03:21,720 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: you have. Novelist Anne Patchett wrote about her own experiences 53 00:03:27,480 --> 00:03:31,320 Speaker 1: with a no by year. When she ran out of lipbalm. 54 00:03:31,440 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: She was deciding whether buying more was allowed, but then 55 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 1: she poked around in what she already had and she 56 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:41,800 Speaker 1: found five lip balms. She realized that when she bought 57 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,480 Speaker 1: toiletrees she didn't like, she didn't throw them away, she 58 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: just put them under the sink. I'm using them now, 59 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,840 Speaker 1: she wrote, and they're fine. A low by month will 60 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:57,680 Speaker 1: perhaps obviously save money, but I think it can also 61 00:03:57,800 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 1: save time. The tree is that shopping can take a 62 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:06,040 Speaker 1: fair amount of time, and some of this time isn't 63 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:10,360 Speaker 1: strictly necessary. If you love shopping, that is one thing. 64 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: But if it is more transactional, then spending less time 65 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:20,520 Speaker 1: shopping could be a big win. Anne Patchett noted that 66 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:24,240 Speaker 1: in October, I interviewed Tom Hanks about his collection of 67 00:04:24,279 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: short stories in front of seventeen hundred people in a 68 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:31,920 Speaker 1: Washington theater. Previously, I would have believed that such an 69 00:04:31,920 --> 00:04:35,960 Speaker 1: occasion demanded a new dress and lost two days of 70 00:04:35,960 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 1: my life looking for one. In fact, Tom Hanks had 71 00:04:41,600 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: never seen any of my dresses, nor had the people 72 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,640 Speaker 1: in the audience. I went to my closet, picked out 73 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:54,960 Speaker 1: something weather appropriate, and stuck it in my suitcase. Done. 74 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 1: Now again, there's no reason to be militant about a 75 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 1: low by or no by month. I'm picturing someone refusing 76 00:05:01,680 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: to buy a child a birthday present, or sending a 77 00:05:04,040 --> 00:05:06,480 Speaker 1: kid to a party without a present, just to keep 78 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 1: the challenge going. Don't be that person. I'm pretty sure 79 00:05:10,839 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: my kids would roll their eyes if I told them 80 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:15,360 Speaker 1: we couldn't go to Starbucks together anymore for a month 81 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:18,960 Speaker 1: because I was doing a no buy challenge. It is 82 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,400 Speaker 1: one thing not to spend money on yourself. Refusing to 83 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,359 Speaker 1: spend money in ways that allow for spending time with 84 00:05:25,480 --> 00:05:29,839 Speaker 1: other people you care about could be more problematic, but 85 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 1: I do think many of us have more stuff than 86 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:35,839 Speaker 1: we need. Many of us have stuff we could repurpose 87 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 1: and other ways we could fill our time. If you agree, 88 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: then a low by month might be a way to 89 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: tap into that creativity. And hey, you can always use 90 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:49,720 Speaker 1: the money you save to go on a big spree 91 00:05:50,120 --> 00:05:55,239 Speaker 1: at the end. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks 92 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:59,360 Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. 93 00:06:05,839 --> 00:06:10,200 Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, 94 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,840 Speaker 1: or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura 95 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 1: vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. 96 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, 97 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.