WEBVTT - Try a low-buy month

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to try a low by month. You might

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<v Speaker 1>try minimizing new purchases for a month and see what happens.

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<v Speaker 1>People often save money, but handled right, it's possible you

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<v Speaker 1>might save time. So I have noticed that people love

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<v Speaker 1>month long challenges dry January, Nino Raimu, which is National

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<v Speaker 1>Novel Writing Month, thirty days of yoga, the whole thirty diet,

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<v Speaker 1>and so forth, and I understand the appeal. A month

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<v Speaker 1>long commitment feels doable, but it's also long enough to

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<v Speaker 1>be meaningful. You can make real progress with that in mind.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of people have sung the praises of doing

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<v Speaker 1>a no by month. Now I know it's my questioner

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<v Speaker 1>side coming out, but I doubt most people who do

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<v Speaker 1>a no by month truly by nothing. Groceries are an

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<v Speaker 1>obvious exception, and most of us are still going to

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<v Speaker 1>pay for ongoing services, or at least we should. If

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<v Speaker 1>your kids are signed up for piano lessons, you will

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<v Speaker 1>pay for piano lessons during your no by month. If

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<v Speaker 1>you get a parking ticket, you should probably pay for

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<v Speaker 1>your parking ticket. In general, money is a tool, and

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<v Speaker 1>in many cases money can be used to solve problems.

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<v Speaker 1>I have zero problem with that. I also think many

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<v Speaker 1>people might enjoy spending more on experiences. It would be

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<v Speaker 1>stupid not to go to a girl's night at the

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<v Speaker 1>Paint your own pottery studio with your dearest friends because

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<v Speaker 1>you happen to be in the middle of a no

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<v Speaker 1>by month. However, I know that a lot of people

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<v Speaker 1>feel they have way more stuff than they need. Buying

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<v Speaker 1>less of that could be a worthy pursuit. So let's

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<v Speaker 1>reframe this as a low by month. Before purchasing another

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<v Speaker 1>thing that isn't strictly necessary, consider waiting a while and

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<v Speaker 1>evaluating what would it feel like to try that. When

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<v Speaker 1>people do try this, they often realize that they shop

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<v Speaker 1>for entertainment. Your board while sitting in your kid's room

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<v Speaker 1>while waiting for them to fall asleep, and hey, looks

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<v Speaker 1>like Nick and Zoe is having a sale. A hard

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<v Speaker 1>day at work leads to stopping at paper source, which

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<v Speaker 1>happens to be located where your train stop empties into

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<v Speaker 1>the mall. A low by month could help you identify

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<v Speaker 1>that this is what is going on and encourage you

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<v Speaker 1>to find new forms of entertainment. Maybe you could read

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<v Speaker 1>an ebook as part of the challenge, you find something

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<v Speaker 1>in the public domain or borrow it from the library. Perhaps,

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<v Speaker 1>instead of stopping at them, you meet a friend for

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<v Speaker 1>a wine down walk or a glass of wine, which

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<v Speaker 1>again would not be a no buy option, but might

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<v Speaker 1>be cheaper than a department store hall. A low by

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<v Speaker 1>month can also help with clutter. If you don't acquire

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<v Speaker 1>much new for a month, the clutter won't build up,

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<v Speaker 1>and you might start making progress on using the things

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<v Speaker 1>you have. Novelist Anne Patchett wrote about her own experiences

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<v Speaker 1>with a no by year. When she ran out of lipbalm.

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<v Speaker 1>She was deciding whether buying more was allowed, but then

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<v Speaker 1>she poked around in what she already had and she

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<v Speaker 1>found five lip balms. She realized that when she bought

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<v Speaker 1>toiletrees she didn't like, she didn't throw them away, she

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<v Speaker 1>just put them under the sink. I'm using them now,

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<v Speaker 1>she wrote, and they're fine. A low by month will

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<v Speaker 1>perhaps obviously save money, but I think it can also

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<v Speaker 1>save time. The tree is that shopping can take a

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<v Speaker 1>fair amount of time, and some of this time isn't

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<v Speaker 1>strictly necessary. If you love shopping, that is one thing.

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<v Speaker 1>But if it is more transactional, then spending less time

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<v Speaker 1>shopping could be a big win. Anne Patchett noted that

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<v Speaker 1>in October, I interviewed Tom Hanks about his collection of

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<v Speaker 1>short stories in front of seventeen hundred people in a

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<v Speaker 1>Washington theater. Previously, I would have believed that such an

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<v Speaker 1>occasion demanded a new dress and lost two days of

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<v Speaker 1>my life looking for one. In fact, Tom Hanks had

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<v Speaker 1>never seen any of my dresses, nor had the people

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<v Speaker 1>in the audience. I went to my closet, picked out

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<v Speaker 1>something weather appropriate, and stuck it in my suitcase. Done.

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<v Speaker 1>Now again, there's no reason to be militant about a

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<v Speaker 1>low by or no by month. I'm picturing someone refusing

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<v Speaker 1>to buy a child a birthday present, or sending a

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<v Speaker 1>kid to a party without a present, just to keep

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<v Speaker 1>the challenge going. Don't be that person. I'm pretty sure

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<v Speaker 1>my kids would roll their eyes if I told them

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<v Speaker 1>we couldn't go to Starbucks together anymore for a month

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<v Speaker 1>because I was doing a no buy challenge. It is

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<v Speaker 1>one thing not to spend money on yourself. Refusing to

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<v Speaker 1>spend money in ways that allow for spending time with

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<v Speaker 1>other people you care about could be more problematic, but

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<v Speaker 1>I do think many of us have more stuff than

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<v Speaker 1>we need. Many of us have stuff we could repurpose

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<v Speaker 1>and other ways we could fill our time. If you agree,

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<v Speaker 1>then a low by month might be a way to

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<v Speaker 1>tap into that creativity. And hey, you can always use

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<v Speaker 1>the money you save to go on a big spree

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<v Speaker 1>at the end. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,

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<v Speaker 1>or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura

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<v Speaker 1>vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

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