WEBVTT - How to maximize your vacation days

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about how to maximize your vacation days

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<v Speaker 1>if you'd like to travel more. Different organizations obviously give

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<v Speaker 1>different amounts of paid time off. Different countries have different

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<v Speaker 1>traditions in this regard to and if you live somewhere

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<v Speaker 1>where everyone takes all of August off, you can just

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<v Speaker 1>ignore the rest of this episode. Join me again tomorrow.

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<v Speaker 1>In the US, at least where I live, the widely

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<v Speaker 1>reported figure is that people with five years on a

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<v Speaker 1>job tend to get about fifteen days of paid vacation.

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<v Speaker 1>That's three workweeks, but a lot of workplaces that aren't

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<v Speaker 1>in vital public services also closed on the major holidays

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<v Speaker 1>such as Christmas, New Year's, Thanksgiving, and so forth. People

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<v Speaker 1>often talk about wanting to travel more. When I ask

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<v Speaker 1>people what they'd like to spend more time doing, that's

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<v Speaker 1>one of the most popular answers. We put various international

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<v Speaker 1>destinations on our bucket lists, but even people who might

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<v Speaker 1>be able to swing such trips financially often think these

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<v Speaker 1>will need to happen during retirement because it's really challenging

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<v Speaker 1>to travel far if you have limited vacation days, but

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think this has to be the case. The

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<v Speaker 1>key is to be proactive about your vacation scheduling. To

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<v Speaker 1>stack vacation days with existing office closures and holidays. Then

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<v Speaker 1>you can do quite a bit of traveling while limiting

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<v Speaker 1>the vacation cost. So for instance, this year, America's Independence Day,

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<v Speaker 1>the fourth of July, is on a Thursday. Bowing to reality,

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<v Speaker 1>a number of workplaces will close on Friday the fifth

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<v Speaker 1>as well, But that means that if you were taking

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<v Speaker 1>July first, second, and third as vacation days, you could

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<v Speaker 1>theoretically fly somewhere on the evening of Friday June and

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<v Speaker 1>have that weekend, the whole next week, and the weekends

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<v Speaker 1>of July six and seven off for the of three

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<v Speaker 1>vacation days. That's a nine day trip, which is definitely

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<v Speaker 1>enough time to fly to a country you've been hoping

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<v Speaker 1>to visit in Europe or South America if you're not

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<v Speaker 1>beholding to school schedules. Thanksgiving week is also good for this.

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<v Speaker 1>Many US workplaces will close on Thursday November for Thanksgiving,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, and then also stay closed on Friday the

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<v Speaker 1>twenty nine. So by taking off in the evening of Friday, November,

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<v Speaker 1>being gone that week, and then the weekend of November

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<v Speaker 1>December one, you could likewise get a nine day trip

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<v Speaker 1>for three vacation days. When Christmas falls in the middle

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<v Speaker 1>of the week and it's on Wednesday this year, this

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<v Speaker 1>can be a prime spot too. If your office closes

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<v Speaker 1>December and then closes on January one, you could theoretically

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<v Speaker 1>leave on Friday December, travel the entire next week, and

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<v Speaker 1>then come back on Wednesday, January one. This is a

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<v Speaker 1>twelve day trip for the price of five vacation days,

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<v Speaker 1>enough to really take a trip to Asia or Africa

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<v Speaker 1>or Pacific Island if you wanted to. Even long weekends

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<v Speaker 1>can be good for stacking. If you get President's Day

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<v Speaker 1>off in February, for instance, you could take off Thursday night,

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<v Speaker 1>enjoy Friday, Saturday, and Sunday visiting somewhere in the US, Canada,

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<v Speaker 1>Mexico or the Caribbean, and then come back Monday evening.

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<v Speaker 1>That's enough to fit in a reasonable adventure for the

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<v Speaker 1>price of just one vacation day. The key, of course,

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<v Speaker 1>is planning ahead, because you probably won't be the only

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<v Speaker 1>person in your office. Who wants one of these stackable

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<v Speaker 1>holiday weeks. But here's the thing, it's not a mystery

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<v Speaker 1>when future holidays will occur. You can look at future

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<v Speaker 1>calendars into the year or later if you want so.

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<v Speaker 1>These dates are definitely known for and so forth. If

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<v Speaker 1>you look ahead and put in your request whenever your

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<v Speaker 1>office vacation system opens up, then you're far more likely

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<v Speaker 1>to have first DIBs on these days if you want

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<v Speaker 1>them now. Maybe don't take all the holidays as a

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<v Speaker 1>favor to your colleagues, but if you know now that

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<v Speaker 1>you'll be taking a nine day European vacation in summer,

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<v Speaker 1>you can start patting that vacation fund and anticipating your adventure,

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<v Speaker 1>and that can make all the time before summer more pleasant.

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<v Speaker 1>So take some time now to strategize with your family

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<v Speaker 1>and the calendar. What great trips will you plan in

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E.

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<v Speaker 1>The number four then Breakfast p o D. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at

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