Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
Speaker 1: This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
Speaker 1: tip is to have fun with freebies. When a restaurant
Speaker 1: or store offers a freebie that sounds like fun, build
Speaker 1: a little adventure around it, and maybe try to include
Speaker 1: others in your adventure as well. Last summer, I ran
Speaker 1: an evening Hour's challenge to help participants make the most
Speaker 1: of the time between work and bedtime. I surveyed people
Speaker 1: about their experiences, and I was initially confused by how
Speaker 1: many people reported going out for slurpees on a particular night. Now, sure,
Speaker 1: it was summer and going out for slurpees is fun,
Speaker 1: but the ratio of slurpees to ice cream was surprising
Speaker 1: until I so eventually put the pieces together and realize
Speaker 1: this particular night was July eleventh, or seven eleven in
Speaker 1: the way we Americans write dates, and seven eleven the
Speaker 1: convenience store celebrated that day by giving out free slurpees.
Speaker 1: A lot of people decided to turn this freebie into
Speaker 1: an evening adventure. Now, I will confess that I am
Speaker 1: not a huge fan of universal freebie days. That is,
Speaker 1: when a store gives something free to everybody. Economics tells
Speaker 1: us that this will create a line. Personally, I would
Speaker 1: rather pay a few dollars for let's say, an ice
Speaker 1: cream cone at Benning Jerry's and not wait in an
Speaker 1: hour long line on free cone Day. But sometimes freebies
Speaker 1: are available at other times, and if you do a
Speaker 1: little work, you might be able to build a discounted
Speaker 1: adventure around them. For instance, lots of places will give
Speaker 1: you a freebie or a discount on your birthday. If
Speaker 1: you are looking to celebrate, maybe check who'll give you
Speaker 1: a free or discounted meal, and then bring a friend
Speaker 1: with you to celebrate. You could split the cost and
Speaker 1: both get some affordable festivities. Places like Starbucks have their
Speaker 1: rewards if you've spent a certain amount, and so if
Speaker 1: you know you have a freebee coming up, you could
Speaker 1: plan to go with a friend specifically to redeem your
Speaker 1: free item. Or you might check the coupons that come
Speaker 1: in the mail. Most are not going to be worthwhile,
Speaker 1: but maybe there's a coupon for a free bowling game
Speaker 1: at a place you've never been to. If you've been
Speaker 1: looking for some weekend fun with a friend, you could
Speaker 1: suggest this. It's a great opener. Hey, I've got this
Speaker 1: coupon I want to use. People might be gamed for it,
Speaker 1: You just never know. I've been known to bid on
Speaker 1: some less popular silent auction items in order to get
Speaker 1: discounted little adventures. Now, obviously I'm putting some money out
Speaker 1: the door here, But if I was going to donate
Speaker 1: to that nonprofit anyway, how fun to get a free
Speaker 1: pass to a helicopter museum or a gift certificate to
Speaker 1: a tea shop or something like that. If it's somewhere
Speaker 1: I might not have gone otherwise, this freebie could make
Speaker 1: life a little more interesting. In any case, we could
Speaker 1: all use some playfulness and abundance in our lives. Places
Speaker 1: often do offer discounts or freebies for some reason or another,
Speaker 1: So if you see one, use it as an opportunity
Speaker 1: to plan an adventure and try to bring someone along.
Speaker 1: You just might find yourself with more memories which are priceless,
Speaker 1: even if they stemmed from something that's free. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to me
Speaker 1: making the most of our time. Thanks for listening to
Speaker 1: before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback. You
Speaker 1: can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts
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