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 think through when to make do and
Speaker 1: when not to. There is no point buying new things
Speaker 1: when the old things work just as well. On the
Speaker 1: other hand, there is no point being constantly unhappy with
Speaker 1: little things either. A little contemplation might help you figure
Speaker 1: out the right balance. So, as longtime listeners know, I
Speaker 1: am a fairly frugal sort, I come down strongly on
Speaker 1: the side of making do. I am driving a twelve
Speaker 1: year old car because it still works. I find it
Speaker 1: incredibly annoying when I have to buy things like new
Speaker 1: socks and new underwear, because in my mind these things
Speaker 1: should last forever. Now, there are some upsides to being
Speaker 1: willing to make do. I can and have lived on
Speaker 1: very little money when that's been necessary. I am not
Speaker 1: upset by mediocre accommodations. When I'm traveling. I am generally
Speaker 1: content because I am not thinking about what's wrong with
Speaker 1: what I have. On the other hand, I have lived
Speaker 1: with things that, it turns out, are easily solved for
Speaker 1: a long time. I spent a year recording this podcast
Speaker 1: while sitting on the ground in my closet. It turns
Speaker 1: out that they make chairs. So the question becomes when
Speaker 1: to make do and when not to make do. This
Speaker 1: should somewhat be shaped by what anyone can afford. If
Speaker 1: not making do means taking on debt, then it is
Speaker 1: probably a bad idea. If not making do means not
Speaker 1: having a robust emergency fund and being fully on track
Speaker 1: for funding your retirement, then again no. But once we
Speaker 1: reached the place of having some discretionary income, then I
Speaker 1: think there are a few questions to ask. First, if
Speaker 1: it is possible to make do, how much joy would
Speaker 1: something new bring to your life? Since I am reasonably
Speaker 1: happy with my car and don't derive much of my
Speaker 1: self concept from my car, I don't think a new
Speaker 1: car would bring me particular joy. Now that equation would
Speaker 1: change a lot. If my car didn't start half the time,
Speaker 1: then a new car would bring me tremendous joy, as
Speaker 1: I would be less stressed and I wouldn't be late everywhere. Second.
Speaker 1: Even if something would bring joy, what else could you
Speaker 1: do with the money? Money is fungible, so money spent
Speaker 1: on one thing is money not spent on something else,
Speaker 1: and it is possible that that's something else might bring
Speaker 1: even more joy. So, for instance, you might think it
Speaker 1: would be fun to upgrade your kitchen, but if that
Speaker 1: would cost the same as a trip to Europe, and
Speaker 1: you think about it and realize you'd rather take a
Speaker 1: trip to Europe, then maybe it's worth making do with
Speaker 1: your counters and cabinets and enjoying your vacation instead. These
Speaker 1: answers are going to be different for everyone. Maybe you
Speaker 1: have no intention of traveling to Europe, so those counters
Speaker 1: and cabinets would actually make you happier. Or maybe you
Speaker 1: have so much cash that there is no trade off.
Speaker 1: There is nothing else you would do with the cash
Speaker 1: because you are already doing everything that you want to.
Speaker 1: If so, have at it with the caveat that avoiding
Speaker 1: waste is a good in its own right, So if
Speaker 1: you are redoing your kitchen before it falls apart, it
Speaker 1: is worth seeing if you can recycle or donate the materials.
Speaker 1: Maybe it will be possible, and maybe it won't be.
Speaker 1: But on the other hand, I guess flying internationally creates
Speaker 1: a lot of waste too. It's just always something to
Speaker 1: keep in mind. Sometimes it's good to make do and
Speaker 1: sometimes it's better not to. It is always just a
Speaker 1: question of how much joy the choice would bring to you,
Speaker 1: and if it would bring joy, if there is another
Speaker 1: choice that might bring even more joy. Optimizing in that
Speaker 1: way can help us create a good balance and spend
Speaker 1: limited resources as wisely as possible. In the meantime, this
Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the
Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear
Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b the number
Speaker 1: four then Breakfast pod. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That
Speaker 1: before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks
Speaker 1: so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
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Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.