WEBVTT - Make a plan for anything that's use-it-or-lose-it

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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 make a plan for the upcoming year

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<v Speaker 1>for anything in your life that is use it or

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<v Speaker 1>lose it. You don't want to be doing things frantically

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<v Speaker 1>next December, when with a little thought you could have

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<v Speaker 1>spread those things out and enjoyed using your benefits all

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<v Speaker 1>year long. So I find it fascinating that eye doctors

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<v Speaker 1>are completely swamped the last week of December. Now, on

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<v Speaker 1>some level that is because a lot of people are

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<v Speaker 1>off of work or off school, and so it is

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<v Speaker 1>a convenient time to go see an eye doctor. But

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<v Speaker 1>in other cases it's because people have certain health benefits

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<v Speaker 1>that need to be spent the end of the year.

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<v Speaker 1>The end of the year is not exactly a surprise.

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<v Speaker 1>It happens December thirty first every year, but still people

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<v Speaker 1>don't think about it. There they are trying to get

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<v Speaker 1>an appointment or waiting a long time as a walk

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<v Speaker 1>in which might not have happened in say October. It

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<v Speaker 1>is the same with charitable giving. I know people feel

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<v Speaker 1>generous with the holidays, but there is also a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of rush to get deductions for the year before December

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<v Speaker 1>thirty first, Then there are vacation days. Some places roll

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<v Speaker 1>these over, but some don't. You get a certain amount

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<v Speaker 1>each year, which means that people are either trying to

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<v Speaker 1>take days off in December when everyone else is too,

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<v Speaker 1>or they risk losing some of their time off. Not good.

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<v Speaker 1>I know not everyone has use it or lose its

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<v Speaker 1>resources in their lives. But if you do fall into

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<v Speaker 1>this category, take a few minutes now to think about

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<v Speaker 1>the upcoming year. What resources do you need to use

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<v Speaker 1>by the end of the year. When can you use those?

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<v Speaker 1>If you get a certain amount of paid time off,

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<v Speaker 1>you might go ahead and book an extra day or

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<v Speaker 1>two somewhere, even if you don't have a planned vacation.

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<v Speaker 1>That way, you'll be more likely to take these days

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<v Speaker 1>and maybe build in a little decompression time into your life.

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<v Speaker 1>In many cases, you can ultimately decide not to take

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<v Speaker 1>a vacation at that time if work is really busy,

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<v Speaker 1>or if you wind up needing to use a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of PTO because a family member gets sick or something

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<v Speaker 1>like that. But by thinking ahead you can spread out

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<v Speaker 1>the fun. If you support some smaller nonprofits, there might

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<v Speaker 1>be a real benefit to giving a donation in say July,

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<v Speaker 1>when they might be facing more of a cash crunch

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<v Speaker 1>versus December may be a bit more flush thanks to

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<v Speaker 1>other people's last minute donations. And if you get benefits

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<v Speaker 1>for regular checkups like dentists or I doctor visits, go

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<v Speaker 1>ahead and schedule those now. No need to wait until

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<v Speaker 1>next December. I mean, unless you aren't allowed to book

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<v Speaker 1>less than three hundred and sixty five days since your

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<v Speaker 1>last one and you just squeezed one in. But even

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<v Speaker 1>if you do have that restriction, you could book now

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<v Speaker 1>for next December and a lot of places and then

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<v Speaker 1>not have to worry about not getting an appointment because

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<v Speaker 1>the place is slammed. This episode is airing at the

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<v Speaker 1>end of one year, but there is another year coming,

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<v Speaker 1>and there will be another one after that too. There

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<v Speaker 1>is no need to be surprised by the end of

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<v Speaker 1>the year. Make a plan for any use it or

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<v Speaker 1>lose it benefits, and you will be way ahead of

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<v Speaker 1>the game in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>Here's to making the most of our time. Thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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