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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is to seize opportunities for special experiences rather

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Speaker 1: than skipping them just because they're available anytime, like several

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Speaker 1: episodes this week. Today's tip comes from Elizabeth Dunn and

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Speaker 1: Michael Norton's book Happy Money, The Science of Happier Spending.

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Speaker 1: Dunn and Norton describe a study finding that people who

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Speaker 1: had lived in London for an entire year reported having

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Speaker 1: visited fewer landmarks than visitors who had been there two weeks.

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Speaker 1: If you're on vacation in London for two weeks, big

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Speaker 1: ben is a Mussie. But if you live in London, well,

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Speaker 1: you can visit the iconic clock tower at any time,

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Speaker 1: which ends up meaning never done in. Norton coined the

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Speaker 1: term the big Ben problem to describe this tendency to

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Speaker 1: miss out on treats that are available any time, even

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Speaker 1: though we seize opportunities with a limited time frame. I'm

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Speaker 1: sure we can all identify the big bins in our

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Speaker 1: own lives, For instance, the local attractions in our hometown

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Speaker 1: that every tourist visits, but that we haven't seen, or

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Speaker 1: the natural wonders in our area that we don't even notice.

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Speaker 1: This is a shame, because well, people spend lots of

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Speaker 1: time and money visiting these things, time and money that

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Speaker 1: you personally don't have to spend. Let two thousand twenty

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Speaker 1: one be the year that you resolve that you will

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Speaker 1: not succumb to the Big Ben problem. You probably already

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Speaker 1: know the big attractions in your area, but if not,

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Speaker 1: do a quick search. The internet is full of lists

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Speaker 1: like top ten things to do in Cincinnati or must

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Speaker 1: see attractions and providence Pertend you're sending an email to

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Speaker 1: an out of town relative about what they should make

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Speaker 1: time for. With a little research and creativity, I bet

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Speaker 1: you could identify a fun way to be a tourist

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Speaker 1: in your own city for every month, twelve memorable experiences

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Speaker 1: for the year. Some people are traveling less now than

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Speaker 1: usual because of the coronavirus, so that's all the more

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Speaker 1: reason to make the most of every great destination nearby.

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Speaker 1: This Big Ben phenomenon plays out in all kinds of

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Speaker 1: ways in our lives. When gift cards have no expiration date,

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Speaker 1: we figure we could always get to that spa, and

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Speaker 1: then we don't try pretending that all your gift cards

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Speaker 1: will expire by March or so, and let two thousand

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Speaker 1: twenty one be the year that you finally cash in

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Speaker 1: if you make a plan and enjoy the big bends

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Speaker 1: in your area, which might include the actual Big ben

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Speaker 1: For my London listeners, I'd love to hear about it.

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Speaker 1: You can reach me at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com.

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Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening and

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Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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Speaker 1: That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart Media dot com. That Before Breakfast

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Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast,

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Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. H