WEBVTT - Plan a great weekend for free

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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 plan a great weekend

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<v Speaker 1>for free. After the holidays and with the clean slate

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<v Speaker 1>of the new year, brushing up against tax time, lots

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<v Speaker 1>of people pledge to be smarter about their finances. One

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<v Speaker 1>common approach is too drastically cut spending. Sometimes people even

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<v Speaker 1>declare a spending freeze. And sometimes that's wise and it

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<v Speaker 1>can be fun as a talent, but if you're not careful,

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<v Speaker 1>it can also lead to feeling like life is no

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<v Speaker 1>fun and a no fun life is not sustainable. I

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<v Speaker 1>think moderation is often wise. But the good news is

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<v Speaker 1>that if you spend some time thinking through options and

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<v Speaker 1>making plans, it is quite possible to dream up really

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<v Speaker 1>fun free weekends. Here's what you do. First, you need

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<v Speaker 1>to do some research. Many communities have free events going

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<v Speaker 1>on that people don't know about because they don't bother

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<v Speaker 1>to think ahead or look beyond their own TVs. Carve

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<v Speaker 1>out sometime maybe on a Wednesday, to pick up an

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<v Speaker 1>arts or events newspaper, or scroll through online Facebook groups

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<v Speaker 1>or local news sites. Flag a few events that look

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<v Speaker 1>most promising, when will they be happening. Make yourself a

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<v Speaker 1>game plan now. Think about who might like to spend

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<v Speaker 1>time over the weekend with you. Socializing is one of

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<v Speaker 1>the most fun things people do, and even introverts like

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<v Speaker 1>myself generally like to see one or two close friends

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<v Speaker 1>here and there. By proactively inviting people to your free events,

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<v Speaker 1>you don't put yourself in the position of having to

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<v Speaker 1>say no when other people invite you to more expensive things.

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<v Speaker 1>You might also take the initiative to invite people over

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<v Speaker 1>for cheap get togethers. A pot luck costs almost nothing

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<v Speaker 1>if you pull your contributions together from what already in

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<v Speaker 1>the house, assign food and drink options to your friends,

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<v Speaker 1>and you'll have a grand party with basically nothing going

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<v Speaker 1>out the door. As you plan ahead, you might also

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<v Speaker 1>think of how you can be of service. Volunteering is

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<v Speaker 1>a great way to do something purposeful and socialize, and

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<v Speaker 1>of course, since you're volunteering your time, you're generally not

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<v Speaker 1>paying to do so. Done right, this can even get

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<v Speaker 1>you into things you might normally pay for, such as

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<v Speaker 1>ushering for a community concert that you can then see

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<v Speaker 1>for free. Exercise is a great mood booster and running

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<v Speaker 1>or walking tends to be free. Organize people to go

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<v Speaker 1>for a hike together on a local trail, Bring your

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<v Speaker 1>own snacks and water so you're not tempted to load up,

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<v Speaker 1>or even bring a picnic. To make it a bigger occasion,

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<v Speaker 1>you might also make this the weekend to cash in

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<v Speaker 1>on any coupons, gift certificates, or i O use you

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<v Speaker 1>happen to have. Use that Starbucks gift card you got

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<v Speaker 1>in your stocking, or the coupon for a pedicure you wanted,

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<v Speaker 1>a sign in auction, call in a favor from the

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<v Speaker 1>neighbor you babysat for last week, and finally think about

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<v Speaker 1>freeways to spend your downtime. If you've got a library card,

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<v Speaker 1>go to the library and satisfy any shopping urge by

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<v Speaker 1>selecting a huge hall of books or DVDs. If there's

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<v Speaker 1>no convenient time to drop by, see if your local

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<v Speaker 1>library is plugged into the libby app so you can

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<v Speaker 1>borrow e books for free. When you've got something really

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<v Speaker 1>interesting to fill your downtime, you're gonna be less likely

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<v Speaker 1>to serve the web, where there's ads for online shopping opportunities.

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<v Speaker 1>Can so easily find you. Then, at the end of

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<v Speaker 1>your free weekend, spend some time reflecting what did you

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<v Speaker 1>like most, what didn't work out. You don't need to

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<v Speaker 1>try a spending freeze every weekend, but with a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit of foresight, you can have a ton of fun

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<v Speaker 1>without spending a lot, and that means more cash stocked

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<v Speaker 1>away for fun in the future too. What's your favorite

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<v Speaker 1>fun weekend activity that you can do for free. You

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<v Speaker 1>can let me know at Before Breakfast podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.

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<v Speaker 1>You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast pod that's b E the number four then

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an

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<v Speaker 1>email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

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