WEBVTT - What to do with a small windfall

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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 about what to do with a small windfall.

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<v Speaker 1>It is fun to use money intentionally rather than see

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<v Speaker 1>it all disappear into the same wash of money going

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<v Speaker 1>in and out. So if you do find yourself with

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<v Speaker 1>a little extra sometime, here are some ways to think

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<v Speaker 1>about it. So today's tip was inspired by a recent

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<v Speaker 1>conversation about budgeting. I have run my own business for

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<v Speaker 1>many years, and my income tends not to come in

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<v Speaker 1>at regular intervals. But I know a number of people

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<v Speaker 1>get paid every week or every other week on a

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<v Speaker 1>certain day. Now, normally this would mean either to or

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<v Speaker 1>four paychecks a month, but on occasion, you get an

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<v Speaker 1>extra paycheck a month, just by virtue of where the

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<v Speaker 1>days of the week happen to fall. Twenty six paychecks

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<v Speaker 1>a year means two most months, but three in two months.

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<v Speaker 1>If the vast majority of your spending is budgeted out

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<v Speaker 1>monthly based on two paychecks, then getting an extra paycheck

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<v Speaker 1>can feel like a little bonus. Or perhaps you might

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<v Speaker 1>get a small windfall for other reasons too, like a

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<v Speaker 1>slightly bigger tax refund than you thought you'd get, or

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<v Speaker 1>maybe it's a rebate on something that finally came through.

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<v Speaker 1>So when this happens, what should you do with it now? Obviously,

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<v Speaker 1>if one has any high interest debt, the money should

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<v Speaker 1>go to that. But if that is not the case,

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<v Speaker 1>which I'm guessing maybe the case for a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>people listening to this, then I think this can be

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<v Speaker 1>a fun question. A small windfall isn't going to change

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<v Speaker 1>your life, but of course that means it's easy to

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<v Speaker 1>see a small windfall disappear into the wash of money

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<v Speaker 1>going in and out for various things. It would be

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<v Speaker 1>more fun to use it intentionally. So I personally love

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<v Speaker 1>the idea of peace of mind, and so if your

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<v Speaker 1>emergency fund is a bit underfunded, you might allocate a

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<v Speaker 1>bit more to that if things did go awry, not

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<v Speaker 1>needing to worry about money for even another two weeks

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<v Speaker 1>or so could buy you breathing room. If you did

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<v Speaker 1>want to spend the windfall on something, I think the

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<v Speaker 1>absolute best thing to spend it on would be an experience.

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<v Speaker 1>You will make memories that will last a lot longer

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<v Speaker 1>than most other things money can buy. Maybe there's a

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<v Speaker 1>weekend trip you'd like to take somewhere, make a long

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<v Speaker 1>weekend of it, go somewhere fun, and then consciously record

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<v Speaker 1>the memories to think about later. This is what my

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<v Speaker 1>windfall enabled. Or it might be an experience like taking

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<v Speaker 1>your family boding or buying a membership somewhere that you

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<v Speaker 1>visit again and again. Another good category would be social spending.

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<v Speaker 1>It's fun to treat people to things, and this is

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<v Speaker 1>almost universally reciprocated, which means the windfall will keep generating

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<v Speaker 1>benefits in the future. For instance, you might decide to

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<v Speaker 1>take four different friends out to dinner, either individually or altogether.

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<v Speaker 1>Either way, these people are highly likely to then invite

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<v Speaker 1>you to do things with them, which means you'll get

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of lunch or coffee invitations spread out over

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<v Speaker 1>the next few months. You could also create a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of meaning by donating at least part of a windfall.

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<v Speaker 1>There are many worthy causes in the world, but I

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<v Speaker 1>think you'd enjoy this most by donating to a smaller

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<v Speaker 1>group where it would make a big difference, perhaps a

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<v Speaker 1>local place where you already volunteer. Then you are there

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<v Speaker 1>seeing what your money is enabling. It is so much

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<v Speaker 1>more fun than losing track of it. In any case,

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<v Speaker 1>even if you don't have a windfall on the horizon,

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<v Speaker 1>this can be a fun question to ask yourself, what

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<v Speaker 1>would you do with a small windfall? People sometimes daydream

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<v Speaker 1>about what they would do if they won the lottery,

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<v Speaker 1>but this is highly unlikely to happen, particularly if you

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<v Speaker 1>don't usually buy lottery tickets. The odds of a small

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<v Speaker 1>windfall happening, though, are reasonably good. People who budget monthly

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<v Speaker 1>but get paid weekly or bi weekly, we'll see it

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<v Speaker 1>happen about twice a year, and many other people will

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<v Speaker 1>no doubt see some amount of extra cash come into

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<v Speaker 1>their lives at some point. So make yourself a list

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<v Speaker 1>of what might be fun, and then, who knows, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>you will figure out a way to make those things happen,

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<v Speaker 1>regardless of what is going on with your finances in

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening

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<v Speaker 1>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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