Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to know your burn rate. People often
Speaker 1: talk about a cash burn rate, how much money a
Speaker 1: business needs to operate each month, but burn rates are
Speaker 1: useful concepts for the stuff we need to run our
Speaker 1: homes too. Paying attention to how quickly you use up
Speaker 1: household supplies can save you from emergency grocery store runs
Speaker 1: and needless frustration. If you're like a lot of people,
Speaker 1: you may be trying to minimize your grocery store trips
Speaker 1: right now to minimize COVID nineteen exposure. But even in
Speaker 1: ordinary times, the frozen food aisle isn't exactly a party,
Speaker 1: So the less frequently you have to go, the better.
Speaker 1: To make sure you're well stocked between trips, pay attention
Speaker 1: to how quickly you go through staples that you always
Speaker 1: want to have on hand milk, olive, oil, cleaning spray,
Speaker 1: pet food, diapers. If you know that your family goes
Speaker 1: through three half gallons of milk a week in your
Speaker 1: grocery shopping once a week, well buy the three half
Speaker 1: gallons on each trip. Of course, I'm guessing. A lot
Speaker 1: of listeners already know their milk burn rate, and they
Speaker 1: plan accordingly. It's everything else that's more complicated. Fortunately, there
Speaker 1: are simple ways to figure out the burn rates for
Speaker 1: all sorts of supplies. One way is to use a
Speaker 1: sharpie to write the date you open the container on
Speaker 1: the container. For example, if you opened a bottle of
Speaker 1: laundry detergent today, write the date on the bottom. After
Speaker 1: you use up the detergent, take a look at the
Speaker 1: date you started it, and you'll get insight into your
Speaker 1: burn rate. Next time you're buying laundry detergent, you know
Speaker 1: how long that container will last. You Now, I am
Speaker 1: not suggesting that you keep records of how long every
Speaker 1: canister of oatmeal or bottle of soy sauce lasts, but
Speaker 1: just noticing how long something lasts can illuminate your shopping
Speaker 1: over time, as you start to figure out what you
Speaker 1: always run out of and what seems to last forever.
Speaker 1: In my house, for example, we invariably wind up with
Speaker 1: too much cooking spray but not enough peanut butter. Good
Speaker 1: to know when the peanut butter disappears in two weeks,
Speaker 1: but the spray is still with us three months later,
Speaker 1: we can add peanut butter to the regular shopping list,
Speaker 1: but note that cooking spray is more occasional. This burn
Speaker 1: rate concept works for things beyond shopping. For instance, maybe
Speaker 1: your number of bowls is the limiting factor on when
Speaker 1: you need to run the dishwasher. Buying two more means
Speaker 1: you can make it through morning cereal and evening ice
Speaker 1: cream before you need to run the dishwasher. Same with
Speaker 1: socks in the laundrier these days masks. Basically, you want
Speaker 1: to have enough food, socks, masks, whatever to make it
Speaker 1: to your next grocery trip, laundry load, or dishwasher run.
Speaker 1: You don't want to be too constrained on when you
Speaker 1: have to do these things, but you don't want an
Speaker 1: excessive amount either, because why spend the money, use the
Speaker 1: storage space, and spend the time keeping more things tidy
Speaker 1: than you actually need. Knowing your burn rate helps you
Speaker 1: to know how much is enough, and that way your
Speaker 1: time and your mind are free for more important things
Speaker 1: in the meantime. This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips your questions or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.