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 indulge in your favorite treats every
Speaker 1: once in a while. Keeping them as treats can actually
Speaker 1: maximize your enjoyment of them. Like several tips this week,
Speaker 1: this one comes from Elizabeth Dunn in Michael Norton's book
Speaker 1: Happy Money, The Science of Happier Spending. If abundance is
Speaker 1: the enemy of appreciation, they write, scarcity maybe our best. Ally,
Speaker 1: they dub this insight the wisdom of candy Corn. You
Speaker 1: can probably guess why candy corn is available for just
Speaker 1: a few weeks each year in October, it's a treat.
Speaker 1: The rest of the year, we'll you'll just have to
Speaker 1: look forward to the next Halloween season to enjoy candy
Speaker 1: corn again. It's like peppermint ice cream and eggnog in December.
Speaker 1: Our MacDonald's mic rib sandwiches whenever those appear. These treats
Speaker 1: are wildly successful because they are available for just a
Speaker 1: limited time. You may have heard your grandparents describe getting
Speaker 1: oranges in their stockings at Christmas. Now we can grab
Speaker 1: an orange whenever. Modern children cannot fathom how excited their
Speaker 1: elders were by a piece of fruit. So it goes.
Speaker 1: But that excitement is kind of fun. So how can
Speaker 1: we apply the wisdom of candy corn in our own lives? Basically,
Speaker 1: we need to let treats be treats rather than convert
Speaker 1: everything we enjoy into a daily occurrence. Instead of buying
Speaker 1: a five dollar coffee every day, just drink ordinary brood
Speaker 1: coffee and let the salted caramel mocha be a first
Speaker 1: day of the month's sort of treat. Instead of having
Speaker 1: a massage every week, save the massages for special days
Speaker 1: when you want to pamper yourself. Now, I am not
Speaker 1: suggesting that you deny yourself pleasures, but you do want
Speaker 1: to make sure you don't partake of treats so often
Speaker 1: that you take them for granted and stop noticing them
Speaker 1: and enjoying them. One approach to doling out treats carefully
Speaker 1: is to create rituals around them. So, for instance, after
Speaker 1: you do your monthly calendar check in with your spouse,
Speaker 1: you share a favorite bottle of wine. You stop by
Speaker 1: Traitor Joe's for dark chocolate salted caramels only after going
Speaker 1: to your doctor's office, which is nearby. One way to
Speaker 1: judge whether you're being careful here is to ask yourself
Speaker 1: if you really do still look forward to the treat
Speaker 1: if it stops registering, is something special? Well, it's time
Speaker 1: to change things up. Are there treats you've grown accustomed
Speaker 1: to and no longer get excited about? If there are,
Speaker 1: see what happens when you stop consuming them thoughtlessly and
Speaker 1: reserve them for moments when you'll really savor them. By
Speaker 1: avoiding indulgences that no longer feel special, we can spend
Speaker 1: money when it will increase our happiness and save money
Speaker 1: when it won't. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time.
Speaker 1: Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can
Speaker 1: send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just
Speaker 1: connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then breakfast
Speaker 1: p O D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com that
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks
Speaker 1: so much. I look forward to staying in touch. Before
Speaker 1: Breakfast is a production of i heart Radio. For more
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