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 figure out whether you over buy
Speaker 1: or underby, and then compensate accordingly. Some people tend to
Speaker 1: buy more than they need, more food than they need
Speaker 1: at the grocery store, more house than they need for
Speaker 1: their family size, more dressy clothes than they need for
Speaker 1: their social calendar. Then there are people who underbuy and
Speaker 1: end up wearing holes in their socks, waiting for a
Speaker 1: slow computer without adequate memory for the software they use,
Speaker 1: or carrying a workbag that makes clients mistake you for
Speaker 1: the intern. Now, I consume a lot of personal finance literature,
Speaker 1: and I know that there is a certain glorification to underbuying.
Speaker 1: But just as overbuying isn't smart, underbuying can be problematic too.
Speaker 1: Contact lens solution, for instance, is cheaper to buy in
Speaker 1: bulk than buying one small bottle at a time. If
Speaker 1: you run out of groceries, you have to go back
Speaker 1: to the store, which can waste time and gas. So
Speaker 1: rather than view one or the other as the right way,
Speaker 1: I think it's better to simply recognize which camp you
Speaker 1: fall into. If you recognize where you fall on the spectrum,
Speaker 1: you will be able to compensate and make right sized purchases. So,
Speaker 1: for instance, if you know you tend to underbuy, always
Speaker 1: buy a little more than you think you need. Order
Speaker 1: a few more holiday cards, buy a few more groceries,
Speaker 1: add one more item to your restaurant delivery, order by
Speaker 1: an extra pair of socks. For bigger purchases, pause and
Speaker 1: reflect on your needs and desires, and don't assume that
Speaker 1: the cheapest model is automatically the right one. Think through
Speaker 1: what your experience of each option would be over the
Speaker 1: long term before you decide what's best. You could also
Speaker 1: try to enlist a thought partner. Ask a trusted friend
Speaker 1: whether she thinks the couch you've chosen is the one
Speaker 1: you'll love for the long term, or whether you are
Speaker 1: just blinded by the attractive price. Now, I'm not recommending
Speaker 1: ignoring a budget. You just want to make sure that
Speaker 1: you are really thinking about your needs and your day
Speaker 1: to day life within the guardrails of your budget. When
Speaker 1: all your underwear has holes in it, well, it is
Speaker 1: not a terrible thing to spend some money on new pairs. Really, Now,
Speaker 1: on the other hand, if you typically over by, which
Speaker 1: is probably the more common curse, recognize that and compensate
Speaker 1: in the other direction. You may not need a dining
Speaker 1: room table that seats twelve, since you only host that
Speaker 1: many people once a year at most, and when you do,
Speaker 1: the conversation flows better at two tables of six. Your
Speaker 1: kids may not need snowsuits if you live in Florida.
Speaker 1: If you're a family of five with three little kids,
Speaker 1: you will probably be just fine ordering the blue Apron
Speaker 1: box for four. If you do have a family of four,
Speaker 1: you probably don't need the big suv with the third
Speaker 1: row of seats for that one time you might need
Speaker 1: to carpool friends. When that happens, you will figure something out.
Speaker 1: So think about yourself and what category you fall into.
Speaker 1: If you are always running out of stuff, you are
Speaker 1: probably an underbuyer. If you are having to throw things away,
Speaker 1: or you're always feeling like you need to clean out
Speaker 1: your closet, well you might be an overbuyer. See how
Speaker 1: this identity sits, and then the next time you go
Speaker 1: to make a purchase, consider how you can compensate if
Speaker 1: you underbuy by a little more, if you over by
Speaker 1: by a little less, you'll be more likely to hit
Speaker 1: the just right amount. In the meantime, this is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod. That's b E the number four than
Speaker 1: breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an
Speaker 1: email at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot
Speaker 1: com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
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