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Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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Speaker 1: Today's tip is to consider whether some creative budgeting can

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Speaker 1: make a big irritation disappear. In other words, consider the

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Speaker 1: wisdom of just throwing money at the problem. So I'm

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Speaker 1: naturally a frugal person. Well, honestly, I think the correct

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Speaker 1: word here is cheap. I am forever trying to avoid

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Speaker 1: spending money. Some of this I just accept as my personality.

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Speaker 1: I am sitting on a desk chair right now that

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Speaker 1: has a giant hole in the upholstery. I could replace it,

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Speaker 1: but I'm probably not going to. It still works, and

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Speaker 1: anyone who gets invited into my home office already knows

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Speaker 1: my quirks. It will be okay. But other cheap decisions

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Speaker 1: have been more problematic. I've resisted investing money in my

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Speaker 1: business in the past, which is pretty shortsighted in any case.

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Speaker 1: I'm sure some people are naturally spending, but I'm addressing

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Speaker 1: this episode to people like me, people who do not

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Speaker 1: automatically think about using money as a tool. And we

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Speaker 1: all have irritations in our lives. It's possible that throwing

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Speaker 1: money at the problem could in fact make it go away.

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Speaker 1: Sometimes it even involves less money than we might think.

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Speaker 1: So here's how we can start thinking this way. At

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Speaker 1: some point during a break today, make a list of

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Speaker 1: the things that have irritated you over the past few days.

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Speaker 1: Maybe it's that your car seems constantly dirty. Maybe you

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Speaker 1: feel that making dinner falls on your plate too frequently,

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Speaker 1: so to speak. Maybe you get annoyed running errands. Or

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Speaker 1: maybe you keep telling yourself that you're going to paint

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Speaker 1: the bathroom at your house that's a really ugly shade

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Speaker 1: of gray, but you don't get as specific as possible.

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Speaker 1: Then ask yourself if by spending money you could reduce

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Speaker 1: this irritation or even make it go away. It's possible.

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Speaker 1: The answer is no. But maybe you start springing to

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Speaker 1: have your card detailed frequently enough that you no longer

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Speaker 1: fear finding French fries under the seats. Or maybe you

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Speaker 1: create a standing delivery order from your favorite relatively healthy

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Speaker 1: restaurant twice a week. Yes, dinner is now more expensive,

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Speaker 1: but you're cooking it much less frequently. You could abandon

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Speaker 1: the fantasy that the bathroom painting job will be a

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Speaker 1: do it yourself sort of thing. Just pay a pro

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Speaker 1: and get it over with. Sometimes even issues that seem

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Speaker 1: like they might be deeper and more contentious can be

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Speaker 1: solved by throwing money at the problem. I know a

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Speaker 1: lot of couples fight about housework, but maybe rather than

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Speaker 1: have a knockdown argument every weekend about why party A

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Speaker 1: doesn't vacuum and is it because party A has outdated

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Speaker 1: beliefs about domestic responsibilities, or doesn't value party bees time,

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Speaker 1: or however you argue this, you decide that neither of

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Speaker 1: you will do it, You pay a cleaning service to

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Speaker 1: come in once a week instead. Now, obviously none of

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Speaker 1: this works if money is really tight, and I get that,

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Speaker 1: but sometimes creative budgeting can make things possible. I've realized

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Speaker 1: in my life that I'd rather buy time and household

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Speaker 1: harmony than things like an office chair. On the other hand,

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Speaker 1: somebody who's really irritated by bad seating might make a

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Speaker 1: different choice and prioritize that. But the point is that

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Speaker 1: all of us can consciously choose to use what money

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Speaker 1: we have at our disposal to build lives that maximize

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Speaker 1: the good stuff and minimize the bad. This is very

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Speaker 1: much a work in progress. For me, but I do

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Speaker 1: like to think that I'm making progress. Have you ever

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Speaker 1: thrown money at a problem and actually how to go away?

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Speaker 1: Please let me know at Before Breakfast podcast at i

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Speaker 1: heeart media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura.

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Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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

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Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.

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Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at

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Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's B the number four, then Breakfast

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Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email

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Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.

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Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.

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Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.

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Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For

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Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart

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Speaker 1: favorite shows. Mmmmm