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 consider whether some creative budgeting can
Speaker 1: make a big irritation disappear. In other words, consider the
Speaker 1: wisdom of just throwing money at the problem. So I'm
Speaker 1: naturally a frugal person. Well, honestly, I think the correct
Speaker 1: word here is cheap. I am forever trying to avoid
Speaker 1: spending money. Some of this I just accept as my personality.
Speaker 1: I am sitting on a desk chair right now that
Speaker 1: has a giant hole in the upholstery. I could replace it,
Speaker 1: but I'm probably not going to. It still works, and
Speaker 1: anyone who gets invited into my home office already knows
Speaker 1: my quirks. It will be okay. But other cheap decisions
Speaker 1: have been more problematic. I've resisted investing money in my
Speaker 1: business in the past, which is pretty shortsighted in any case.
Speaker 1: I'm sure some people are naturally spending, but I'm addressing
Speaker 1: this episode to people like me, people who do not
Speaker 1: automatically think about using money as a tool. And we
Speaker 1: all have irritations in our lives. It's possible that throwing
Speaker 1: money at the problem could in fact make it go away.
Speaker 1: Sometimes it even involves less money than we might think.
Speaker 1: So here's how we can start thinking this way. At
Speaker 1: some point during a break today, make a list of
Speaker 1: the things that have irritated you over the past few days.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's that your car seems constantly dirty. Maybe you
Speaker 1: feel that making dinner falls on your plate too frequently,
Speaker 1: so to speak. Maybe you get annoyed running errands. Or
Speaker 1: maybe you keep telling yourself that you're going to paint
Speaker 1: the bathroom at your house that's a really ugly shade
Speaker 1: of gray, but you don't get as specific as possible.
Speaker 1: Then ask yourself if by spending money you could reduce
Speaker 1: this irritation or even make it go away. It's possible.
Speaker 1: The answer is no. But maybe you start springing to
Speaker 1: have your card detailed frequently enough that you no longer
Speaker 1: fear finding French fries under the seats. Or maybe you
Speaker 1: create a standing delivery order from your favorite relatively healthy
Speaker 1: restaurant twice a week. Yes, dinner is now more expensive,
Speaker 1: but you're cooking it much less frequently. You could abandon
Speaker 1: the fantasy that the bathroom painting job will be a
Speaker 1: do it yourself sort of thing. Just pay a pro
Speaker 1: and get it over with. Sometimes even issues that seem
Speaker 1: like they might be deeper and more contentious can be
Speaker 1: solved by throwing money at the problem. I know a
Speaker 1: lot of couples fight about housework, but maybe rather than
Speaker 1: have a knockdown argument every weekend about why party A
Speaker 1: doesn't vacuum and is it because party A has outdated
Speaker 1: beliefs about domestic responsibilities, or doesn't value party bees time,
Speaker 1: or however you argue this, you decide that neither of
Speaker 1: you will do it, You pay a cleaning service to
Speaker 1: come in once a week instead. Now, obviously none of
Speaker 1: this works if money is really tight, and I get that,
Speaker 1: but sometimes creative budgeting can make things possible. I've realized
Speaker 1: in my life that I'd rather buy time and household
Speaker 1: harmony than things like an office chair. On the other hand,
Speaker 1: somebody who's really irritated by bad seating might make a
Speaker 1: different choice and prioritize that. But the point is that
Speaker 1: all of us can consciously choose to use what money
Speaker 1: we have at our disposal to build lives that maximize
Speaker 1: the good stuff and minimize the bad. This is very
Speaker 1: much a work in progress. For me, but I do
Speaker 1: like to think that I'm making progress. Have you ever
Speaker 1: thrown money at a problem and actually how to go away?
Speaker 1: Please let me know at Before Breakfast podcast at i
Speaker 1: heeart media dot com. 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 the number four, then Breakfast
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.
Speaker 1: 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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