WEBVTT - Second Cup: Put a price tag on it

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to put a price tag on it. When

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<v Speaker 1>there is something you want, figure out how much time

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<v Speaker 1>and money it would take to make it happen. You

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<v Speaker 1>may realize that things are not as costly as you assumed,

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<v Speaker 1>or perhaps they are, but at least you know what

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<v Speaker 1>you're working with so you can make rational choices. So

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<v Speaker 1>often in life we talk about things we would like

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<v Speaker 1>to change, but then we dismiss these ideas out of hand,

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<v Speaker 1>or perhaps view the problems as so overwhelming that there

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<v Speaker 1>is no rational place to start. I wish I could

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<v Speaker 1>fill in the blank, travel more, go back to school,

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<v Speaker 1>renovate my kitchen, stop looking frumpy, not spend my weekends

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<v Speaker 1>scrubbing the bathrooms. But here's the thing. Very few things

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<v Speaker 1>in life are truly impossible to change. Many changes could

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<v Speaker 1>happen with some amount of cash or time. Taking a

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<v Speaker 1>moment to consider how much such changes would cost in

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<v Speaker 1>time and money may prompt you to realize it is

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<v Speaker 1>something you can do more easily than you thought, or

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<v Speaker 1>at least it will put the problem in perspective. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe after the pandemic, your old work wardrobe is no

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<v Speaker 1>longer fitting like it did. Rather than bemoaning this or

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<v Speaker 1>squeezing into clothes that make you feel bad about yourself,

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<v Speaker 1>you could put a price tag on this issue. With

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<v Speaker 1>three hours on the internet and six hundred dollars, what

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<v Speaker 1>do you think you could do? My guess is that

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<v Speaker 1>you could buy yourself a pretty good professional wardrobe in

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<v Speaker 1>a larger size with just a quick trip to the

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<v Speaker 1>post office to return whatever doesn't work. Or maybe you

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<v Speaker 1>don't like your disorganized pantry. What if you gave yourself

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<v Speaker 1>two hours on the weekend and fifty dollars for organizing supplies.

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<v Speaker 1>My guess is that you'd be pretty close to getting

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<v Speaker 1>the pantry under control for less than the cost of

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<v Speaker 1>a family dinner out. Even with something that is more complicated,

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<v Speaker 1>you should still look at the price tag. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are bothered by your crooked teeth, for instance, go visit

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<v Speaker 1>an orthodontist or check out one of those online services.

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<v Speaker 1>They will give you a dollar figure and a length

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<v Speaker 1>of time. Then you can decide how you feel about that.

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<v Speaker 1>Now it might be possible that you'll decide it isn't

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<v Speaker 1>worth the cost. I have a slight gap between my

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<v Speaker 1>front teeth that I thought about fixing for a few

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<v Speaker 1>seconds in my late twenties. I got an expert opinion

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<v Speaker 1>on what fixing it would take, namely a few thousand

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<v Speaker 1>dollars and six to twelve months. Then I had a

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<v Speaker 1>kid and decided I didn't have the brain space to

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<v Speaker 1>be worried about an imperceptible gap. In general, the upside

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<v Speaker 1>of knowing is that then you can make an informed choice,

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<v Speaker 1>which leads to less rumination. No more I'm so embarrassed

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<v Speaker 1>by the dent in my car. I should have it fixed. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>you think to yourself, hmhm, it stinks that I have

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<v Speaker 1>a dent in my car, but I would rather use

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<v Speaker 1>the thousand dollars that would cost to fix it for

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<v Speaker 1>something else, since I'm going to get a new car

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<v Speaker 1>in a year or two. Anyway, your mind can move

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<v Speaker 1>on to other things. This sounds simple enough, but I've

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<v Speaker 1>found that sometimes people like to nurse dissatisfactions rather than

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<v Speaker 1>truly figuring out what it would take to solve a problem.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps you hate doing laundry, don't we all? It can

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<v Speaker 1>be fun to complain. I recently heard such complaints about

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<v Speaker 1>mounds and mounds of laundry taking over one's life from

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<v Speaker 1>a fairly well off woman who could absolutely have afforded

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<v Speaker 1>to pay someone else to do her laundry. I'm not

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<v Speaker 1>sure what was going on there. Did she not know

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<v Speaker 1>that that was an option or was it more comforting

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<v Speaker 1>to keep the identity of doing everything for everyone else?

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know. But we can put a price tag

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<v Speaker 1>on a great many things. That includes outsourcing laundry or cooking,

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<v Speaker 1>hiring some weekend childcare, even big things like taking a

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<v Speaker 1>six month sabbatical and traveling the world, going part time

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<v Speaker 1>and using the extra hours to write a novel. In

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<v Speaker 1>the end, we might not find it is worth it

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<v Speaker 1>to pay that price for various reasons. But when we

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<v Speaker 1>know the price, we can make a decision and either

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<v Speaker 1>make the change or move on. Knowing we can then

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<v Speaker 1>focus on more satisfying things in the meantime. This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast p o D. You can also shoot me an

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<v Speaker 1>email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that

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<v Speaker 1>before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>so much, should I look forward to staying in touch.

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