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 how any expense will affect
Speaker 1: how you spend your time. This tip comes from Elizabeth
Speaker 1: Dunn and Michael Norton's book Happy Money, The Science of
Speaker 1: Happier Spending. Donne and Norton are perhaps best known for
Speaker 1: their recommendation that buying experiences often contributes more to our
Speaker 1: happiness than buying stuff. Their book has lots of advice
Speaker 1: on how to spend money in ways that boost our happiness.
Speaker 1: We'll explore a handful of them in episodes this week.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is this before spending money. Done and Norton
Speaker 1: advise asking yourself, how will this purchase change the way
Speaker 1: I use my time? Generally speaking, we want to have
Speaker 1: more enjoyable experiences and fewer unpleasant ones. We want more
Speaker 1: time having brunch with friends and less time cleaning toilets.
Speaker 1: Done in Norton right, time and money are frequently interchangeable,
Speaker 1: so one way to spend money well is to buy
Speaker 1: back time from unpleasant experiences so we can do more
Speaker 1: of what we want. This could mean springing for the
Speaker 1: more expensive plane ticket to buy yourself more time on
Speaker 1: the beach and less time in the airport. It could
Speaker 1: mean paying for grocery delivery so you don't spend your
Speaker 1: Saturday at a crowded grocery store. Take a minute to
Speaker 1: think about the unpleasant experiences you have in a typical week.
Speaker 1: Which of them could be changed. Whether it's getting a
Speaker 1: room ba because you hate vacuuming, or maybe even hiring
Speaker 1: a sitter so you can skip the bedtime battles twice
Speaker 1: a week, These purchases can change the way we use
Speaker 1: time in a way that boosts happiness. We can ask
Speaker 1: this question when purchasing tangible items too. Done and Norton
Speaker 1: offer the example of mattresses. You're going to spend your
Speaker 1: time the same way no matter what mattress you buy.
Speaker 1: That is, you will be sleeping, So they say, don't
Speaker 1: be too influenced by things like price. Well, I guess
Speaker 1: unless a mastress hurts your back, that would be buying misery. Now,
Speaker 1: of course, we're not always accurate and how we think
Speaker 1: spending money will affect our time. Done and Norton advised
Speaker 1: caution about purchases that you imagine will add happy meaningful
Speaker 1: experiences to your life, but that come with extra chores
Speaker 1: or that the typical user doesn't really use all that much.
Speaker 1: For example, you might imagine a backyard pool is a
Speaker 1: fun filled gathering place for people you love spending time with,
Speaker 1: without considering the added chores that a pool brings. Or
Speaker 1: you might imagine a big screen TV is bringing together
Speaker 1: all your buddies to watch the game and have a
Speaker 1: great time together, without really thinking that you'll end up
Speaker 1: watching the screen alone much more often than you'll throwing parties.
Speaker 1: I can think of plenty of purchases though, that will
Speaker 1: change how you spend your time without adding chores. A
Speaker 1: patio heater, for instance, will allow you to sit outdoors
Speaker 1: comfortably longer into cold weather. All you really need to
Speaker 1: do is turn it on. The happiness payoff is more clear,
Speaker 1: so as you consider spending money on yourself or your
Speaker 1: loved ones, ask yourself done in Norton's question, how will
Speaker 1: this purchase change the use of time? Aim for spending
Speaker 1: our purchases that increase happy, meaningful time and decrease unpleasant
Speaker 1: or insignificant uses of time. Happy money has done in Norton,
Speaker 1: call it and happy people are what we're aiming for
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.
Speaker 1: That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: I heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
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