You're paying for the experience, not the duration

You don't always need to get your money's worth

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that, when it comes to experiences, a quick
visit can sometimes be just fine. No need to fret

(00:25):
about getting your money's worth, as long as you came
and saw what you planned to see. Today's tip was
inspired by a recent trip to Versailles. History buffs will
know this as the palace where King Louis the fourteenth
and the next two kings lived in opulent style, a
few miles outside of Paris. I went to France recently

(00:47):
with my oldest son, and even though he had seen
Versailles before, he really wanted to see it again, so
we made a day trip out of it. The day
this worked for our tenery happened to be really, really hot.
We are talking about one hundred degrees fahrenheit. Standing outside
in the sun was almost unbearable. We made it to

(01:10):
the palace and survived walking around inside, But then we
wanted to go see the famous gardens. We bought tickets
and walked in. Now, I'm sure the gardens are magnificent
to explore at length. Indeed, I know that they are
from past more temperate visits. But on a one hundred

(01:31):
degree day with very little shade. I mean we're talking
boxwoods and fountains and small topierris here. It was excruciating.
So we spent approximately ten minutes in the gardens and
then we left. Now, I could have been a bit
more obsessed with getting my money's worth, but you know
what we saw part of the gardens, we saw the

(01:55):
general style. Staying longer would have made the whole trip
a lot more miserable. So we considered the gardens, checked off,
got in an air conditioned cab, and left. I think
the same mindset can go for many things, say visiting
the Louver. While we're on the topic of France. Perhaps

(02:16):
he thinks staying there all day would be best so
you can see more. But I am pretty sure that
if you stayed there for two months you would not
fully see and appreciate all the artwork. So if being
there for two hours is going to be much more
pleasant than being there for four hours, then go for two.
You are seeing almost none of it. Either way, don't

(02:40):
worry about getting your money's worth. Your money went to
seeing some of it, whatever proportion that some happens to be.
Or maybe you bought a book and felt the author
had a useful insight in the first chapter, then things
got tedious after that. Don't think you need to keep
breeding in order to get your money's worth. Your money

(03:04):
was for the one useful insight. That's actually a pretty
good rate if you think about it. I am definitely
a fan of getting my money's worth when I can.
I put water in my shampoo to get the last
little bits out, and I love to repurpose things. But
time is valuable. Having a good experience is also valuable.

(03:27):
There is no point dragging things out past the point
of enjoyment just because you paid for them. So remember
that you are paying for the experience, not the duration.
If you've seen what you need to see, then all
is good. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening,

(03:51):
and here's to making the most of our time. Thanks
for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas,
or feedback, you can reach me at Laura at Laura
vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia.

(04:18):
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