Latest / Silver FM 100.6 / 5 questions that can save you from a bad purchase
Transcript
- 0:00Speaker 1: One A is named for the First Amendment, which protects
- 0:02Speaker 1: the freedom of the press and your freedom to speak out.
- 0:05Speaker 2: Our weekly series, If You Can Keep It tackles the
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- 0:20Speaker 1: podcast from WAMU and NPR.
- 0:24Speaker 3: You're listening to Life Kid from NPR. Hey everybody, it's Maryel.
- 0:31Speaker 3: I've been getting a lot of desperate sounding emails lately. Okay,
- 0:35Speaker 3: some are desperate, some are demanding, even vaguely threatening. Here's
- 0:40Speaker 3: a sampling of subject lines. Time is running out on
- 0:44Speaker 3: the best deals of the year.
- 0:45Speaker 4: Our biggest sale ends two night last day.
- 0:49Speaker 3: Fifty five dollars off you deserve it. Take up to
- 0:52Speaker 3: twenty three dollars and forty three cents off your next order.
- 0:55Speaker 3: Our sale is still on, y'all. Everybody wants my money
- 1:02Speaker 3: and yours. The question is what do I want and
- 1:06Speaker 3: what do you want? How do we actually want to
- 1:08Speaker 3: spend our money? There are so many moments of the
- 1:11Speaker 3: day where retailers are going to try to sell you stuff,
- 1:13Speaker 3: and we at Life Kid, thought it was worth coming
- 1:16Speaker 3: up with a framework. You know, should I buy this thing?
- 1:19Speaker 3: A list of questions to ask yourself and details to
- 1:22Speaker 3: consider before you tap your credit card or click.
- 1:24Speaker 4: That buy now button.
- 1:26Speaker 3: In this episode, I'll lay out that framework with the
- 1:29Speaker 3: help of our experts.
- 1:30Speaker 4: And hopefully it'll help you tune out some of the noise.
- 1:34Speaker 3: Seriously, retailers, would you leave me alone?
- 1:42Speaker 5: For the past twenty five years, a rare Pacific ecosystem
- 1:46Speaker 5: has been undisturbed. Now the Trump administration is opening nearby
- 1:51Speaker 5: waters to commercial fishing Americans fishermen have never had a
- 1:54Speaker 5: better ally at the White House than Donald Trump. This
- 1:57Speaker 5: week on the Sunday Story, we discussed what set stake
- 2:00Speaker 5: for this wild ecosystem. Listen now to the Sunday Story
- 2:04Speaker 5: from the Up First podcast on the NPR apps.
- 2:07Speaker 6: Hey, you know that nagging voice in your head, the
- 2:09Speaker 6: one telling you to put the phone down and stop
- 2:11Speaker 6: doom scrolling.
- 2:12Speaker 4: Well, it's time look up.
- 2:13Speaker 6: Take a daily curiosity break with Shortwave MPRS Science Podcast.
- 2:17Speaker 6: Let your mind wander to the edges of outer space,
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- 2:21Speaker 4: In the depths of the sea floor.
- 2:23Speaker 6: All in under fifteen minutes. Shortwave your daily mental reason
- 2:27Speaker 6: listen on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
- 2:30Speaker 7: Okay, so you're driving to work, or you're on a walk,
- 2:33Speaker 7: or you're at the gym or whatever, and you just
- 2:35Speaker 7: need to clear your head. That's the perfect time to
- 2:38Speaker 7: hit the play button on NPR's All Songs Considered. It's
- 2:42Speaker 7: not the news, it's not work or whatever else is
- 2:45Speaker 7: weighing you down. It's just a good time with good
- 2:47Speaker 7: friends and great tunes. Listen to All Songs Considered every
- 2:51Speaker 7: Tuesday in the NPR Music Podcast.
- 2:55Speaker 3: Whatever point you're at in the buying process, lazily browsing
- 2:58Speaker 3: your favorite retailers web site while also watching something on TV,
- 3:02Speaker 3: or at the store in those aisles right before the
- 3:05Speaker 3: register where they place the stuff they want you to
- 3:07Speaker 3: buy on impulse, stop and ask yourself, do I need
- 3:11Speaker 3: this or do I just want it? This is an
- 3:14Speaker 3: important distinction, and it's our takeaway one. Asia Evans is
- 3:19Speaker 3: a licensed mental health counselor and financial therapist, and she
- 3:23Speaker 3: says needs are basic food, shelter, transportation, healthcare, clothing, shoes.
- 3:30Speaker 8: If you needed to live like then that is a need.
- 3:33Speaker 4: There's a gray area here, of course for clothing.
- 3:36Speaker 3: If you have enough clothing to survive in your environment,
- 3:38Speaker 3: but you would just like more than you're moving into
- 3:41Speaker 3: want territory.
- 3:42Speaker 8: It's kind of like, yes, I know, I have five
- 3:44Speaker 8: black sweaters, but it doesn't have buttons on it, and
- 3:48Speaker 8: I want one with buttons. That is a lot.
- 3:50Speaker 4: And she says, there's nothing wrong with wanting something.
- 3:52Speaker 8: I don't want to vilify wanting a better pair of
- 3:56Speaker 8: rain boots, or wanting a new pair of shoes, or
- 3:59Speaker 8: wanting to look really fabulous when you go out with
- 4:02Speaker 8: your friends. There's definitely nothing wrong with it. But we
- 4:05Speaker 8: need to be able to decipher what the difference between
- 4:08Speaker 8: a want and a need is.
- 4:10Speaker 3: Separating the needs from the wants will help you prioritize
- 4:12Speaker 3: when you're making purchases with limited funds, and most of
- 4:15Speaker 3: us have limited funds. At life Kit, we've done episodes
- 4:18Speaker 3: about budgeting and you should definitely check those out. What
- 4:21Speaker 3: I'll say here is, every once in a while, do
- 4:24Speaker 3: the math. How much money are you making, then subtract
- 4:27Speaker 3: your fixed costs whatever you spend on basic needs like housing, groceries,
- 4:31Speaker 3: transportation also subtract any debt payments you're making for a
- 4:35Speaker 3: credit card or a student loan, for instance. What's left
- 4:38Speaker 3: over you'll use that to save for an emergency fund,
- 4:42Speaker 3: or for a vacation, or for your other financial goals.
- 4:45Speaker 3: And what's left after that is your everyday fun budget. Okay,
- 4:49Speaker 3: So back to this particular item you're considering. If it
- 4:53Speaker 3: falls into the want category, next, you're going to ask yourself,
- 4:56Speaker 3: why do I want this thing? Maybe you want a
- 4:59Speaker 3: new pair of rainbow It's because it's been reading a
- 5:01Speaker 3: lot this year and your sneakers keep getting wet on
- 5:03Speaker 3: your walks home. That's understandable, but it's worth considering whether
- 5:07Speaker 3: you have other reasons.
- 5:09Speaker 8: Wanting it because you want people to look at you
- 5:12Speaker 8: a certain way, and having this item or this piece
- 5:16Speaker 8: of clothing may signify something to somebody else. That is
- 5:19Speaker 8: when we're starting to get to like, all right, is
- 5:22Speaker 8: this for you? Is this for somebody else? Why does
- 5:25Speaker 8: that feel important? Did your self esteem feel better when
- 5:28Speaker 8: you feel like you're walking around and the latest and greatest,
- 5:31Speaker 8: Like that's where the juicy stuff starts to happen.
- 5:34Speaker 3: This brings us to take away too before you buy something,
- 5:37Speaker 3: pause and check in with yourself.
- 5:39Speaker 8: Am I upset right now? Am I trying to celebrate? Yeah?
- 5:42Speaker 8: My hungry, angry, lonely tired. The acronym hole is pretty
- 5:47Speaker 8: popular for people to just kind of take a state
- 5:51Speaker 8: of your emotional wellbeing when you find yourself going into
- 5:55Speaker 8: shopping behaviors.
- 5:56Speaker 3: I've noticed that sometimes I'm just feeling spendy, like I'm
- 6:00Speaker 3: ready to go buy something. Usually it's a little vintage
- 6:02Speaker 3: treasure or antique. And if there's nothing I want to buy,
- 6:06Speaker 3: then I want to eat some chocolate instead, or just
- 6:08Speaker 3: do something that feels good. Sometimes and maybe y'all can
- 6:12Speaker 3: relate to this, I don't actually want to own a
- 6:14Speaker 3: new thing. I just want to buy it, to go
- 6:17Speaker 3: through the act of discovering it and making a purchase.
- 6:21Speaker 8: And that's that also familiar dopamine rush of like searching
- 6:24Speaker 8: something out right, of hunting for it, if you will.
- 6:28Speaker 8: That anticipation is very exciting to our brains.
- 6:32Speaker 3: Asia says, there are signs that you're shopping as retail
- 6:34Speaker 3: therapy rather than because you actually need or even truly
- 6:37Speaker 3: want to own a new thing.
- 6:39Speaker 8: I would first look at frequency. How often are you
- 6:43Speaker 8: shopping in that kind of way. Is it intentional? Is
- 6:45Speaker 8: another question I would ask if you find yourself doing
- 6:49Speaker 8: this over and over and over and over again. But
- 6:51Speaker 8: this is something that's happening multiple times a week, every
- 6:54Speaker 8: single weekend, you are driving upstate to go to the
- 6:57Speaker 8: different antiques to search. Then have to peel back another
- 7:01Speaker 8: layer and ask what's.
- 7:02Speaker 4: Going on again.
- 7:03Speaker 3: We're not trying to shame ourselves here for feeling spendy
- 7:05Speaker 3: or for buying things, but if you're constantly mindlessly spending
- 7:10Speaker 3: on stuff you don't even really want, you can undermine
- 7:13Speaker 3: your financial goals and make it harder to build a
- 7:15Speaker 3: life that you love. Okay, next up, take Away three
- 7:22Speaker 3: is to ask yourself, does this item fit with my lifestyle?
- 7:25Speaker 3: And particularly am I willing to do what it takes
- 7:28Speaker 3: to own this thing. Brian Vines is a deputy editor
- 7:31Speaker 3: of Special Projects at Consumer Reports. On Saturdays, he puts
- 7:34Speaker 3: on music and cleans his house. His stairs have carpet
- 7:37Speaker 3: on them, and he doesn't have one of those little
- 7:40Speaker 3: handheld vacuums right.
- 7:41Speaker 4: He has an old hoover that he's had for eight years.
- 7:44Speaker 4: It still works great, but it's.
- 7:45Speaker 9: Not very good with going up the stairs because I'm
- 7:49Speaker 9: literally holding this big vacuum cleaner, the base in one
- 7:54Speaker 9: hand and the handle in the other hand.
- 7:57Speaker 10: Going on each individual's stare. So every week I debate
- 8:01Speaker 10: with myself should.
- 8:03Speaker 9: I buy a handheld vacuum cleaner to clean these stairs?
- 8:09Speaker 4: And his answer every week is not.
- 8:12Speaker 9: I cannot have a single purpose vacuum cleaner in my world.
- 8:18Speaker 10: I don't want the expense, I don't want to acquire it.
- 8:21Speaker 10: I don't have.
- 8:21Speaker 1: Any place to put it.
- 8:23Speaker 9: It is a dialogue that goes on in my brain
- 8:26Speaker 9: because I know that things could be easier, but I'm
- 8:29Speaker 9: not willing to take on the real price of that ease.
- 8:36Speaker 3: So Brian says, if you're considering a purchase, ask yourself,
- 8:39Speaker 3: do I have somewhere to put this? Is it going
- 8:41Speaker 3: to crowd my closet space? Maybe it will, and that's
- 8:44Speaker 3: worth it to you.
- 8:45Speaker 10: Factor in what your lifestyle is like.
- 8:49Speaker 9: Are you a senior who maybe this could be advantageous
- 8:53Speaker 9: for you. Do you have limited mobility or strength and
- 8:56Speaker 9: dexterity where it's just not possible for you to do
- 9:00Speaker 9: what I do with my able body privilege of holding
- 9:03Speaker 9: my heavy vacuum cleaner and stop checking the stairs.
- 9:07Speaker 3: Now Let's say you want to make an even bigger
- 9:09Speaker 3: purchase to get a dishwasher or a new sink or
- 9:12Speaker 3: something like that. You got to ask yourself what will
- 9:15Speaker 3: this entail and what will the installation cost?
- 9:18Speaker 10: How old is your plumbing?
- 9:19Speaker 9: Do you really want to get into pulling on this
- 9:23Speaker 9: thread if it's going to unravel two thousand dollars worth
- 9:27Speaker 9: of expenses for you with your waterline and your electric.
- 9:32Speaker 3: Also ask do I want to deal with the upkeep,
- 9:34Speaker 3: especially for appliances? Can I afford repairs and replacement parts?
- 9:39Speaker 3: Before making a big purchase, make sure you understand what
- 9:41Speaker 3: repairs would entail. Email the company or ask a sales
- 9:44Speaker 3: associate is this item repaarable? And what would the process
- 9:48Speaker 3: look like?
- 9:48Speaker 10: Do I have to call the manufacturer? Is there a
- 9:50Speaker 10: local person?
- 9:52Speaker 9: Is there an authorized dealer repair person where I can
- 9:56Speaker 9: compare prices?
- 9:57Speaker 3: You can also look for info about this in a
- 9:59Speaker 3: retailer's Frequently asked Questions and do a quick search online
- 10:02Speaker 3: to see what other people's repair experiences were like.
- 10:07Speaker 4: We'll have more life kit after the break.
- 10:12Speaker 11: This week on sources and Methods two hundred and sixty
- 10:16Speaker 11: days at sea, we're learning more about the conditions aboard
- 10:19Speaker 11: the USS Abraham Lincoln, which President Trump says hasn't been
- 10:23Speaker 11: deployed long enough.
- 10:24Speaker 7: I was talking to one retired admiral who said, you
- 10:26Speaker 7: know what the problem is, They didn't plan this.
- 10:28Speaker 11: That and more of the week's big national security news
- 10:31Speaker 11: on sources and methods, you can listen on the NPR
- 10:34Speaker 11: app or wherever you get podcasts.
- 10:37Speaker 3: Once you've decided that you are going to buy an item,
- 10:40Speaker 3: a dishwasher, a new pair of shoes, whatever. Maybe it's
- 10:44Speaker 3: a need or it's a want, but you're okay with that,
- 10:47Speaker 3: the next step take away four shop around, Do your research,
- 10:51Speaker 3: consider whether this model or product is the right version
- 10:55Speaker 3: of this item for you. First of all, I want
- 10:58Speaker 3: to say most purchases are not urgent. So if you
- 11:01Speaker 3: find yourself feeling that urgency because of retailers shouting at
- 11:04Speaker 3: you and your email inbox, or because of all the
- 11:06Speaker 3: pretty outfits you've saved on Pinterest, take a deep breath.
- 11:10Speaker 3: Especially if this is a want, you have time to
- 11:13Speaker 3: mold this over, so you're going to look at reviews
- 11:15Speaker 3: of the product, but make sure you're considering a mix
- 11:18Speaker 3: of opinions and using resources you trust.
- 11:21Speaker 9: The first thing you're going to want to do is
- 11:24Speaker 9: not log onto an unboxing video or go to some
- 11:29Speaker 9: kind of goofy experiential review of someone who got paid
- 11:35Speaker 9: to do one.
- 11:36Speaker 3: Consumer Reports, where Brian works, has dozens of laboratories where
- 11:39Speaker 3: their staff put products through their paces.
- 11:41Speaker 9: We bought thirty two million dollars worth of products last
- 11:45Speaker 9: year that we went out with secret shoppers and got
- 11:48Speaker 9: just like you or I. We went into stores, put
- 11:51Speaker 9: our credit card down, walked out, took them back.
- 11:54Speaker 5: To the labs.
- 11:55Speaker 3: Other journalistic outlets that do this kind of research Wirecutter,
- 11:59Speaker 3: Good Housekeeping, Popular Mechanics, tech Radar, Now just a heads
- 12:03Speaker 3: up that Consumer Reports and all these other outlets do
- 12:06Speaker 3: make money from the purchase links on their websites. What
- 12:09Speaker 3: you want to do is make sure you understand how
- 12:11Speaker 3: the outlet or reviewer is making money and that you
- 12:15Speaker 3: feel okay about that. And there are lots of options
- 12:17Speaker 3: for reviewers depending on the product you're looking for, Brian says.
- 12:21Speaker 3: You can also ask the people in your life for
- 12:23Speaker 3: product recommendations.
- 12:24Speaker 10: Call your rich.
- 12:25Speaker 9: Aunt who buys all of the things that you're interested
- 12:29Speaker 9: in having and see if she actually likes it. Call
- 12:32Speaker 9: the person you know who is the most cost conscious
- 12:35Speaker 9: and ask them the questions.
- 12:38Speaker 3: Consider quality and durability, like if a product is made
- 12:41Speaker 3: from fabric, is this a material that tends to last
- 12:44Speaker 3: a long time? Will it quickly pill or become threadbare?
- 12:48Speaker 3: If you're not sure, look up the materials. They should
- 12:50Speaker 3: be listed in a product description or on the physical
- 12:53Speaker 3: product tag. Also, again, look at reviews, see what other
- 12:56Speaker 3: folks have experienced. And whenever you can take a product
- 12:59Speaker 3: for a spin. Let's say it's a mattress, find out
- 13:02Speaker 3: what the return policy is and how long you get
- 13:04Speaker 3: to try it out. And as you're looking over specific
- 13:07Speaker 3: models and products, make sure you understand a retailer's return
- 13:11Speaker 3: and warranty policies. Though Brian tells me you can't ask
- 13:14Speaker 3: if they'll bend the rules for you, but that's a
- 13:16Speaker 3: whole other episode. Take Away five. Figure out how much
- 13:22Speaker 3: you're willing to spend on this product. I told Brian
- 13:26Speaker 3: that lately I've been daydreaming about buying a black velvet blazer,
- 13:30Speaker 3: and he reminded me there are a lot of those
- 13:32Speaker 3: in the world at many different price points.
- 13:34Speaker 9: Is that blazer going to cost you two hundred and
- 13:38Speaker 9: fifty bucks because you went to a sample sale for
- 13:42Speaker 9: a brand that usually sells them for twenty five hundred dollars,
- 13:46Speaker 9: Or are.
- 13:46Speaker 10: You going to get that same blazer.
- 13:48Speaker 3: For sixty dollars from a second hand store, for example?
- 13:52Speaker 3: And if I do buy the blazer secondhand, he says,
- 13:54Speaker 3: I should consider what kind of shape it's in, how
- 13:57Speaker 3: long do I think it'll last?
- 13:58Speaker 4: Could I repair it? What might that cost? That should
- 14:01Speaker 4: all factor into what I'm willing.
- 14:03Speaker 10: To pay for it.
- 14:03Speaker 9: Now you do that quick math when you're standing there,
- 14:06Speaker 9: I'm like, oh, wow, these shoes look great.
- 14:09Speaker 10: I can see there's a little scuff here.
- 14:10Speaker 9: I can buff that out or take them to my
- 14:13Speaker 9: shoe guy versus all right, am I going to go
- 14:15Speaker 9: down tzar and get those sparkly new knockoffs from whoever
- 14:19Speaker 9: had them on the runway last week. These are all
- 14:22Speaker 9: the calculations that we make daily, and oftentimes in ten
- 14:27Speaker 9: seconds while.
- 14:28Speaker 10: It's in your hands.
- 14:29Speaker 3: One thing to remember about price is that more expensive
- 14:32Speaker 3: does not always mean more durable or higher quality. Sometimes
- 14:36Speaker 3: you're paying for a brand name, but it's all smoke
- 14:39Speaker 3: and mirrors, vanity name plates and fancy design features. Whether
- 14:43Speaker 3: you're talking about a refrigerator or a dishwasher or a TV.
- 14:47Speaker 9: The price does not guarantee performance. We've seen that over
- 14:51Speaker 9: and over again, and we test for reliability and sometimes
- 14:55Speaker 9: the repair costs on these high end brands pace replacement
- 15:01Speaker 9: cost on mid range brands.
- 15:04Speaker 3: When you're shopping, also see if you can negotiate down
- 15:06Speaker 3: the price. There are different phrases you can use with
- 15:09Speaker 3: a sales associate or a customer service rep. Like let's
- 15:12Speaker 3: say you're buying chairs at a secondhand store. You might
- 15:14Speaker 3: ask for a discount for purchasing all four of them,
- 15:17Speaker 3: say something like can I get all four for two
- 15:19Speaker 3: hundred bucks? And if they say no, you could ask, okay,
- 15:22Speaker 3: what about free delivery? And you can always ask if
- 15:25Speaker 3: there are any discounts available that day. Brian says, also
- 15:29Speaker 3: look at the price matching policies that retailers offer. If
- 15:32Speaker 3: you're seeing that a jar of apple sauce is more
- 15:34Speaker 3: expensive in store than on a retailer's website.
- 15:37Speaker 9: Say hey online, it says that this Apple sauce is
- 15:41Speaker 9: a dollar seventy five, but it's two dollars here on
- 15:44Speaker 9: the shelf.
- 15:44Speaker 10: They will price match against themselves right there for you.
- 15:48Speaker 10: So make yourself aware of those.
- 15:51Speaker 9: Price matching policies, because my grandmother said that money looks
- 15:55Speaker 9: a lot better in my pocket than it does in
- 15:57Speaker 9: copy Global megacorpse pocket.
- 16:00Speaker 3: It's possible that once you've done the research, you'll realize
- 16:03Speaker 3: you can't afford the version of this product that you
- 16:06Speaker 3: want to buy right now, but you could a few
- 16:08Speaker 3: saved up. When Brian moved into his first New York
- 16:11Speaker 3: City apartment, somebody gave him advice, don't buy the mid
- 16:14Speaker 3: range table when you want the one that's a bit
- 16:16Speaker 3: more expensive but that you.
- 16:17Speaker 4: Know will last.
- 16:19Speaker 9: Go get a folding table that costs fifteen dollars instead
- 16:22Speaker 9: of a thirty five dollars table that you're not going
- 16:26Speaker 9: to be happy with and is going to fall apart
- 16:28Speaker 9: in six months.
- 16:29Speaker 10: Save up your money and buy the one that you want,
- 16:32Speaker 10: that's the quality.
- 16:33Speaker 4: One, all right.
- 16:36Speaker 3: Our last takeaway starts with a donut. Brian was at
- 16:42Speaker 3: the movies recently and he was hit with a donut craving.
- 16:45Speaker 3: So after the movie, he and his partner went on
- 16:47Speaker 3: the hunt, and they walked into a grocery store.
- 16:49Speaker 9: They had four glazed donuts for seven bucks, and I
- 16:53Speaker 9: did not want to pay seven dollars for one donut
- 16:56Speaker 9: and I didn't want four.
- 16:57Speaker 10: I spoke to the bakery manager and he said, well,
- 17:01Speaker 10: you know, all we have is those over there. So
- 17:04Speaker 10: I walked away.
- 17:05Speaker 9: I was not going to take a muffin or half
- 17:08Speaker 9: a pie or a slice of tear Massieu when.
- 17:11Speaker 10: I wanted one doughnut.
- 17:13Speaker 3: Sometimes the best purchasing decision you can make is walking away.
- 17:17Speaker 3: That's take away six. I have a personal rule when
- 17:20Speaker 3: I'm trying on shoes or clothing. If it's at all
- 17:22Speaker 3: uncomfortable in the store, if it's pinching somewhere, or it's
- 17:25Speaker 3: too tight, it's going back on the rack.
- 17:28Speaker 10: If there's any inkling, release it, release it, release it.
- 17:32Speaker 10: If it's not what you want and what it's going
- 17:35Speaker 10: to fit into your.
- 17:36Speaker 9: Life, walk away because they're still making stuff twenty four
- 17:40Speaker 9: hours a day, and someone is going to make the
- 17:43Speaker 9: thing that you want the way you want it, at
- 17:46Speaker 9: a price.
- 17:46Speaker 10: That you're willing to pay.
- 17:47Speaker 3: Seriously, you can save a lot of money and closet
- 17:50Speaker 3: space this way, and it's way better for the environment.
- 17:57Speaker 3: All right, time for a recap fun Stop and ask yourself,
- 18:02Speaker 3: do I need this thing or do I just want it?
- 18:04Speaker 3: This is an important distinction it'll help you prioritize when
- 18:07Speaker 3: you're making purchases with limited funds, which most of us are.
- 18:12Speaker 4: Take Away two.
- 18:13Speaker 3: Consider your emotions. Are you trying to meet an emotional
- 18:16Speaker 3: need by shopping right now? Is this a need you
- 18:18Speaker 3: could meet in another way? Take Away three? Ask yourself
- 18:23Speaker 3: does this item fit with my lifestyle? And particularly am
- 18:26Speaker 3: I willing to do what it takes to own this thing?
- 18:29Speaker 3: Take Away four? Shop around, do your research, consider quality
- 18:33Speaker 3: and durability, and whether this model or product is the
- 18:36Speaker 3: right version of this item for you.
- 18:38Speaker 4: Take Away five.
- 18:39Speaker 3: Figure out how much you're willing to spend on this product,
- 18:42Speaker 3: and you know, try to negotiate and take Away six.
- 18:46Speaker 3: Sometimes the best purchasing decision you can make is walking away.
- 18:52Speaker 3: All Right, Before we go, I was wondering, would you
- 18:55Speaker 3: rate and.
- 18:55Speaker 4: Review Life Kit in your podcast app? Tell us a
- 18:58Speaker 4: favorite tip or what kinds of episodes you like the best.
- 19:01Speaker 4: We love hearing from you. This episode of.
- 19:04Speaker 3: Life Kit was produced by Margaret Serino. Our digital editor
- 19:08Speaker 3: is Malica garib and our visuals editor is c. J.
- 19:10Speaker 4: Riklon.
- 19:11Speaker 3: Megan Kane is our senior supervising editor, and Lauren Gonzalez
- 19:14Speaker 3: is our executive producer. Our production team also includes Andy Tagle, Claire,
- 19:19Speaker 3: Marie Schneider, Kayla Lattimore, and Sylvie Douglas. Engineering support comes
- 19:23Speaker 3: from Quacy Lee. I'm Marie el Segara. Thanks for listening.
- 19:34Speaker 2: Fall is right around the corner. That means the midterms. Hey,
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- 19:42Speaker 2: the perfect time to calibrate your news diet for the fall.
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