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Episode 25: Estate Planning is Like Wine
18 Plays3 months ago
This week we're tackling the age-old debate: does paying more really mean getting more? Lorie Burch shares her own story about wine and how to her surprise, a more expensive bottle significantly outshone a cheaper one. We'll unpack why investing in a quality estate plan is like choosing a fine wine: you truly get what you pay for.
Stick around as Sam and Sara round out the episode with their take on everyday items that truly deserve a splurge. Tune in to discover how spending a little more now can save your family from costly headaches later.
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Transcript
Introduction to Estate Planning
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to another episode of One of Us Knows What They're Talking About. Another one is you. I'm Lori Burch, your host. Join us as we discuss and unpack wills, trust, estate planning, and probate law in a way that's actually informative, interesting, and well, hopefully entertaining. Because if you don't have a will, the state of Texas has one for you. Let's dive in.
Why Delay Estate Planning?
00:00:39
Speaker
Okay, so today we're going to talk about things that influence your shopping decisions. And this comes up a lot with estate planning because I hate to admit it, but there there is more than one estate planning law firm out there.
00:00:58
Speaker
And actually, if you do the math, it's actually a good thing. Because if you use the statistics that there are 70% plus people that don't have any of this planning, there is no way that one law firm could handle it all. um So that's good. That's good. But with all the law firms that are out there, the fact that there's still 70% of people who don't have this planning I'm still 20 years in grappled with this. Like what what is going on? Because everybody fundamentally knows that they're going to check out at some point.
00:01:47
Speaker
And I think all the reasons people give for putting it off is really just excuses. because the real reason is that you just don't see the urgency in it. And I get that, I feel you. But we're going to talk today a little bit about um how we make decisions when we finally made the decision that we are going to do this.
Decision-Making in Estate Planning
00:02:13
Speaker
And so we're gonna start with this analogy from this blog that I wrote. And this is a very true, true story. And one of my besties and colleagues, Jamie Dugan, who is a family law attorney, we were at a conference together. Not sponsored. ah No, sponsored. Why don't Jamie as a guest? We should. We should get desk, guest.
00:02:42
Speaker
We need to have Jamie as a guest, and we need to promote that big time, especially with the video, because she's very pretty to look at. um Not that she has anything to offer, she doesn't, other than her looks. That's all she's got going for. Who just did that? Was that you, Sarah? No. Well, I laughed, but. Who went, oh. Me. You, really? Okay.
00:03:07
Speaker
Well, I said, I suppose she has other redeeming qualities. I just haven't. yeah Anyway, we were hanging out at a conference and we went to dinner and we both discovered that we wanted a bottle of wine to share and we both discovered that we had like the same sort of criteria. And that is who wanted to seem somewhat sophisticated. Um, but we didn't want like the cheapest wine because then it's just obvious, right?
00:03:35
Speaker
Um, so we get like the second cheapest wine And then we don't even look at anything else like, you know, whatever wines wine is wine And you know, we're gonna enjoy it no matter what as long as it's not horrible so then I went on this trip on this vacay, right and like vacation it's like caution to the wind no big deal like all of it's good and And I decided that I was going to really splurge. And so we talked to the waiter about like different bottles of wine and all of that. And he actually talked me into this. I really like a red dry. I like to chew my wine. um And he talked me into one that was a couple hundred bucks. Right. And so my biggest fear when I ordered it was that
00:04:26
Speaker
is this gonna be noticeably different? Is this actually going to be better? And so he brings the wine, he pours the glass, and it all be damn. It was so much better. There was just a huge, huge difference in how good that tasted.
00:04:51
Speaker
And so I started thinking about that when it comes to the way a lot of people approach getting their will or trust or estate planning done.
Cost vs. Value in Estate Planning
00:04:59
Speaker
And I know a lot of people focus on how much is it going to cost? How much is it going to cost?
00:05:04
Speaker
And maybe if they're like shopping around or talking to other people, like, well, I would ah I would pick the second cheapest firm, because at least I'm not doing like, bar I mean, I don't know what's going into that. um But the point is, is they focus more on the fee than the value. And while I'm not a professional wine connoisseur, which is strange, considering how much wine I have,
00:05:28
Speaker
and do consume. um I do know a thing or two about estate planning and probate, and what I can tell people is that while ah the cheapest or even second cheapest may be the criteria used for your your pocketbook, you really don't have any idea regarding the quality of the planning that you're receiving. And the difference is with wine, you're going to know it when you taste it.
00:05:56
Speaker
but when it comes to your will, your trust or estate plan, we only find out that your plan is horrible when it's too late. Can't spit it out then. It's done, it's set. ah So that means that your family or loved ones are the ones that are actually stuck with sorting out this mess and ultimately paying a lot more in the end. So the moral of the story is, is really when you're making these shopping decisions,
00:06:25
Speaker
that the idea of looking at what is bargain basement or the cheapest thing out there is not really what you should be looking at. We talk a lot about in the firm about like, what is your criteria? And it's interesting that that catches so many people off guard to ask them like, okay, you want to get a will or trust on what's your criteria? What are you looking for? And if they haven't really thought through that,
00:06:53
Speaker
cost is really going to be like this common denate a common denominator. But I can tell you, and we've talked about this before on the podcast, which of course, if you're listening, you've <unk>ve listened to this, but we also have a checklist on our website about how to really choose the best law firm for you because we we take this very seriously. And there are firms that charge a lot more than us and provide the same quality of service.
00:07:21
Speaker
in their firms that charge a lot a lot less than us and they don't provide the same sort of quality of service. And so how do you decide? Well, go reference some of that previous podcast or look at um our online information, but Cost should not be your only criteria unless of course you're thinking big picture and that is what is the cost to my family and loved ones? What is the cost to? My legacy and what people are going to go through Because when people say well, I just want to spend the least amount I can I'm like cool. I get it now or later and
00:08:03
Speaker
because that's the calculation and you've got to make. If you're going to spend as little as you can now, well, just be prepared that that's gonna cost a lot more later, either or because you didn't cover all your bases, maybe it's not even correct what you what legal documents you filled out, maybe you went to a bargain basement law firm that didn't talk to you about how are your bank accounts set up, how are your beneficiaries set up, like thinking big picture,
00:08:33
Speaker
So in the end, it just ends up costing more. So if you're looking to like check a box of adulthood, like, oh, I have a will or I have this or that, I mean, I guess you do you boo. But if you're really trying to do this because of the impact it's going to have, then you spend a little bit more money, you spend a little more time now and make sure that you vet a qualified experience law firm that works for you.
00:09:02
Speaker
so that when, not if, but when something happens, you have everything set up the way it needs to be. So I begrudgingly found this out when it came to red wine, that there is a difference when you spend a little bit more you get a lot more value back. I wish I didn't learn that lesson. But with wine, it's wine, and you know it immediately. But the point of the moral of the story is that you don't know. And I know that's difficult for people. I mean, our best clients are the ones, and unfortunately that, or fortunately or unfortunately, who have either
00:09:45
Speaker
gone through experience of losing a loved one where things were not done done, done the wrong way. Or the flip side, the good stories we have are the people who come to us who have a family member who did go to a law firm, get things set up the right way. And they're like, well, I want that experience for my loved ones when something happens to me.
Success Stories in Estate Planning
00:10:03
Speaker
But it really is important basically to focus on the value of what you're getting Because there's a lot of things that can cost the same amount of money that aren't worth it at all That you'd rather spend this money. I think of batteries actually and this is something because I have so many children in so many electronic devices that I've tried to go the cheap route with batteries. And I find that I have to replace them all the time. Yeah, that when I get like those like lithium batteries that they're more expensive.
00:10:45
Speaker
They last a lot longer. i'm go to see I'm going to share something else here because this is another example, and I don't know why children introduce this to me, but I'm going to talk about phone and iPad chargers.
00:10:59
Speaker
but I don't know why they're so good at breaking them and them just not working because until I had children in my life, like I wish, okay, so for those of you who see the video, video this is my current iPhone charger. It's hanging on by a thread.
00:11:16
Speaker
is twopart The point is, it works. I just recently, so for Adley, her iPad takes that, what is that, the USB-C? Is that the new coming universal type USB charger? So it takes that, and I just spent probably seven bucks for a pack of four.
00:11:39
Speaker
Within a couple weeks, three of them are gone. They don't they don't charge anymore. I don't know what's happened and if they got bent or something. So I looked for these like approved Apple ones, not a sponsor, um Apple ones. And so I spent like 20, 30 bucks for two and those things are lasting like through the test of time.
00:12:01
Speaker
And that seemed ridiculous to me, but I think we do this a lot. And I know that the rest of the game here has a lot to share on this and how we make these shopping decisions and looking for value versus
Value-Based Decision Making
00:12:12
Speaker
cost. Um, and that's important. I think when you're especially, I mean, you know, iPhone chargers and stuff, that's somewhat more fun to think about. And I know Sarah and Sam have some more fun things to think about, but when you're looking at legal services, uh, boring. but Um,
00:12:30
Speaker
What should you really be looking at? And I mean, I'm going to presume, I mean, make me crazy here, but you want it to work, right? Because if you go to these online sites and throw, I mean, they're usually a couple hundred bucks. I'm going to tell you right now, you're wasting money. You're wasting money on doing that because it's not going to do anything for you.
00:12:52
Speaker
But if you do that same thing with a qualified law firm and spend a couple thousand dollars to do it That's worth it And I think that's a fundamental thing that people need to wrap their heads around when it comes to value versus cost, right? Yeah, yeah So i'm telling you all if you spend a couple hundred bucks on a bottle of wine And you're used to one buck chuck um You're going to notice a difference and it's really hard to go back. It's really really hard to go back thoughts. Yeah, no, I'm with you. I feel like there's a lot of people who try to like purposefully seek out like
00:13:34
Speaker
what is called a dupe, a duplicate or something. Just something that is are you is being duped as close. Yeah. No, seriously. You're trying to find something that is as close as possible to this thing that you want. And like we've seen it so much with like, um, cosmetics or clothing or just really anything. You have all these like websites that are popping up that sell like the same dress that you see here for $500.
00:14:02
Speaker
for like 20, but if you actually ordered it, you don't get anywhere near its quality the the material, or even the item that is promised. And they're making all these great claims about it, but you know there is not. And I feel like that's one thing that you really have to sit here and think, okay, well, there's some things that you're willing to spend less for, because it'll get the job done.
00:14:29
Speaker
Like, for example, if you're doing like, you just want something quick, easy, instant ramen, it'll get the job done. It'll get the calories, it'll be fine. It's not going to, lots of calories. Yeah. It's not going to be like the end of the world if you do that every now and then. But if you get the chance to have proper ramen, if you get the chance to actually have something authentic, you're going to be like, I'm willing to splurge for that. so and But then there's like so many things as far as like estate planning or just any kind of going to a professional to do something that you're like, no, I can just not. It's like, no, no, no, this is not this is not the ramen type thing. This is not something you can just get the cheaper version and it'll be fine. And it's not really going to matter. This is going to matter. This is like your house deck, like in your backyard, your foundation, plumbing, your estate plan, like
00:15:25
Speaker
Is it going to be crooked or the pipes going to like, you know, just, if you just did some of that. What's that tape stuff called that you put in between the joints of like PVC pipe? No, it's like a specific oh oh tape that you use whenever you're working with plumbing. So it's like, I feel like so many people lovinging tape just, is it just plumbing tape?
00:15:47
Speaker
No, I have no idea. Okay, well, there's people that are like, let me just DIY this and do it that way. And then you spring a leak here. And that's right. Okay, that's something that actually matters. um Or, for example, if there's so many people that are like, No, I absolutely need like the new Stanley Cup.
00:16:08
Speaker
like the the big jugs, the big containers of water that you're like holding with both arms, trying to get you know into your car and out of your car. Or you're willing to like go around like different locations of stores to find like a seasonal item. Sarah, did you just hold up your your Tumblr? Yeah.
00:16:31
Speaker
your iHeartHotDads tumblr. Yes. but Not that we can say with how blurry your webcam is. It's not blurry, I promise. Oh, they made it worse. Oh, it's also holographic, so it's kind of hard to read. It's okay, you're getting a new webcam.
00:16:46
Speaker
ah tumblr that array har hot dad But it's like people who are willing to go through all of this effort to get this shiny object that is just going to be clutter in a few months, that's going to not work in a few months, but you're willing to pay like obnoxious prices for it. But you're not willing to do that for things that actually matter. Like that's just the bottom. That's kind of the thing.
Hidden Value of Library Cards
00:17:15
Speaker
Like, yeah. It is called plumber's tape.
00:17:19
Speaker
Yeah, and I'm good at guessing. Well, no, actually, ah Sarah and I know this, but someone, you know, we have this online quiz, which by the way, listening, shout out, take the online quiz about what type of estate plan you need. And I'm sure Sarah will put that into the comments somewhere.
00:17:36
Speaker
Okay. And but someone today was actually mentioned that they had reached out to a firm as having a firm do it, but they haven't had a lot of responsiveness and that it was
Choosing the Right Law Firm
00:17:49
Speaker
a solo practitioner. And this is my favorite part of a certain age. Yeah. I mean,
00:17:56
Speaker
i I mean, I know what it means. And that means that concern so that it's someone who's just managing this on their own. um They might be older, so not sure if they're going to be able to follow through if there will be ah be there so you know when you're looking at what kind of firm you want to do this, and we're talking about what crime what kind of criteria you're looking at beyond the price, is look at that. you know What kind of responsiveness are you getting? what um Are they a solo practitioner? Do they have a full team? i mean Frankly, even though I'm going to live long past anybody, um you know if I drop dead, birch law keeps going. We have people in place that can keep doing this.
00:18:38
Speaker
And I do think that's a relevant criteria. um It's actually multiple criteria, because we're talking about how responsive are they? um Do they have a team to help them? And it's interesting, because it's kind of a double edged sword, you know, for I don't know, 13 years of my practice, it was mostly me and maybe one or two other people. And now currently we're at 10 people, we've fluctuated from 10 staff to 13. My favorite number is 13. And, um you know, we kind of try and achieve that. And also we got to keep it under a certain number so that we um are not subject to any of, you know, some of the laws. um That's just a joke, just a joke.
00:19:21
Speaker
ah But, you know, we've kind of varies, but that's a lot bigger, obviously, than one, two people. And part of that is to make sure that we have um other support. But the double-edged sword is I never could have anticipated when I decided, you know, what let's really grow this thing. let's Let's be able to help more people at once and hire other people to be part of the birch law team.
00:19:46
Speaker
that we'd get every once in a while, people are like, I don't know who I'm talking to. like you know I've got this person and this person and this person. and i'm like i I don't understand that mentality because the perspective that I have is that, yeah, isn't that great? Isn't that great that we've got so many different people and the way our systems are set up is that if you call any of us, even Sarah who never talks to you.
00:20:16
Speaker
that's by design who never ever talks to clients. She can log into our case management, look at that person's name and be able to know exactly what's going on in their case. And so we're designed to be able to get you the quickest, most of efficient, accurate answer and response.
00:20:36
Speaker
And so it's interesting to me, and I don't know if it's because they perceive, oh, you know, we're some big, huge corporation that is, you know, disconnected and everything, but that's not. And I think, um, you know, again, what you're looking for value, and people ascribe different things to value than others. Like we had someone who decided not to choose our firm and he told us that because he talked to a firm where the attorney gave him his personal cell phone and said that he would be available 24 seven to him.
00:21:05
Speaker
And I said, you made an excellent choice because that's never going to happen with me.
00:21:13
Speaker
Right. So if that's your criteria. Then and you and everything else is met and you found a firm that's going to do that for you, then hey, you made the right choice because I not only for myself, but for everybody who wears the birch law jacket,
00:21:34
Speaker
They are going to be done when it's done. There you go, Sarah. ah And they're, they're not going to be held accountable outside of office hours. Period. It looks like you were sniffing it. Yeah, I thought you were just sniffing. But you kind of did nose. So how how does it yeah and does it smell? Did you wash it? It smells like laundry detergent.
00:22:01
Speaker
That's good. We can have a whole conversation about laundry detergent. Actually, what do you all use for laundry detergent? Tide Pods. Tide Pods? Oh. Pods. What is it? Arm and Hammer? It's cheaper. Which, oh. I shouldn't say that because we're talking about it. No, I mean. like the power of but Is it how like No, it's liquid. It's a liquid.
00:22:25
Speaker
ah we like We use this product. We use this product. Genex or those? or The sheets. The sheets, the dry. They dissolve. Right. So just you put them in like Tide Pods, like they just go in with like your laundry. Yeah, you just put them in. I mean, like, don't tempt me with a conversation about washing machines and laundry because that is my my comfort zone.
00:22:49
Speaker
I do all the laundry. You should the ball ah balls your dryer. Anyway, um not to say I don't use dryer sheets at all times, but that's something I've been taught. and we the old clientant Yeah, we've got those.
00:23:12
Speaker
but Still a little too staticky for my taste, but still makes it soft anyway um So we we get we have a subscription and you know Kimberly has to have everything hyperallergenic and stuff because if anything smells good She's gonna have a asthma attack or some shit Um, it's fine. We, it's fine. I love her and the cost benefit analysis is there. It's good. But the face smelling, yeah hold on the cost benefit analysis of your marriage. Yes. Having Kimberly in my life outweighs having things that have color or scent. Okay. I thought you meant like having Kimberly in your life and all like the, nevermind. It's fine. Okay. I'd take Kimberly too.
00:23:57
Speaker
There we go. So anyway, so it's these sheets that are basically what the soap is without the water.
00:24:06
Speaker
So that these big ply and I know none of you give a shit about recycling because at the office We don't have recycling but I'm the one that puts all the shit into a container You don't go home because I'm the only one that does this at the office where I take all my recycling I have a special bin and I'll put it in a bag and I'll take it to the recycling at home So and I'm the one it'll matter at least to some the oldest in the office, but whatever and preserve that it's It's a total
Gen X Responsibility
00:24:33
Speaker
Gen X thing. We actually care about people and And no, no Gen X cares about people and will actually take the responsibility to do something about it. So those two things Okay so anyway um So you don't have those big like plastic jugs or the tide pods or anything like that So anyway, it's just a little sheet you put it in where you put your liquid detergent and there you go That's what we use is laundry detergent
00:25:05
Speaker
nice I also, um you know, one of us knows what they're talking about. The other one is you. If anybody needs any tips on getting stains out, I'm your girl. ah point nine ah was sa know but so one time I really proud of myself because I got a like 10 year old Chinese food stain out of my roommate's jacket. It was like, it was like a light colored jacket. And she's like, it's just been there forever. I'm like,
00:25:35
Speaker
Give me a wash cycle. let let me Let me take this from you." And I got it out and she was just like, how? I'm like, do you know how to properly use bleach? Yeah.
00:25:48
Speaker
I have, um so I have these pretty high level Maytag washer dryer thing. um The only thing I lament about the one that I have, but it was the best one out there, is that the soak cycle, because a lot of it, a lot of your problems can be solved people, if you just soak it. So two things about your stains, try to get water on it as soon as possible, and to soak it.
00:26:15
Speaker
but the only thing about the washer that we have is it will only soak in cold water. So what sometimes I have to do is do a hot cycle and just make a timer for myself like after a few minutes to go and like lift the lid and that'll put it into an automatic soak for a while. I also, um let's talk about wifi for appliances because I still think it's kind of stupid um But Birch Law people, particularly Cynthia knows, I went all in on some appliances this year. um Cafe appliances, not ah not a sponsor, but we have these beautiful, ridiculously overpriced. But if you want to sponsor us.
00:27:02
Speaker
And so all of them are like wifi compliant. And I've talked about this before. We have a brilliant, brilliant 19 year old who doesn't know anything about life. And so Kimberly is like, Hey, can we actually connect these wifi appliances? So we know if like the oven's left on and things like that, because some of the things we're dealing with.
00:27:24
Speaker
So I finally did it cuz I was like why do you need to have Wi-Fi in your appliances? I don't think you do frankly, but it is kind of fun because now I know like if the wash cycles complete I can start it again if the dryer cycle I can tell you when the oven is preheated um but my favorite part we were out of town this weekend and we had a house sitter and Um, the refrigerator tells me in the freezer door is open and it like opened at like 10 30 PM. And I like came this close to texting her. I'm like, what are you doing getting into our freezer?
00:27:58
Speaker
but
00:28:01
Speaker
But I didn't, I didn't do that. i would fred Um, I, you know, back to a ah recent episode, um, wifi appliances or something that you didn't think you need. And I'm going to say, I still don't think you need.
00:28:16
Speaker
Yeah, there's one thing that ah we got from my husband's brother as a gift. It's like a it's a string of LED lights But you can attach them to the wall in a certain way and they're really flat like they're really flush So they're around my window. This is a new addition Sam Sarah cuz y'all haven't seen them yet. um I just tell you know, hey Google turn on window lights and And it does it, turn them off. It does it. um The other day I found myself on the couch looking up the light bulbs that are the same brand and doing the math to see, okay, how many light bulbs would I need?
00:28:58
Speaker
for all the light bulb things sit in the house and like how much would that be because I kind of like just being able to turn the light off from from like I don't have to get up I don't have to reach over for the lamp Especially whenever you have Luke that for some reason in his sleep has got some beef with table lamps that are on bedside tables. Like he'll move and his pillow will fall and there goes the lamp. So I'm like I'm really considering like just huh.
00:29:31
Speaker
How, where am I right now in my life that is this, is this my but next big thing? And I think it is, I think it's um switching all my light bulbs to having wifi to where I can control them from my phone or if we know my Google Home. It is, it is pretty cool because we have a few lights that are connected through our alarm system so we can turn them on or off.
00:29:55
Speaker
but it gets to a point where it's like you want everything to do that. And then we have Alexa and you know, you can, uh-oh, I mentioned her name, Alexa, stop.
00:30:08
Speaker
Right. And then, so not a sponsor. Alexa, will you sponsor the Birch Law Webcast podcast? Okay. Just cut that out, Sarah. I don't know what she said. She says all sorts of nonsense. um Anyway,
00:30:25
Speaker
It's a webcast. You did say webcast. Yeah. So it is getting out of it is getting a little out of control. What about those? You guys remember those clap on lights? We should bring those back.
00:30:43
Speaker
Oh, totally. I never had one, but which is shocking because I mentioned this recently, like and something, a lesser known fact about me is how much I love as seen on TV stuff. Like I have so many things. I'm aware of this. So it is kind of surprising that I've never done the clap on, clap off, the clapper. Do you have to say it every time? Probably. Okay, cool. No, I mean, I feel like you do.
00:31:12
Speaker
see like is silence of just yeah like But my favorite, okay, and then we're going to end on this and go to the Sam Sarah segment about shopping decisions. But my favorite is how I don't know why it's just marriage. And so I Kimberly has yet to add the Nest app on her phone. ah so So I have it on my phone to be able to adjust the two thermostats we have. And so I will be at the office.
Smart Home Convenience
00:31:45
Speaker
Kimberly is at our home, but let's say Poppy fell asleep on her, the baby, right? And she'll text me, can you turn the air down?
00:31:55
Speaker
And she's at the home. But from the office in Dallas to the home that's in Plano, I will pull up the app and I'll be i'll like crank that thing down.
00:32:08
Speaker
It's just fun. Marriage is fun. You're almost married, Sarah, so. but Are you to the point yet, Sarah? Or I think this would be you and Emily would be the one you're calling, where you're the one who's home. This happened a few years back. And you get a call from the person who's home and they're like, Hey, do we have any mac and cheese? And you're like,
00:32:35
Speaker
You mean, you mean at home, in the cupboard, that's maybe we used to have a like a much smaller apartments, maybe like 10 feet from you. You can't oh funny stand up and walk over there. But I feel like you'd be the one to call Emily to ask her if y'all have mac and cheese. And you're just sitting at your like island or something. I think it would actually be the opposite. Really?
00:32:58
Speaker
Are you trying to convince us you're the responsible one in this relationship? I i actually want to throw something out because, Cynthia, you deal with the dynamic that Sarah and I do not. is that there And I love Luke, but there is just something that is just inherently incompetent about men but that women do not have. It's you're right there. Yeah. And and that's one of them. um I will tell you though, like,
00:33:27
Speaker
I don't, Kimberly will order stuff that we already have. And I'm like, did you not look to see that we already have that? So if anything, it's like ordering extra stuff. ah happen And i will I will have, you know, I still haven't asked her, this is a today thing. And I haven't asked her because I put a one pound bag or it's not even one pound, it's like a family size. So I don't know if that's one bag or not. It's huge. A plain M&M's, peanut M&M's and peanut butter M&M's.
00:33:56
Speaker
for some reason we got two of each. So it's kind of this like a Mormon adjacent thing where we've got a stockpile thing.
00:34:09
Speaker
oh But by yeah, I don't know. And yet we digress. So I do want to get though, um because we're talking about like shopping decisions, value versus cost and everything. And I believe that ah Sarah and Sam have some additional thoughts on this. Am I am I right in that?
00:34:28
Speaker
Yes. We went serious this time yeah because you said the last time that they're always kind of not good. Um, so we just, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Did you say you went serious this time? Well, like Syria, like we we didn't do like joke ones. We actually like, okay. I want to, I want to be clear that I don't mind the silliness. yeah They just need to make sense.
00:34:57
Speaker
Yeah, that's fair. No, you just have to do the things, you know, you have to wait until after. After what? You know, you're dead. Sarah. Yeah. yeah All right. All right. So talk us through this, you guys. Okay. Do you want, you want to start or do you want me to start? You can start. Okay. Um, so this one you don't, well, maybe I should, okay. Okay. So Our little section is the things that we think are worth the money of, you know, spending a few bucks. But this first one's actually free, so it doesn't really count, but it does. A library card. And this is an example of what I was saying, that your segment doesn't make any sense. Correct. But this one is an exception. But you should get a library card. There's a fun app that... Libby. Yeah. King's League. Oh, Cynthia introduced me called Libby, where you can connect your library cards to it and you can see what digital books or audiobooks they have. And then you can put a hold on them and wait for them to become available and stuff like that. And then you can read them on your phone or get a physical book. But if you like reading or audiobooks or nonfiction and stuff, it's a handy tool that you should get. And it helps keep libraries open.
00:36:19
Speaker
o The Frisco library is cool. Not that I go there often. but like tough pardon It's just really cool. um So something that is expensive and is worth the money, especially if you have pets, is Arumba. Because I can't tell you how many times I will have to vacuum Kona's hair a week.
00:36:46
Speaker
But if I just let that little Roomba go, he does it for me and it's great. Save so much time. Yeah, last night are I call him Mr. Swizzlebottom. He ah cleaned most of the house. I did have to um help him out a few times because there were so we have long haired cat and tag is just shedding machine.
00:37:10
Speaker
um I did have to untangle him or get like clumps of fur out but I learned something last night that there's um there's a remote mode to where I could have it sneak up on the cats I can just like sit there from the couch and like direct it where I want to go where I want it to go and I had to think up on milkshake a few times that was really funny nice for milkshake she was fine The next one um is d decent kitchenware. And um one thing that I know Cynthia is very for is good knives. Take care of your knives. A dull knife is a dangerous knife. It's true. That that is a worthwhile investment. Is your knife set? Yeah. I can't wait for the day. Pots and pans are the same too. Yeah. okay Can't wait to upgrade my knives one day.
00:38:07
Speaker
It's like it's one thing I'm looking forward to because right now they just suck and we just put them in the dishwasher. But don't do it because they're crappy knives anyways. Yeah. The day we get a good set of whenever you slice like your hand open. I don't want to hear about it. Well, you should um register for that for your common law marriage. Yeah, you should register. I will. I may splurge.
00:38:33
Speaker
ah Fourth thing we have is a pet. They're so expensive, but it's just like your little buddy forever. So a little friend went off. Well worth it. No, turn up one of my favorite ever because have one of my favorite quotes is that you allow friends into your company. You allow pets into your solitude. Oh, I like I like that.
00:39:01
Speaker
Next one, an air fryer. Oh, air fryer.
Investing in Quality Household Items
00:39:07
Speaker
Yeah. Um, I have an air fryer. I got it for Christmas like a couple of years ago and it's like the best thing I could have ever gotten in my life. Um, but I can confirm an air fryer is a good, um, Sarah cannot as hers started smoking and now she's two. Cool. Um, yeah, mine was, it was a hand me down for my brother. Air broil mode. It's pretty great. Must be nice.
00:39:33
Speaker
You can use it if you wanna come over. Okay. Oh, it's my turn. It's your turn. No, wait, we have a dual air fryer, but then the Cafe Alliance oven that we just got is a double oven. One of them also serves as an instant air fryer. That's cool. Nice. So again, Cafe, um if you would like to sponsor, we are willing to test out appliances and do reviews. I am more than willing to. Absolutely, absolutely, 100%.
00:40:04
Speaker
Uh, next thing is a mattress. Self-explanatory. You need a good mattress. Otherwise you just, I don't know. I don't know. Sam's, but Sam's had the same mattress for since before she was born. So I didn't know. Like it crossed the ocean. it did yeah It was my parents' mattress. And then when they upgraded, I got it. And that was my double bid that I got when I was like a teenager or whatever. And then it just followed me.
00:40:33
Speaker
Sam, you're sleeping on your parents' mattress? I know, I know. I have a memory phone on top of it, which is actually your next one. If you can't afford to get a new mattress, get a little memory phone thing, it snags.
00:40:46
Speaker
so The memories of that mattress.
00:40:52
Speaker
I knew I should have poured it out. Yeah, you shouldn't have. Well, I didn't. Sarah did. I should have told her. You should not have told Sarah. I didn't even think about that. I did. Really? That's why I didn't say anything. That's why you should have told Sarah things, because she's like, ha ha. And we're like, oh no. And then Lori's like, she's after the kill.
00:41:13
Speaker
so sorry it's like to work here how how can you sleep at night i have a memory foam thing it's great but i don't i don't think about it because ah it's it's been mine for longer so you know but it's really cool whenever you get a really good pillow yeah i have a pillow that i'm yeah kind of upset at the amount that i spent on it however it is worth not having neck pain it is worth just it's great And its I got a purple pillow. Same. I have the same size. I'm guessing they're good. Then. Yes, I love my purple pillow. yeah And then there's like different firmness levels. So I think I have the medium. By the way, they're not the color purple. Oh, that's kind of. There's something on inside that's a little purple. It's like a trim that's purple.
00:42:08
Speaker
Yeah.
00:42:11
Speaker
What's next? Get to the next one Sarah. A therapist, you know, you don't want to half-ass it. You want to go for a therapist, one yeah you know, do a good job. Don't do a bitter help therapist. Better help not sponsored, but and sper i answer it's it's worth it. I don't know what better help is. What is like a a cheap way of getting a therapist, but they're not good therapist. It's like DIY wills.
00:42:44
Speaker
Yeah, it's like you can find a good one now and then, but there's more horror more horror stories than there are successes, I guess. I'll be your therapist, because I mean, technically I am a licensed attorney and counselor at law. At law, they don't they don't have law things, they have brain things.
00:43:04
Speaker
I have emotions. What? What? Just keep going, just keep going. The next one is ah taking a Lyft or Uber or your you know you're case app of choice. whatever If you are in a place where you cannot drive, like you're too sleepy or you're ah inebriated. Too sleepy? Yeah. If you're someone who has carpalepsy,
00:43:33
Speaker
Yeah, do not. but Yeah, like I know sometimes it can be expensive, especially if you're like downtown and it's like peak hours, but it's well worth it than driving somewhere from. OK, so true, so true. you Tires, another good one. um Go for the ones that are a little bit more expensive because they last longer. I used to get the cheap ones when I was a teenager and I had my first car and I had to replace those.
00:44:02
Speaker
I don't even remember. It's like so many times a year I had to replace those, but yeah. What were you doing? You grew up in the metropolitan area, didn't you? So you had a lot of driving. Yeah. So. And then our last one.
00:44:18
Speaker
Yeah. And then our last one um is Spotify premium. I said, this is a joke. And then both me and Sarah went, wait, no, that's actually a really good. work um If you use Spotify, because if you, I feel like if you go to Spotify premium and then go back to the ads, like it's just, it's not as far as like, it's worth it. And you get audio stuff as well.
00:44:43
Speaker
You know, that would be a good other segment, like things that you've used that you can't go back now. Cause I feel that way about like two monitors. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it's like, I can't go back. I can't go back. It's, it's like a Plato's allegory of the cave. Yeah. Yeah. That went over exactly as I anticipated. Sarah, do you know what Plato's allegory of the cave is? No.
00:45:11
Speaker
sam Sam? No. I i feel it sounds familiar, but I couldn't tell you what it is. Well, yeah. What's very disappointing about this is I brought it up on multiple occasions. Why it sounds familiar. Yeah. But also if you've taken any like philosophy 101. I do not. Yeah. It's actually it's really good. I think you should look it up and you'll have a better understanding.
00:45:39
Speaker
But again, there's lots of things. I'm making it on and on. I mean, I know something that I'm not going to bond with anybody and in this group with, but other people is like car seats and strollers and like all the stuff that you spend this time investigating and looking at. And um cheap gets very expensive.
00:46:02
Speaker
The point is is to look for value and what you're getting for that. ARM the best value is not always the cheapest. um It's not always the most expensive, but it also is subjective, like what you're really trying to accomplish. And um so thank you. Thank you for joining us today.
00:46:24
Speaker
I don't know why I clapped. Thanks for listening. And just to cover all our bases about what you just heard, I'm sorry and you're welcome. Make sure you subscribe so you never miss an episode and tell your friends about us. We do webinars and live events.
00:46:42
Speaker
The best way to stay up to date is to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. Links are in the show notes. If there's a topic you'd like us to cover, maybe you have a question you'd like us to answer, or maybe you just wanna say hi, hit the link in the show notes or go to birch-law.com forward slash podcast and fill out the contact form.
00:47:12
Speaker
much better. Yeah I thought that had a lot of energy.