How You Should Use Your PTO

Summary

You Betcha Radio — "How You Should Use Your PTO"

Episode Date: July 20, 2026
Hosts: Myles (the You Betcha Guy), Ryan, Tyler, Jerrod

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Episode Overview

In this episode, the crew dives into the age-old dilemma faced by many Midwesterners: how to best use your paid time off (PTO). With Myles and the gang answering a real-life question about maximizing 120 hours of PTO, the conversation quickly veers into classic “guy” territory—sports calendars, strategic vacation planning, and yes, taking days off for video game launches. The tone is classic You Betcha: hilarious, casual, and unapologetically Midwestern.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Breaking Down the PTO Math

• 120 hours PTO: That's three 40-hour work weeks, or 15 workdays. [00:27]
  • Ryan: “Okay, so 120 hours, you divide that by 40. So that's three weeks of PTO.” [00:27]
  • Myles: “Yeah, yeah, 15 work days.” [00:43]

Sports-Centric PTO Strategies

• Aligning Days Off with Sports:

  • Ryan: “You were notorious… last fall… you did like a bunch of random days that weirdly all aligned with the sports schedule.” [00:46]
  • Jerrod: “If you're an NFL fan, definitely take Mondays off. If you're a big college football fan, take Fridays off.” [01:07]
  • March Madness? Don’t forget Thursday and Friday. [01:15]
  • Ryan Summing Up: “As a guy, I'd start with the sports schedule.” [01:20]

• Logistics:

  • Plan days off around games (especially Mondays after NFL games for recovery).
  • Ryan: “March Madness first Thursday, Friday, take those off.” [01:43]

Maximizing Government Holidays

• Tacking on Days to Holidays for Longer Breaks
  • Jerrod: “If you're looking to hoard days, find all the government holidays and then do Friday, Tuesdays. So like Labor Day, Monday you get off. You're taking the same amount of days off, but you're getting a five day weekend.” [02:03 - 02:11]
  • Labor Day, Memorial Day: Take Friday or Tuesday off for a five-day weekend.

Planning a Full Week Vacation

• Ryan: “I do think you should plan one week long vacation. That’s always good. You could start it on… Friday after work… so you can almost get like nine or ten days out of the whole deal.” [02:23]
• Myles: Suggests taking the first week after New Year's off, when “no one's doing anything anyway.” [02:46]
  • Ryan: “The weeks between New Year's and Christmas, you work, don't take it off. Take the week off after New Year's…it's basically just three weeks of doing nothing.”[02:50-03:04]

The "Last Day of School" Work Vibe

• Myles: “It’s like the last day of school vibe when you're working… nobody's around, the teachers are wearing jeans.” [03:06]

PTO for Video Game Releases

• GTA 6 Strategy

  • The guys half-jokingly (or not) strategize about taking time off for the Grand Theft Auto 6 release. [03:17-04:00]
  • Group Decision: "We take Thursday off for sure." [03:57]
  • “Honestly, it’s just starting to point out… just start with sports and video games first and then after that you can…” [04:12]

• Ryan: "I have warned Dan that when it comes out that I would be basically... at home, but I will not be available." [05:42]

Nostalgia for Old-School Video Games

• Reminiscing about past GTA games, knock-offs like True Crime New York City, and the perks of having an uncle who worked for Microsoft. [06:11 – 07:02]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jerrod, on strategic PTO:
  “If you're looking to hoard days, find all the government holidays and then do Friday, Tuesdays… You're getting a five day weekend.” [02:11]

• Ryan, on vacation planning:
  “I do think you should plan one week long vacation…you can almost get like nine or ten days out of the whole deal.” [02:23]

• Myles, capturing the office vibe:
  “It’s like the last day of school vibe when you're working… the teachers are wearing jeans.” [03:06]

• Ryan, on the reality of PTO for gaming:
  “I have warned Dan… when [GTA 6] comes out that I would be basically… at home, but I will not be available.” [05:42]

• On the evolution of cheat codes:
  — Jerrod: “God, don’t they know that up, down, left, right… L1, L2 is unlimited ammo? Rockstar doesn’t know the simple trick.” [04:38]
  — Myles: “You haven’t played GTA in 20 years. You try that, you’re like, what the—” [04:45]
  — Ryan: “You just immediately get wasted.” [04:58]

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Important Timestamps

• 00:27: Breaking down PTO math (three weeks/15 days)
• 01:07: Sports-centric PTO strategies (NFL, college football, March Madness)
• 02:11: Government holiday “hoarding” hack (five-day weekends)
• 02:23 - 02:46: Weekly vacation and the New Year’s “black hole” week
• 03:06: “Last day of school” work analogy
• 03:17 - 04:12: PTO for major video game releases (GTA 6)
• 05:42: Declaring “not available” for video game launches

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Flow & Tone

• The conversation is casual, fast-paced, and full of good-natured Midwest sarcasm.
• The advice is practical—often with a deliberately tongue-in-cheek twist—and loaded with personal anecdotes.
• The atmosphere is joking but relatable, especially for those who know the annual struggle of maximizing PTO.

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Summary

The You Betcha crew lays out a quintessentially Midwest approach to PTO: start with your sports calendar, maximize holidays for long weekends, plan at least one full week off (preferably at times when “no one's actually working anyway”), and—don’t forget—set aside days for once-in-a-decade video game drops. Nostalgia and laughter over classic gaming sessions round out the session, peppered with local wisdom and that signature friendly banter. Whether you’re a lifelong planner or a last-minute scheduler, this episode will have you rethinking (and maybe reprioritizing) your days off.

Transcript

[A]

Bryston, the Budweiser guy. So I'm in a situation. I just acquired PTO. 120 hours to be exact. We have no vacation planned this year. So now how long. So now how long should I take? I want to take a Friday, Monday off to have a four day weekend, but I also want to take a week off. But I want to save time in case I get sick. But I also don't want to burn all of my PTO before next July. So what do I do? Boys, what's your thoughts?

[B]

Okay, so 120 hours, you divide that by 40. So that's three weeks of PTO.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

Correct.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

All right. No, no, no. Yeah, three 40 hour work weeks.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, 15 work days.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Well, Jared, so you were notorious this last winter or last fall. You did like a bunch of random days that weirdly all aligned with the sports schedule.

[C]

Yeah, that was a spring.

[B]

So you start there. I'm, I've, I'm the wrong person to ask about this. So start with that. Jared.

[A]

Yeah, I'd say if you're an NFL fan, definitely take Mondays off. If you're a big college football fan, take Fridays off.

[C]

If you're a big March Madness fan, take a Thursday, take a Thursday off. Yeah, yeah.

[B]

I would start with the sport. As a guy, I'd start with the sports schedule.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Know if you're like, hey, I'm going to go to a game, take that Monday off, right? Yeah, you know, Monday, Friday, Monday off. Then you're like, all right, I'm going to go catch an NFL game. I got the day off to recuperate afterwards, all that. So I'd start with sports schedules. March Madness first Thursday, Friday, take those off.

[A]

Right.

[B]

You know, start with sports another. Then only after your sports schedule is figured out. If there's any days left, then you ask your wife, hey, you want go on any trips?

[C]

15 sporting events he uses every day to go to sports. I think if, if you're looking to hoard days, find all the government holidays and then do Friday, Tuesdays. So like Labor Day, Monday you get off.

[A]

Yeah, I was going to say that.

[C]

Then you. Only you're taking the same amount of days off, but you're getting a five day weekend.

[B]

You're squeaking out another day.

[C]

Yeah. So Memorial Day, Labor Day, you're going Friday, Tuesdays off.

[B]

I do think you should plan one week long vacation. I think that's always good. You could start it on like, like Friday after work, go somewhere. Then you got Saturday, Sunday, the whole week and the next weekend off. So you can almost get like nine or ten days out of the whole deal.

[A]

Or do it like in January, the first week where everybody comes back to work. You take that week off.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Your Christmas break is extra long.

[B]

Honestly. Yeah. The weeks between New Year's and Christmas you work, don't take it off. Then take the week off after New Year's when everyone's getting back into it because no one's doing anything those two weeks anyway. So basically you got three weeks of doing.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah.

[B]

Could be a move.

[A]

It's like the last day of school vibe when you're working that there's no stuff on the walls, nobody's around, the teachers are wearing jeans.

[C]

You bet. Just posting best of videos.

[B]

You should also plan a few days of. Around GTA 6 dropped Y. Yep. That's something that people aren't thinking about right now.

[C]

Well, he. He has the days off this year, not in 2030.

[B]

Should we. When does it come out?

[C]

The dates change three times.

[A]

November something. Let me look quick.

[B]

Should we decide as a company that we're taking like, at least Wednesday, Thursday off that week?

[C]

I don't have anything to play it on.

[A]

November 19th is the day. Let me look daily.

[B]

It could be your Christmas bonus.

[C]

Tyler, I sold my PS5.

[A]

November 19th is on a Thursday.

[B]

Yeah. So we take Thursday off. We take Thursday off for sure.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Maybe possibly that Monday.

[C]

I'm pretty sure I'm off that Monday. Tuesday. I'm going to the Monday night game for sports.

[B]

There you go.

[A]

You could bring your PS5 to you with you.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Honestly, it's just starting to point out. Point to, like, just start with sports and video games first and then after that you can. Whatever you got left. Yeah. Are you gonna play it, Jared, when it comes out?

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Okay.

[C]

What's it cost now? Didn't they say they were gonna charge like 150 bucks for it or something?

[A]

Something like that. That's like, for the ultimate edition.

[C]

Gotcha.

[A]

So you get like a car and a different gu.

[C]

God, don't they know that? Up, down, left, right. Up, down, left, right. R1, R2, L1. L2 is unlimited ammo and a full stock of guns.

[A]

Rockstar doesn't know the simple trick. Yeah. You haven't played GTA in 20 years. You try that, you're like, what the.

[C]

It just unlocks like you're an idiot. That doesn't work anymore.

[B]

You just immediately get wasted.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

Nice try, idiot. It's behind a pay. You got to do microtransactions. For that.

[C]

Yeah,

[B]

it's probably been since before my child was born since I've played video games.

[A]

It was Red Dead.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

College football.

[C]

When did we both. We were both ripping Hogwarts legacy.

[B]

Oh yeah. That was the last time. That was the winter before. So it's probably been two and a half years since I've played video games.

[C]

Very fun game for all the nerds out there.

[B]

I. Yeah, I really liked it.

[C]

It's great.

[B]

So I'm, I'm due. And I have warned Dan, I or I warned Dan a year ago that when it comes out that I would be basically I'd be at home, but I will not be available. And I reminded her of that this summer. So I am like, I got a good setup going on here. I just now got to get a PS5.

[A]

Yeah. I was gonna say, did you play GTA 5?

[B]

No.

[C]

Wow.

[B]

I think probably the last GTA I played was like San Andreas.

[A]

Oh, damn. Yeah, a lot has changed.

[C]

Yeah, that's the last one I owned. I played five, but I never owned five.

[B]

And then we also had the knockoff GTA that was called like True Crime New York City.

[C]

Oh, we, we also, we had the knockoff too. It's like Saints Row or something.

[B]

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I never even had Saints Row. I had this like. Because my uncle used to work for Microsoft and so any Microsoft Xbox game that Microsoft made themselves, he could get for 10 bucks. That's so for every birthday, me and my brothers would all get a ten dollar Microsoft.

[C]

Let's go.

[B]

So like we. So that one year my brother got True Crime for ten bucks. It was like basically Microsoft version of gta. Of gta, something like that. I don't know.

[A]

And there's some story like you were playing that game and you shot somebody or dad got pissed or something.

[B]

Well, yeah. So my dad comes down and like the, the characters in the game, like one of them's like, move the. Out of my way, you. Yeah, my dad's like, what did they say? Sounds pretty funny. Then it was just kind of like, your mom better not find out you're you're playing this game, guys. If you want more, you bet your radio. You gotta check out our Patreon. You gu. Go to patreon.com, you bets radio or look us up on the app and we have hundreds of hours of other episodes on there that you can't get unless you're signed up. So you got to check us out on Patreon. You bet your radio, baby.