Key Takeaways
- Many times, we look at the cost of something and don’t think about the implications of what that cost can do to help give us our time back.
- You might have the opportunity to work a few more hours, do a side gig, or do something else to help earn that little bit of extra money to cover the cost of a service or item that can ultimately give you more of your personal time back.
- Look over the things that take away from your personal time to see if there might be a better way to get more of that time back.
There’s a saying, “Don’t step over dollars to save a dime.” You might laugh at that because, well, why would anyone do that? But people do this a lot in life and don’t even realize it’s happening.
It’s a lot like that Benjamin Franklin quote that “Time is money,” and I think that is right on point. So, let’s look at a simple example:
You work hard all week, and maybe you make $80,000 a year. One of the things you want to do is be at home more with your family, enjoying your time with them.
Instead, you’re cutting the grass, and it’s costing you an hour of your time every few weeks. If you hired someone to cut the grass for you, it might cost $20. But you don’t want to spend $20.
If you thought about it, you might say to yourself, “So I cut the grass, say, 30 times a year, and that would cost me $600. Could I be working at my job or doing something where I could make $600 in a few hours and save all that time so I can spend quality time with my friends and family doing what I love versus cutting the grass?”
It’s a simple example, but it illustrates how often we just see the dollar amount of something, versus the time we value in our personal lives, and how that time outweighs the cost. We tend to really walk over dollars to pick up dimes!
Of course, it doesn’t always work out like this. Sometimes, people love doing things like cutting the grass. But it could be something else in your life that you are doing that you could perhaps write a check for, like house cleaning or grocery shopping. You could spend a little more time doing something you get paid well for in order to afford it, and ultimately get more of your personal time back as a result.
So, next time you are stuck doing something that takes time away from the things you love, make sure you pick up the dollar!
Until next time, enjoy!
Gary
