What if Money Was Time?

We’ve all heard the saying “time is money,” and it’s true. The time you put into your work is valuable. After all, you will never get that time back. The amount of money that you earn hourly, annually, by project, or however you are paid is the value that you and others place on your time. You are earning money for the time that you put into your work.

However, what I’ve learned is that money is also time. While you will not get back the moments spent drowning in a sea of paperwork or pounding the pavement to meet a deadline, you can gain more time. Earning higher salaries, bonuses, etc…allows you to work less often and thus spend more time doing other things that make your life more fulfilling.

Most people view money in terms of gaining things and “keeping up with the Joneses.” Society places a huge emphasis on the value of money and having the best of everything, but that’s not what’s important. When you’re gone, you are not going to take those things with you. None of it will matter anymore because you will leave it all behind, so it’s important to spend the time you have wisely.

Likewise, the more money you have, the more you are able to afford in terms of luxuries that grant you even more time. For example, you might hire someone to clean your house for you or tend to your landscaping. While you certainly could do these tasks yourself, hiring someone else to do them is beneficial for you and for them. They are working and providing for themselves and their families, and you are able to spend the time you would have spent washing dishes and trimming hedges doing things that you truly enjoy.

While, for example, some people love cooking and view baking as a way to bond with their children and teach them new skills, others may prefer simply buying their baked goods from a store and spending their time in the mountains or at the beach, and not covered in flour while peering into a hot oven. It’s all about what works for you. Delegating chores and jobs you hate to those who enjoy and/or excel at them benefits those you hire and gives you more time to focus on more important tasks and experiencing all that life has to offer.

Time is the most valuable commodity a person owns. 

We only have so much time here on earth, and how we spend that time matters and defines us. You do not want to overwork yourself to the point where one day you are lying on your deathbed, full of regrets. On the other hand, people often do not realize that by putting in a lot of time and energy working now they can potentially buy more time and opportunities to use that time wisely later.

With more money comes more freedom.

You can take family vacations, travel the world, see new sights, and enjoy new and exciting experiences. You can afford to be more adventurous and perhaps even be inspired by the things you see and the people you meet. You can learn and gain so much by getting out there and seeing the world.

You can also use that extra money and time to invest in new opportunities, expand your business, and gain new skills so that you can earn even more money and thus more time. The more you invest in yourself and what you do, the more you will gain. And if you invest properly, then you can multiply your money and your time exponentially.

You could also spend that valuable extra time and money on philanthropic opportunities and make a huge impact on your community and even the world. Is there a cause that is important to you? Is there a problem you can solve or a cure in which you can invest? Is there a need that you want to fulfill? Get out there and do it! Nothing is tying you down.

You have a certain amount of time every day, every week, every month, and so on. You have all this time but no idea when it will run out. You can keep track of money and monitor where it goes and when, but time is different. We don’t get a set amount of time that we can see and monitor, so wasting the time we do have is ridiculous and irresponsible.

You would not throw your money out the window or invest in something you knew was not worth it. So why do so many of us waste our time, something so precious yet fleeting? Regardless of your current situation, you most likely have the time, the means, or the freedom to go anywhere and do anything you want. Spend it wisely.