Time Is Money

By Alex576277 (alex576277@aol.com)

I once read a book that I did not like. It was one of those getting- control- of- your- money- and- focus- on- your- quality- of- life kind of books. Both ideas appeal to me, but the book did not. I wasn't about to head off for the woods and try to grow mushrooms or whatever it was that the authors seemed to like so much. However, that book explained one idea which was extremely astute.

The authors asked us to calculate what we were really earning as an hourly rate. They asked us to take our yearly, monthly, bi-weekly, or weekly take-home pay, whether from salary or whatever, and divide it by the number of hours we actually worked during that time period. We were told to include any and all hours devoted to and/or associated with our employment. This includes time spent commuting, eating at work or a work-related activity, and any other time spent with regard to anything related to work that we would not do if we were not working. Before dividing take home pay by all that time, we were directed to subtract all work-related expenses from our take-home pay. This includes any expense which would not be incurred if we were not working. Commuting expenses, work clothing, that kind of thing. What we find, of course, is how much we are really earning per hour with regard to our work.

What rattled me was the next step. With that information in hand, I can now figure out how many hours I would have to work to buy whatever it is I want. If one car costs $5,000 more than another, do I really want to buy it if I know I'll have to work 200+ more hours, or over four weeks more, for it? Is that other shirt worth another hour of my time? Is it worth it to me to work 40 hours for that "toy?" It turns out that I have to work an hour or two just to earn enough money to eat out. This idea has changed the way I look at my time and money.

Not only is it true that time is money, but money is also time.