Monday, January 29, 2007

Time and Money

Which is worth more? At first thought, most people would say money, of course. But just about everyone agrees that time is valuable too. I find myself constantly having to make judgements about whether something is worth my time or worth a little extra money. I am, of course, aware of the fact that I am extremely blessed to have the luxury of such decisions.

Sometimes, money is more valuable to me. I occasionally clip coupons, and I'll strategically stock up on necessities if they're on sale. I take the time to make out a list of menus and groceries every week so that I don't buy unnecessary food items that just end up going to waste. I will sometimes visit multiple stores to find the best deal on an item or spend time researching the price online before purchasing it. I give myself manicures instead of going to a salon - this actually saves me time and a trip as well. I usually make my own birthday/anniversary/thank you cards, but I will admit that this is more of a hobby than a way to save money! I always take advantage of rebates, even though they take some time to prepare and an inordinate amount of time to be returned to me.

Sometimes, my time is more valuable to me and I'm willing to spend a little extra money to save myself some time. I'm perfectly willing to pay shipping charges for items purchased online rather than having to make a trip to the store. I also buy stamps online to save me the misery of waiting in the eternally long line at the post office. I do spend money to have my car washed occasionally (probably not often enough) so I don't have to do it - especially in the winter when it's too cold to be outside with the waterhose anyway! Sometimes I buy disposable things (tablecloths, plates, etc.) to save time on clean-up for parties. We paid for a Tivo and now I don't have to waste my time watching commercials!

Everyone has their own definition of what is worth the cost and/or worth the time. I think we're weighing the value of these two things more than we realize - probably daily.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Example from Sunday- I went to Target and bought a pair of shoes for Ava that rang up 12.99 at the register but I was about 99% sure those shoes were on sale for 10.99. I went to the customer service desk to see about the price, but there was a lady in front of me taking FOREVER. After about 4 minutes I just left because $2 is not worth me waiting in line at Target's customer service desk and then waiting to figure out whether or not the price on those shoes was right.

Lindsay said...

Time is worth more than money. You can always come by money again but time is lost forever.

Unknown said...

I think about this ALL the time. I kind of get a kick out of it. I find the amount of time or money I'm willing to spend/save is proportianate to how much I like/dislike the task/object at hand.