Time and Money
If there are two things that we don't have in abundance but we wish we did, they would be time and money. Naturally, if people have been using them in conjunction with each other for so long, there must be a reason why. So what is it that so intimately connects these two things?
Consider this
You've worked your entire life, spent days studying and learning how to gain those skills. You went through college, racked up those nightmarish loans, all in preparation of getting that dream job and earning some serious dough. When you do a job, any job, you are selling something. You're bartering your skills, your knowledge, and your very presence in exchange of money. What many don't realize is that you're selling something far more precious.
You are selling your time.
If you work for eight hours a day, that's eight hours you could be spending doing something else. That's eight hours that you're never going to get back.
That puts things into perspective, doesn't it?
If there's a measure of success, it might as well be measured by how much money your time is worth. A well-known actress will earn more money for a two minute appearance in an ad than a normal person would in a year. So, here is a stunningly logical advice for financial planning:
Set a monetary value to your time. According to J.D. Roth of the Entrepreneur, "The easiest way to figure out its worth is to take your total income from all sources and divide it by 2,000, the number of hours in a standard work year (based on a 40-hour week)."
Say it takes you twenty minutes to do the dishes, that's around ten hours a month. If you think an hour of your time is worth sixty rupees, for example, that's six hundred rupees lost when you do your dishes. But if you're paying your maid-servant eight hundred rupees a month to do your dishes, you're spending two hundred rupees more than you need to.
Convoluted logic, isn't it? But the idea behind it is sound
Planning your expenses and what you should and shouldn't spend your money on is one of the key skills we need to earn as adults. It'll help you build up financial security over time. So putting a price-tag on your time can sometimes be a great incentive and it can sometimes be a great deterrent.
In the previous example, it was an incentive asking you to consider that maybe you should be doing the dishes. In the following example, you'll see how it can be a deterrent.
You have an eye an on this really cool, branded watch. It might cost you around twenty thousand rupees to buy it but you really, really want it and you know you have enough money in the bank to get it. Now think about it, that particular piece of wrist adornment, if you went by the above mentioned calculation, would cost you three hundred thirty three hours of your time.
That means you'll have to work three hundred and thirty three hours to get that money back.
That pretty little watch doesn't sound so appealing now, does it? Mind, I'm using a very conservative estimate on how much your time is worth. The more you earn, the more valuable your time is.
Ironically, the more successful you are the more money you make, the more money you make the less time you have. So there's also a lesson to be learned here, just how much does success and wealth truly cost you? That one commodity that you have in so limited amount is being spent earning something you can afford to have a little less of.
Is that cushy little promotion with a million added to your salary worth spending time away from your little kid? Is that important meeting worth missing your daughter's first public performance?
Deciding how much money your time is worth helps you make great financial decisions. Deciding how much time your money is worth helps you make great life decisions. Is earning an extra twenty thousand by getting a promotion and leaving your family behind for a few years worth your time? Worth the time you spend not seeing your family?
If it is indeed worth your time, go for it. If it'll really get you and your family a better life, of course, it's the best decision to make.
But if you can live well without that extra twenty thousand and if your family is comfortably situated without you taking that promotion, ask yourself once again: Is that money really worth your time?
That's the million dollar question, right there.
Here is the bonus of Success quotes to get inspired which I have designed for my blog, chosen from the Top celebrities and famous People.