Time is money! Or so the adage goes. But how much is your time worth? While it might not seem related, managing your time effectively can also help get you in good habits with your finances as well.
It shouldn’t be so surprising that being more mindful of time inadvertently allows you to manage your finances better. Let’s take a simple and seemingly silly idea. Say you enjoy the odd online casino game and you come across a number of exclusive deals, such as 50 free spins with no deposit needed or the like. You feel spoiled for choice as if you need to grab onto every deal possible. But, narrowing down your choice and being economical in your time indirectly allows you to be more disciplined, and thus more productive in the long run. In turn, said productivity will allow you to reap other benefits.
So, let’s examine how time management and finance management align.
A Hypothetical Example
Let’s say that you get paid $45/hr in your job, which you work from 9-5 each week. On the weekend, you spend eight hours shifting furniture, which is a job that you hate. Those eight hours take up around a third of the waking hours on your much-needed weekly break time. Sure, it’s only this one weekend, but it’s a pain.
Let’s then say that your neighbor gets paid the same and works the same hours and hires someone else to do it for $200. He figures that his time is better spent working on his side project, something he enjoys and is looking to monetize in the future. He rationalizes the decision by saying that he’d charge $360 for the same number of working hours and that the time he spends on his project will hopefully contribute to making more money in the future.
So, who comes out on top here? Sure, you saved some money and probably got a good workout, but your neighbor is feeling better about his weekend as a good way to spend his time and is even more motivated to work towards his side hustle goals.
Do you often run late?
Running late is perhaps the most glaring indicator that someone isn’t very good at their time management. While it’s human to run late due to extenuating circumstances even now and again, if you find yourself constantly five or more minutes late to appointments, then it’s clear you need to get better at watching the clock.
Not only does running late reflect poorly on your own organizational skills, but it also says to the other person that you value your own time more than theirs. This has the chance to send you into a shame spiral, where you end up canceling appointments just because you know you won’t be on time.
The same goes for managing your finances. If you’re not very good at it, then making mistakes too many times, like missing a credit card payment, can make you feel avoidant and even send you into a shame spiral.
You know you’re not stupid, but managing time and money effectively can trigger strong emotions when you mess up, which in turn can compound bad effects. By starting at the beginning, like setting a million different alarms and recording all your incoming and outgoing monies, you can start to understand both time and money more accurately.
Making time for future income-generating activities
If you have a full-time job it can be difficult to want to put extra time aside to work on something that can help you generate more income, whether it’s studying, investing in the stock market, or building a small business. But if you do manage your time effectively and set that time aside to build your wealth, you’ll be better off financially.
Everyone wants a get-rich-quick scheme, but that’s not how real-life works. You need to put in the building blocks to get a desirable outcome. And those are time and effort. By putting in your own time towards something that will help your future finances, your future self will thank you. Time blocking each week can help you get on your way.
Time is more precious than money, except if your finances are a mess
If you’re in a bit of a financial pickle, or not quite where you want to be in saving towards a goal, then time itself is of the essence. Instead of spending hours watching YouTube and spending time with your friends, dedicate more of your time towards income-generating activities, serving you for both the present and the future. Whether it’s picking up Uber shifts or starting a new work-related course that’ll help you land a promotion, your financial future is in your hands.
