The Currency of Today is Time

Money can buy a lot of things (including happiness when you know what to spend it on); but cannot buy you time. We all get the same 24 hours in a day; no matter how much money we have. Time is so important. Ask 10 people to name two things they wish they had more of. I’ll bet you at least 8 of them will answer “money and time.” 

But time is much more important than money. You disagree? Okay, answer this question, would you swap your money and age with Warren Buffet? He’s worth about $90 billion and he’s 89 years old. Even with the best that science and medicine have to offer, the Oracle of Omaha will sadly not be with us for much longer. I don’t say this to bring you down; rather to stress the importance of time- our greatest resource. 

Time Poverty Makes Paupers of Us All 

We’re all in a losing race against time; no matter how young or old we are. We can’t literally buy time, but we can find more of it. Sometimes your time is worth more than your money. If you want to find more time in your day, I’ll show you some ways to do it.

Get Up Earlier

I know this won’t be a popular one, but hear me out. We intend spend our days well. We’re going to work out, make that doctor’s appointment we’ve been putting off,  and cook dinner rather than ordering out. 

But the day starts and time gets away from us. We meant to do all those things, but at the end of the workday we are tired. We’ve got the events of the day weighing us down. We just want to go home, order something from Uber Eats, and plop down in front of the TV for the night. 

However if you rise just an hour earlier (or even 30 minutes earlier), it gives you not only extra time, but quiet time . Your family isn’t up yet wondering where their backpacks are or waiting for breakfast, causing you to miss your workout. You are the doctor’s first appointment of the day, so you’re in-and-out with no waiting. When you get into your office, it’s quiet! No calls and emails coming in yet, no co-workers coming into your office just to chat. You get a lot of work done during that quiet time because you have fewer distractions. 

In fact, you were so productive that you can leave much earlier than normal. Therefore when you get home, you’re not totally wiped out. You have time to make dinner and interact with your spouse or kids, giving you all more time together. You might even have a few laughs together. The average kid laughs about 400 times a day; the average adult, just fifteen. Get up an hour earlier and you might get back more time and laughs! 

Turn It Off! 

The average American watches nearly six hours of television a day. Six hours! No wonder we don’t have time to work out, clean out the garage, or pursue our hobbies. Six hours a day, seven days a week (42 hours) is two hours more than a full work week. This was shocking to me. Cut out just a quarter of your television consumption and you’ll have more time than you ever imagined possible. 

Outsource It

I’ll never understand double-income couples who spend their weekends doing (or fighting over) chores; like cleaning the house or doing yard work. It is fair enough if they enjoy those things; but most of us could probably think of better ways to spend the weekend. These kinds of chores cause fights because they cut into the scarce resource of time. 

You can hire people to do things you don’t want to like cleaning the house, mowing the lawn, and managing your money. In the case of managing your money, hiring a CFP® help you diversify, save your money, and cut down on stress. 

At Paradigm Wealth Partners, we help our clients trade money for time so they can spend their time doing the things they love to do. No one should spend time worrying about money, investing, and retirement. We make sure you don’t. 

We initially meet with our clients to learn about their goals and dreams for their families. Based on those goals and dreams, we work with them to build a simple, personalized, and realistic financial plan. We meet periodically to make any necessary tweaks to their plan based on any life changes they may be facing (good or bad). We also check in around tax time to make sure your finances are optimized before you make that appointment with the tax preparer. 

You Can’t Get It Back

When you manage your money correctly, it can help you buy time. Time has a funny impact on money too. The longer you wait to create a financial plan, the harsher time will treat you. You can’t get back the time you spent sleeping, watching television, or doing things you dislike.  You also cannot make up for the time your money was not working for you. Never waste time; because you can’t get it back. 

Thank you for reading! Want to hear more on our financial opinions and advice? Visit our blog here! 

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Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Investing involves risk including loss of principal.