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If Time is Money, Then Money is Time
If you asked most Australians what they were really short of, other than money, I guarantee they'd say "TIME". They'd go on to tell you that there aren't enough hours in the day - they have no time to themselves. All they do is work, work, work. And what for? To earn enough money to pay the credit card down so they can put more purchases on it, so they can go to work to earn more money to pay the credit card down.
Well, I believe that time is money. And that the more money I am able to save, the more time I will have for me. And my husband and children. And my home. People tell me they don't have the time to save money - they have to work, not like me who can hunt down bargains all day.
Yes, I hunt down bargains to save money. Yes, I work full time, running a business. Yes, I have a husband, and a home to care for too. Yes, I cook our meals from scratch. Yes, I have a garden. Yes, I sew for myself and the family. Yes, I help our adult children if they need it. Yes, I help my father-in-law. Yes, like you, I'm busy - and my time is precious to me.
So stop and think: we all have the same 24 hours in a day. It's what we do with them that counts.
Perhaps it's the way I look at things. It's often tempting, when it's almost tea time and I'm running late, to stop off and pick up fish and chips or pizza. It would only take 20, perhaps 30 minutes. And we wouldn't miss $30 from our budget. Or would we? I'd have to work 2 hours to pay for that takeaway meal. Taking a ready- prepared meal from the freezer at home would still take 20 or 30 minutes to heat. But it certainly wouldn't cost $30 - more like $5! And while I'm waiting to serve, I could be reading, putting on a load of washing, writing notes for the next day or even enjoying a cup of tea and catching up with my husband!
If I saved that $30 by having just one less takeaway meal a week, I could have three, yes three, extra weeks off work per year! I'm not saying you shouldn't enjoy the convenience of a takeaway meal, just don't do it regularly. It will end up costing you a lot more than $30 in time and money.
It's easy to splurge without thinking about the true cost of things.
The listed price doesn't always reflect the true cost of the item. For example how much time does taking your lunch from home buy you? At an average of $35 per week spent on lunches and snacks you have to work 105 hours (two and a half weeks!), calculated at $16 nett per hour, just to pay for lunches! Take your lunch from home and you've just 'bought' yourself an extra 105 hours of time for you.
Be very careful when you start saying things like "Doesn´t it take too much time to be a Cheapskate?" or "I can´t seem to find time to be with my husband or children" or "I don´t know where to start saving" or "I have to work, we can't afford for me to stay home".
Often, those are excuses that you have created to ease your guilt. If you think about it and do the math, adjusting your mindset and lifestyle with some simple changes will give you more free time.
If you´d rather not, you can always keep spending money and wishing you had more family time. It´s your choice! But take heart - if you've read this far then you get an A+ for taking the first step and trying!
Well, I believe that time is money. And that the more money I am able to save, the more time I will have for me. And my husband and children. And my home. People tell me they don't have the time to save money - they have to work, not like me who can hunt down bargains all day.
Yes, I hunt down bargains to save money. Yes, I work full time, running a business. Yes, I have a husband, and a home to care for too. Yes, I cook our meals from scratch. Yes, I have a garden. Yes, I sew for myself and the family. Yes, I help our adult children if they need it. Yes, I help my father-in-law. Yes, like you, I'm busy - and my time is precious to me.
So stop and think: we all have the same 24 hours in a day. It's what we do with them that counts.
Perhaps it's the way I look at things. It's often tempting, when it's almost tea time and I'm running late, to stop off and pick up fish and chips or pizza. It would only take 20, perhaps 30 minutes. And we wouldn't miss $30 from our budget. Or would we? I'd have to work 2 hours to pay for that takeaway meal. Taking a ready- prepared meal from the freezer at home would still take 20 or 30 minutes to heat. But it certainly wouldn't cost $30 - more like $5! And while I'm waiting to serve, I could be reading, putting on a load of washing, writing notes for the next day or even enjoying a cup of tea and catching up with my husband!
If I saved that $30 by having just one less takeaway meal a week, I could have three, yes three, extra weeks off work per year! I'm not saying you shouldn't enjoy the convenience of a takeaway meal, just don't do it regularly. It will end up costing you a lot more than $30 in time and money.
It's easy to splurge without thinking about the true cost of things.
The listed price doesn't always reflect the true cost of the item. For example how much time does taking your lunch from home buy you? At an average of $35 per week spent on lunches and snacks you have to work 105 hours (two and a half weeks!), calculated at $16 nett per hour, just to pay for lunches! Take your lunch from home and you've just 'bought' yourself an extra 105 hours of time for you.
Be very careful when you start saying things like "Doesn´t it take too much time to be a Cheapskate?" or "I can´t seem to find time to be with my husband or children" or "I don´t know where to start saving" or "I have to work, we can't afford for me to stay home".
Often, those are excuses that you have created to ease your guilt. If you think about it and do the math, adjusting your mindset and lifestyle with some simple changes will give you more free time.
If you´d rather not, you can always keep spending money and wishing you had more family time. It´s your choice! But take heart - if you've read this far then you get an A+ for taking the first step and trying!