Have you ever heard the expression ‘Time is Money’? Do you understand the exact meaning of this phrase and why it is used in real life? Let’s begin by analyzing this phrase, then move on to what one needs to do to make the most of his or her time.
The phrase “Time Is Money” is an old expression that originated in Benjamin Franklin’s essay “Advice to a Young Tradesman,” which appeared in George Fisher’s 1748 book, The American Instructor: or Young Man’s Best Companion, in which Franklin wrote, “Remember that time is money.”
Money is commonly regarded as one of the most important aspects of life. However, most of us tend to overlook another critical factor that adds value to life – “TIME.” You must manage your time wisely to achieve your various life goals, such as wanting to travel, study abroad, get the job of your dreams, and so on. When you consider that wasting time equals wasting money, you will realize the value that you can derive from this critical parameter.
Well, I think you didn’t focus on the second part of the title which is “but Actually, it’s the Other Way Around”.
But actually, it’s the Other Way Around
We traded our time for food during the hunter-gatherer era of human evolution. To survive, we spent hours, if not days, hunting or gathering food. We no longer had to hunt for food when the agricultural revolution began around 10,000 BC. We harvested crops, domesticated animals, and developed food on the land where we lived.
However, we began to spend less time shopping for food. Fast forward to the twenty-first century, where we can buy food online in an instant and have it delivered to our front door. Nowadays, we rarely spend time shopping for food. Instead, we spend our time earning money, which we then exchange for food.
But here’s the catch. We take that arrangement far too seriously. We trade almost all of our time for money. That does not appear to be a good deal to me. If we have a demanding job, we work during the day and think about it during the evenings and weekends. Work has mentally taxed us. And, let’s face it, we work primarily to earn money so that we can not only buy food, but also a variety of other items.
Value of Money over Time
The value derived from the use of money over time as a result of investment and reinvestment is defined as “the value derived from the use of money over time as a result of investment and reinvestment.” The term “time value of money” refers to the fact that “the value of a rupee received today differs from the value of a rupee to be received in the future.” The preference for money now over money later is referred to as time preference of money.
The entire set of financial decisions (whether financing or investing) is based on the fact that the value of one rupee today is not equal to the value of one rupee at the end of one year or the end of the second year. In other words, we cannot assume that the rupee’s value will remain constant.
Begin Reclaiming your Time.
This is the article’s main point. We both spend a lot of time working for money. In today’s world, time is money. To some extent, this is a good arrangement because we don’t have to go out and hunt for food. But because we spend our hard-earned money on so many other things, we become trapped. We must continue to work to pay our bills. But there is another way to live.
The famous investor and author of You Can Be a Stock Market Genius, Joel Greenblatt, put it best:
“While many people believe that “time is money,” it is probably more universal to say that “money is time,” because time is the currency of everyone’s life. When it is depleted, the game is over. One of the most significant advantages of having money is the ability to pursue great accomplishments that necessitate the gifts of being and time.”
Many people want to earn more money because they want to trade it for more time, not for a nicer car, a more luxurious vacation, or a bigger house.
How to Purchase Time
While everyone fantasizes about waking up with a million dollars, the reality is that money is earned gradually. It’s a gradual process. You can accumulate more money as you go through life, and if you play your cards right, you can use that money to work less. More money also means you’ll be able to refuse work you don’t want to do.
Here are a few tips for buying back your time.
- Spend your money wisely—every dollar you spend means less financial freedom. Keep that in the back of your mind at all times. However, don’t become so frugal that your life becomes a punishment.
- Increase your earning capacity more valuable your skills are, the more likely you are to earn more money. Investing in your skills and personal development is a money-making opportunity.
- Invest in assets—As asset prices rise, you will profit. By sitting and waiting, you increase your wealth.
All of this takes time to pay off. That means you won’t be able to buy back all your time tomorrow. It’s also not required.
Remember Your Origins
What good is it for many people to fantasize about the day they will be able to retire? We aren’t built to sit around and do nothing. Remember your origins. Our forefathers evolved to hunt, gather, care for one another, and, ultimately, to survive.
If you eliminate all of that activity, you are going against your nature. Retirement is a modern world concept. I haven’t found any evidence that our forefathers retired at a specific age. Hunting was, indeed, a young person’s game. However, the elders possessed all the knowledge and wisdom. We couldn’t survive without our elderly.
More money is beneficial—but not at all costs.
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ll know I’m a big fan of Stoicism and Mindfulness. I’m a big fan of those philosophies because they teach self-sufficiency. You should never cling to anything, especially money. That’s why I always bring it up when I talk about money. It’s important to keep things in perspective. Some people find it difficult to reconcile the pursuit of wealth with the pursuit of inner peace; however, I’ve discovered that you can do both.
I balance wealth and inner peace by being willing to part with my wealth at any time. While I appreciate having enough financial security to work for myself without worrying about my future, I’m not afraid to let go of everything.
I regularly reflect on loss and what it’s like to start over. Having money is advantageous because it allows you to buy time. But, as long as you keep your sanity, losing your money isn’t the end of the world.
