Time is Money

August 29, 2021

Tomorrow is the first day at my new job. I am very excited about what the future will bring at my new company. For the first time in over a year, the uncertainty and indecision are gone and my course is clear. I can finally concentrate on doing my job, instead of wondering if I still have a job or what kind of job I will get. Even though I knew in my heart I would do well in my transition, going through the process was unsettling. I’m sure glad that is over with.

Days for Dollars

For just over 40 years, I have been trading my time for money. Before that, I mowed lawns and threw paper routes. The first 20 of those career years, I traded a lot of time for very little money. If you are just starting out in your career, please don’t make that mistake. Choose a path that pays well and demand a fair wage for your time. The last 20 years I did pretty well and I killed it the past couple years, through the career transition. It’s crazy to think that it took half of my career to earn a decent income, but that’s how it unfolded.

I’m eternally grateful for the breaks I’ve gotten recently, but it still makes me wonder if I could have managed my career better. I wonder how my life would have changed if I had pushed harder at the beginning and got my degree sooner. I wonder how well I would have done if I had started my own business, instead of working for a salary. I wonder if I should have climbed further up the corporate ladder, instead of settling for a career in middle-management. I’m mostly satisfied with what I’ve accomplished so far and I look forward to more adventures in the workplace, before I retire. More money would have been nice, especially at the beginning of my career, but not at the expense of my precious time. Time spent with family and time spent enjoying your life are both priceless.

Life Energy Cost

I was talking to a friend of mine a couple of weeks ago and we were discussing the prices of pickup trucks. Both of us have older trucks and would love to buy new ones, but pickup trucks are really expensive right now. I told him I could live for an entire year on what it would cost to buy a new pickup truck. He has a 1 ton truck, so it would cost him even more. We both laughed and said, “It looks like we’ll be driving our old trucks for a while longer.”

One of the great books I have read is “Your Money or Your Life”, by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. The main theme of the book is you should first consider the “Life Energy Cost” of every purchase to decide if it’s worth it. Both authors were able to retire early, by avoiding costly purchases that would take years of income to repay. They even have a Life Energy formula in the book that shows how many months of work it will take to pay back any purchase. They also have an online calculator on their website, in case you want to try it out.

Life Energy Calculator | Your Money or Your Life

Disclosure: I’m not an affiliate for the book or the link above.

The Bottom Line

Trading time for money is a necessary evil for most of us. We aren’t all born with the same amount of time nor the same amount of money. Manage each wisely and you may be blessed with an abundance of both.