Friday, June 12, 2009
Category:
Personal Finance Tips
We all get 1440 free minutes every day. What do you spend your free minutes on? Most of us work for one-third of that time; we spend another couple of hours thinking about work, money and how to snag that promotion. The rest of the time we spend dreaming about how to make more money.
So which is more worthwhile? Time or money? How do we find the golden mean and are both commodities equally important?
Time is a commodity
You’ll never relive this moment; you can only ever think back to it. Is this what you had in mind for yourself when you were younger? Time is a scarce resource, especially when you have a demanding job, small children or are enjoying yourself.
Money
People who have too much time would rather have less available time and more money. And often we do jobs around the house that we could rather outsource to someone else. Getting someone else to do the job allows us to have more time when we really need it.
The conundrum
We need time to earn the money to enjoy ourselves during our free time. Few of us know how much time to devote to activities such as our jobs and intellectual pastimes. Some struggle to get away from work on time and others struggle to stop watching the clock. We think that we need more money, when we really need more time to spend on the things that matter to us. Especially relationships.
The solution
The motto 'Work smarter, not harder' is a great one. Follow this motto and you’ll live a comfortable live with the minimum exertion. It’ll mean finding out how to make the most money in the least amount of time and with the least amount of effort.
This could be working as a freelancer, having flexible working arrangements, being self-employed, or investing in stocks. Know how much you need now as well as during retirement. That amount will determine how much you need to work.
If you can make more money by doing something yourself, do so. But if it’ll be cheaper to get someone to do it for you, find that person and go enjoy a well-deserved break.
