- If
Time is Money, Then Money is Time, Too!
- BY TAWRA KELLAM
When people
ask me about getting out of debt, they often ask "Doesn’t
it take quite a bit more time to be frugal?" Of course,
doing work yourself does mean you spend more time doing certain
things, but it also means that you will spend a lot less time
and money working to pay someone else to do it. Many people work
more hours to pay someone else to do a job than it would take
them to do it themselves. Of course, if you make a million dollars
a year and have no manual dexterity, this article is not for
you.
Here are some
examples based on my own experience with a family of 4. Because
your household income is probably not the same as mine, some
things that make sense for me will not make sense for you. I
suggest that you read my examples and consider your actual costs.
Example
#1: Buying clothes - One great way to save on clothes is to go
to garage sales. This seems very time consuming to many people,
but it really isn’t. In the summer, I usually spend 3-4
hours every 2 weeks going to garage sales. That may seem like
a lot, but if you compare that to how much time the average person
spends shopping at the mall, it really isn’t any longer.
Example
#2: Meals
- I usually average an hour and a half each day preparing and
cleaning up from meals. Compare that to going out to eat: It
takes the typical person 20 minutes to drive to the restaurant
and 20 minutes to return home. That is 40 minutes. Then you spend
15-20 minutes ordering and waiting for your order. You are now
up to one hour. If you plan an hour for eating, you are up to
two hours total. Don’t forget the 2-3 hours you had to work
to pay for it! This assumes an income of $30,000 per year and
a $40 family meal.
If you go to
fast food restaurants instead, you could cut your time down to
40-50 minutes and 1-2 hours working to pay for it.
If you stay
home and cook, it will cost you 15-30 minutes preparing the meal
and less than $5 paying for it. I’m not saying that you
should never eat out but, that if you do it regularly, it will
cost you a lot more (in time and money). Is it really worth it?
Example
#3: Buying a car
- If you buy a new car with $500 a month payments for 5 years,
you pay $30,000. Let’s say you earn $30,000 per year at
your job. If you assume 25% income tax, you must earn $40,000
to pay for your $30,000 car. This means that you have to work
1 year and 4 months for no other reason but to pay for that car.
Is it really worth working over one year just to pay for a new
car? If you decided to buy a $7500 car instead, you could afford
to take a vacation from work for a year. Haven’t you been
saying you need more free time? If you didn’t get that,
get out your calculator and do the math. This is important.
Always consider
the hidden costs, too. Would you feel more inclined to buy a
security system for that $30,000 car? How much will that cost?
Are the parts more expensive for the $30,000 car when it breaks
down? Trust me, your new car will still break down almost as
much as a used car. Ask my brother...
Be very careful
when you start saying things like "Doesn’t it take
too much time to be frugal?" or "I can’t seem
to find time to be with my husband or children" or "I
don’t know where to start saving." Often, those are
excuses that you have created to ease your guilt. If you think
about it and do the math, living simply 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 have read this far then you get and A+
for taking the first step and trying!
© Copyright
2002 Tawra Kellam
_______________________________________
Author:
Tawra Kellam
is the author of the frugal cookbook Not Just Beans: 50 Years
of Frugal Family Favorites and her new booklet Pretty for Pennies.
Please visit www.notjustbeans.com for free recipes and tips! |
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