We all know that money can’t buy happiness.
If you’re unhappy before you make a lot of money then extra cash isn’t going to suddenly change your outlook on life.
I have written in the past about people who win the Lotto and the fact that many of them end up losing their fortune.
They’re not used to being financially responsible and they think that coming into a large amount of money means never having to think about it again.
Which, of course, isn’t true.
The more money you have, the more responsible and cautious you need to be with it.
It’s hard work being financially responsible and some Lotto winners even said that the money made them miserable!
It’s not hard to imagine, is it?
So we know that money can’t buy happiness.
But what can money buy?
Well, something much more valuable: time.
Your time!
A recent study published in the US medical journal PNAS found that people who buy time by paying someone to complete household tasks are more satisfied with life.
This was just as true for middle-class earners as it was for high-net-worth individuals.
Here is why you should start using your money to buy time, or investing in time capital, as it’s known:
1. You’ll stress less
When you’re time-poor, it’s easy to feel stressed about your long to-do list.
Insomnia is a big problem these days and I bet that most insomniacs have too much stuff to do rather than too little.
Rather than using your money to buy things that will comfort you only for a short period, you can buy your own time back by outsourcing as much work as you can.
Even if it means you’re able to claw back just an hour or two a day by paying someone to run your errands, it will be worth it because you’ll be less stressed as a result.
2. You will have fewer regrets
John Lennon once famously said that ‘life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.
How true.
The thing is: you need to make sure your life isn’t all about making other plans, that there is time to reflect and enjoy a life you’re passionate about.
If you work really hard to earn lots of money and then you never have time to enjoy that money then what is the point?
You don’t want to regret working so hard that you never had time to enjoy whatever it was you were working so hard for.
So what should you do? Keep working hard and doing what you love, but buy extra time by outsourcing any chores that take up your downtime.
3. You’ll appreciate time
Most of us waste time.
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It’s only human.
We get distracted or lazy, or we remain indecisive about what to do and so we do nothing.
We vow to go for a run on the weekend, but we end up stuck to the couch, telling ourselves we’ll go tomorrow until tomorrow becomes next week.
But when we buy time, we’re less likely to waste it.
We know how valuable (and expensive) it is and so we make the most of that hour or two we have to ourselves or with our loved ones.
It ends up being time well spent.
4. You’ll have more energy
Caffeine is the drug of choice for most of us each morning, but there is a better way to get energy.
And that’s by doing nothing.
If you don’t ever get a chance to switch off and zone out, to refuel the tank, then you will crash and burn.
Your time away from work is just as important as your time at work.
People think they’re two very different worlds, but far from it.
They both influence each other.
In order to be successful, I’m talking long-term sustained success, you’re going to need some precious time to recharge.
5. You won’t resent obligations
We’re all being pulled in a million different ways these days.
There are so many demands on our time, from work to family to social obligations.
But if you buy yourself some time, to do whatever you like, then the various obligations won’t seem like chores.
You’ll be more readily available to others because you made sure, first and foremost, that you were available to yourself.
Time isn’t valued enough in our society.
Most people are working hard for money’s sake alone, even though we know that it won’t make us happy without a well-balanced life within which to ground it.
No one asks each other if they’re getting enough time or if they have bought any great time lately.
Can you imagine that?
We need to start prioritising time, and if the only way we can get more of it is to buy it then that’s what we should be doing.
It’s a worthy investment to make.
