Jan

25

People Care About Money More Than They Think

January 25, 2007 |

I have heard way too many times people say “money is not important to me”, or “my time is more valuable than any money I may earn”. I have heard people say other similar comments in a very dignified way, almost implying that they are above the “money issue”, even when they are not rich.

Most of these people, like most including me, work five days a week. These people use the majority of their usable time for earning money. Hopefully the amount of time spent on such activity is aligned with their priorities. If it isn’t, it may be time for some thinking.

Granted, pure survival is one of the reasons people work. People need money to buy food, shelter, and clothing for themselves and their families. People also want to cover very noble expenses like education and health. These are extremely important items in everyone’s list of needs and they should certainly take top priority. It is one of the main reasons people work to earn money.

There is also the issue of luxury and entertainment – something that we all enjoy and enjoy spending money on it. Luxury and entertainment, which goes beyond basic needs, is where we have control. Here is where we can set other priorities and analyze if we want to work so hard to attain them or if we would rather spend our time in other things that may be more important to us: like being with family, taking a road trip, or volunteering for good causes. To do more of those other things we first would have to either reduce expenses, or increase the income per unit of work (per hour/day). Promotions and salary increases do wonders for this, as do investments that produce steady flows of cash (interest/dividends).

It is perfectly fine to say that you want to spend time on things you really enjoy or find important at the expense of earning more money. This is precisely what retirees have done – voluntarily renouncing to a salary to enjoy life. It is also what stay-at-home parents have done. It is certainly something I am working hard to achieve in my life, financial independence. But the reality is that to accomplish it full time independence (get those 50 hours of your life back), you need to make a lot of money first, or have someone in your family that can supply it (like the stay-at-home parent’s spouse). For most working people there are options to achieve at least a portion of this. Working less hours may be an option, as is taking extra unpaid vacation.

For people that prefer not to reduce their standard of living, nor are in a position to increase their earnings per unit of work while reducing the number of hours worked, maybe money is a really important aspect of their lives: more so that some people recognize. People should not be afraid of accepting the fact that maintaining their current lifestyle is a very important thing, and to do so money becomes an equally important thing.

Usable Time Calculation: A week has 168 hours. 56 spent on sleeping, 21 on eating, and 7 on grooming. That is 84 hours down the drain that are not usable. Out of the remaining 84 hours, people spend around 50 hours earning money (between working and commute). This leaves 34 hours for the upkeep of the house, shopping, errands, and entertainment.


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