It's a tough choice....money or time?  You have to spend one or the other and there never seems to be enough of either one.  But it sure seems people spend their time a lot more wastefully than they spend their money.  In today's economy, which is actually really good for us, it seems we continue to waste time.  Somehow it seems "free", when nothing is farther from the truth.  Now more than ever we should always choose to spend a little money to save a lot of time, unless of course, our time has no value.  I know one thing for sure; anyone who takes their valuable time to stop and read this knows the value of their time.

So why is choosing between time and money so hard?  Mostly because we don't put specific value on our time.  Think about it. Everyday we're faced with questions like, "Should I hire someone to do xyz or just do it myself?"  First of all, use a quick method of calculating your time.  Don't get hung up on being exact here...it's not worth your time!  I like this simple method...Take your annual income from working (not investment income), divide it by 2000, and then divide in half.  The 2000 reflects the number of hours in a year for your average professional, (50 weeks at 40 hours each week), assuming 10 holidays/vacation days throughout the year, and then divide that by half because of taxes, medicare, social security, and then tack on a little bit of a premium (and mostly because dividing by half is easy). So, if you make $70,000 a year, the value of an hour of your time is worth $17.50 after taxes.

Now of course, you have to factor in that the value of your time isn't a strict calculation because not all hours are created equally and not all decisions are made strictly on dollar amounts.  An hour on my sailboat is worth far more than an hour sitting at home watching television, but you have to start somewhere.  So, let's say the value of an hour for you is $17.50. Now you have a measuring tool.  But wait there's more. 

There are three important factors you need to be aware of...well, actually there are four.  The first and most important one is that you will lie to yourself.  You know you will.  So at least consider that when you're doing the "math".  Two, we surround ourselves with people who spend money like we do.  Yep, adult peer pressure.  We also have old tapes that play in our head (all the way back to childhood) about what we learned about spending money and time.  Try to rely on what you think...not on what someone else thinks.  Three, know that when we embark on a project, we assume it will turn out favorably no matter how hard it might be or how long it might take.  This, of course, is generally only true if you initiate the project.  Think about it...you'll admit it's true.  The result of this is we tend to waste a lot of time and energy trying to do something ourselves rather than making the most logical decision.

The fourth factor is we believe we have more time than we do.  For some reason, we know how much money we have, but we irrationally think we have more time than we do.  As a 'currency" we take more risk with time than we do with money.  Again, it's because for the most part we refuse to put a value on our time and spend it like we would cash. 

So what to do?  Actually it's simple. Always over value your time and you'll spend less of it!  Look for ways to save time (and be willing to pay for them) just like you would look for ways to save money.  Concentrate on tasks with a value greater than the calculated value of your time.  Really believe in the age old statement, "It's not worth my time," and you'll be on the right track to knowing what is worth your time!