When I was younger, in my early 20’s, I read a short article online that really impacted the way I viewed life. The premise of the article is simple: life is a time vs money trade-off. Either you exchange time for money or you exchange money for time. When you are younger, you get paid to work. You exchange your time for money. And when you get old, you spend your money on your health, your travels, your hobbies, things you did not have time to take care of when younger. You exchange your money for time.
I took it one step further. If you can exchange your money for time, you don’t have till you get old to do that. Because I value my youth, I’d rather get that time now. Time is one of those things you can never get back. Time is precious, and I’m willing to pay for it. This leads me to one rule of thumb when it comes to spending money: if it gets me my time back, I do it.
Nothing else really matters.
Richard Anderson 