Why Time Is More Valuable Than Money

Time is the most valuable resource we have. It’s the one thing we always wish we had more of.

On our deathbeds, we won’t be wishing we had more money; we’ll be wishing we had more time. To spend with the ones we love the most, and to cherish the precious memories that the gift of life brings.

The beauty of time is that it can bring an infinite amount of possibilities; money, on the other hand, can only buy superficialities. And the ‘happiness’ that comes from those is usually temporary.

But time — time allows us to capture some life’s most precious moments. Memories that can last a lifetime.

So why, knowing this well in our hearts, do we still chase after money to attain happiness?

There’s no discounting that money is important in life. Of course, we all want to live comfortably, have a good support base for our kids, and ensure we have stable financial futures. No one is disputing that.

But money is just one piece of the puzzle.

True happiness, I believe, can only be achieved once we adopt the mindset that time is more valuable than money.

We may feel pressured from culture and society to say that money is more important, but think about it — is it really?

After all, money can’t buy everything — if you were the richest person on earth, but had no friends, you wouldn’t be happy.

Valuing your time more than your money, therefore, is the key to true happiness.

Think about all the things you could do by prioritizing your time. Yes, money may play into what you do with that time, however it is time that is the dictating factor here — without it, you can’t pursue those things. Period.

If you were working 120-hour weeks, with absolutely zero free time, but earning over $500,000, would you really be happy?

You’d have no time to spend in your fancy mansion, no time to drive your fancy car, or enjoy any of the other luxuries you splurge on.

Because those are just things. But having more time opens up the doors to enjoy experiences. And there’s a big difference between the two.

Even the smallest of changes in your time can make a difference. For example, aren’t you always much happier, and generally in a better mood, when your commute is, say, 15 minutes, as opposed to 1 hour?

On a micro level, it’s merely a 45-minute difference out of a 24-hour day. But on a macro level, that little chunk of time freed up has a tremendous domino effect in how we go about our days.

So, taking that into consideration, would you rather have a slightly more expensive apartment with a short commute, or a less expensive apartment with a long commute? Provided that the difference in rent is marginal, I’m sure most of us would prefer the first option.

Oh, and this isn’t just a hunch — it’s backed by science. A series of studies done earlier this year by researchers from UBC with over 4600 participants concluded that valuing time more than pursuing money is linked with greater happiness.

It’s this mindset that is the reason why the on-demand economy has taken off.

What do apps like Instacart, Postmates, and Car2Go all have in common?

Simple: they save us time.

For a cost, of course. But that’s my point exactly — the sole reason that the users of these on-demand services value these apps so much is that they save them valuable time, in exchange for a marginal cost — relatively speaking.

The couple of bucks you spend on grocery delivery when it’s pouring rain outside are worth much more than the hour you’d spend commuting to and from the grocery store, and shopping through the aisles yourself.

If you’re in a rush to get somewhere, or simply don’t want to allocate so much time simply getting from point A to point B, then of course — you’d book a Car2Go and just drive there yourself, to save you 45 minutes on a crowded bus — when you’re already late to where you have to be.

So that’s the golden key; go launch an app that saves people time, for a marginal cost, and you’ve got the next billion-dollar idea. Maybe.

But don’t waste too much time chasing that cheque— there’s much more to life.