I was thinking about money the other day.
To explain: I currently work as an interim human resources project manager, taking on a series of short-term contracts. I just started a new nine-month contract, which is quite a long-term deal for me, a longer commitment than I ideally like. But as anyone who works freelance knows, there’s a sense of worrying that the work will dry up.
So I started thinking about how long I really need to work each year to support myself. I took this nine-month contract as a baseline and started playing around with some calculations.
And I had one of those eureka moments.
They say time is money, so I started thinking about what I buy in terms not of how much it costs in money, but how much it costs in my life passing by.
How long do I have to work to “earn” that book, that pizza, the groceries, that weekend trip?
I started a spreadsheet to record my purchases in time as well as money; it was a revelation. It really helped me distinguish between what is of real (non-monetary) value and what’s just a passing fancy.
It makes frugality more attractive because by being less impulsive in my spending, I’m putting time into my piggy bank. And that can’t be taken away by a recession.
What do you invest your time in?
Image by kekremsi
Elsewhere:
Sally Lever has a great post called Frugality for the Terrified – click here to read it.
And if you’re interested in the mechanics of counting time, here’s what I did:
I took as a starting point that I don’t want to work at a conventional job for more than nine months in a year. (Actually I don’t want to work at a conventional job at all, and I hope this will be the last one, but that’s another story!)
So I took my gross earnings for this nine month period and deducted a rough sum for tax.
Then I divided this net amount by nine to get a monthly amount, multiplied that by 12 to get net annual earnings. I divided the annual sum by both 52 to get weekly earnings and then that by 35 to get net hourly earnings.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh Tess, I think this is genius. I’ve thought about money this way, BUT it never occurred to me to make a chart and actually record purchases in time as well as money! I think I’ll do that as well and then add a column for a month from the purchase saying good or bad purchase. I’m already working on how to be a conscious consumer. This is a wonderful addition to that. Thank you! (Now I’m gonna go blog about you. )
ah – so much resonance on this one Tess
since being retrenched 18 months ago, I have yet to get back to the same income levels I was on, so these time/money issues have had to be addressed as a matter of survival
it’s also been a lesson in how much is enough
i haven’t formally done a spreadsheet, but do a mental calculation when considering purchases – how much time do I have to ‘lose’ to ‘gain’ that much money, and it really helps clarify some decisions!
Oh, Tess, you remind me of the book Your Money or Your Life, http://tinyurl.com/yfot3ko, which talks pretty much about what you are considering right now.
I remember being struck by all that a job involves: like clothes, transport… and how to get to the point where one does not need to work any more…
You are on a fascinating track. I believe you are the one who introduced me to Sally Lever…
I like where you are going — and I’m right behind you (hoping not to be presumptuous, here).
Fantastic post! Thank you!
Your math at the end is a little over my head, as I haven’t had my coffee yet this morning, but I just had to jump in and comment about your eureka moment – I had the same thing not too long ago, and it was quite eye-opening.
I too am a freelancer, so I relate entirely to what you say here. I would so much rather have several projects (and the instability that comes with that) than one full-time job. I would rather have time than money, freedom than security.
Another great book about money that I have is called The Energy of Money, by Maria Nemeth.
Such a splendid idea you came up with.
@Em, thank you, and I love the review column for good/bad purchase. Leo Babauta of Zen Habits advises that when we are thinking of buying something inessential, put it on a list or in the diary or something 30 days ahead, and if you still want it then, go ahead and buy it.
@kel, yes, it’s that clarification of decisions. I doubt I’ll keep the spreadsheet up forever, it’s just an interesting initial evaluation.
@claire, thank you. Strangely enough, someone else recommended that book to me just the other day – it may even have been Sally, now I come to think of it.
@Polli, sorry to make your head hurt pre-coffee! Yes, that’s exactly how I feel. Ooh goodie, another book recommendation. I reckon about 90% of my reading material now comes from online community recommendations. Except for the True Blood novels by Charlaine Harris, my current guilty pleasure!
@Neva, thank you, and welcome to my blog. Just popped over to your poetry blog, you have some lovely words there.
By the time I get around to buying stuff, I am LOOOOOOOng overdue — except for books. Since I am no longer among the employed, I cannot quite apply your calculation to my purchases. I just let my chequing account be my guide.
However, this post made me think of my year or so in Japan when I earned about one-fourth of my Canadian salary and was living in a country that was far more expensive. I lived in a one room apartment without central heating, no tv, a bar-sized fridge and a hotplate. Yet it was enough. It is surprising how little we actually need.
Much enjoyed the quiet humor of this romp through the statistical economy of your sweet existence. Go for it!
Great post Tess. For a long time now I’ve tried to talk about INVESTING time – not spending it, not managing it, not making it!
Oh, and I love the frog. Is it your creation?
@Barbara, I’m sure that’s right, there’s a fear of needing more, of hoarding. I’m prone to it myself. But books…
@kigen, you know me, I’m all for a bit of quiet humor. Even spelled the way of the new country!
@Les, yes you’re right, investing time is right. I wish we could ‘make’ time, but we just can’t. No, the wee frog is the creation of the photographer. I meant to mention that actually. If you click the photo it will take you to Flickr then to the photostream of kekremsi, who does all kinds of amazing little paper animals. Real artistry in miniature.
Tess, “sweet existence” celebrates your enlightened being — that new or unknown country in another sense.
Tess – nice post. Eureka – aha moments – are wonderful in their discovery; thoughts from negative to positive, from fear to love, from fantasy to practicality – once the aha moment has landed – for me anyway, I sometimes wonder why it took me so long to reach it! Working 5 months with a life coach this year I have reached so many aha moments as to feel a continuing euphoria in my life. Amazing how an individual can lead one to see what might seem so obvious once discovered yet so hidden when we’re trying to open ourselves to an issue!
Hmmm, SS, are you talking about Tonya? I have an exploratory call scheduled for the 30th…
Yes! Oh, yay for 9/30 – enjoy:)