Author Topic: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money  (Read 8769 times)

ReadySetMillionaire

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A common thread through both the articles and posts here is that of the Compound Effect (book here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159315724X?keywords=the%20compound%20effect&qid=1445367773&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1), which basically holds that everyday decisions, when compounded over time, can add up to significant changes.  MMM has wrote about this on a variety of things--cheaper car payment = more can be invested; brew your own coffee = $10/week x 52 weeks x 8% return for 20 years of investments = tons of money; public schools vs. private schools = huge amounts of money for the schooling years of kids.

And I generally agree with that compound principle--but only for the "big ticket" items (car, house, public school, etc.). As for the small stuff?

I think the compound effect of time is significantly more important than the compound effect of money, and I think that gets lost in the way of this community's emphasis on frugality.

For an example, I saw a thread on here once about making your own "minute rice." Basically it went something like this: get a 2 lb. bag of brown rice, a couple bouillon cubes, seasonings, etc.; make the rice, wrap it in saran wrap, let it cool, freeze it, and boom--you have minute rice. And that would save me about $2/pound of rice. And if you eat a lot of rice (which I do), then that's a lot of money over a lifetime.

So I tried this for two weekends and it probably took about 45 minutes each weekend. Honestly, that's not worth $2.00. I would rather be doing so many other things during that time, and maybe even doing some work related to starting my own law firm by next summer (i.e., doing something productive that would lead to a potential increase in income, which is far more likely to lead me to financial independence than saving $2 at the grocery store).

And I think a lot of posters on here could use the reminder that time saved can be more important than money saved.

Our ultimate collective goal, as I see it, is to become financially independent. But when people are willing to spend hours doing something to save a couple dollars, they are a slave to money in the same way that a person in credit card debt is (i.e., it stresses them out/they think too much about it). That's not ideal when trying to become financially independent.

So the point of this post is to just remind people to not only consider the compound effect of money, but also consider the compound effect of time. Some things that cost a fraction more are simply worth the expense so you can do other things that will lead you to (a) spending more time with loved ones and (b) potentially using that time to achieve financial independence sooner.
« Last Edit: October 20, 2015, 01:34:53 PM by ReadySetMillionaire »

ShortInSeattle

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I like your line of thinking!

I will offer one counterpoint. Many of the frugal actions that I've rejected in the past for being a "waste of my time" are actually not a waste of my time. I hated cooking because it took too long but when I started cooking I found it far faster and tastier than a restaurant meal. I rejected line-drying clothes as tightwad lunacy but found that draping my clothes on a drying rack takes less than five minutes and keeps my clothes looking better longer. Also they dry flat and are easier to fold!

So in general, yes, I find it worthwhile to chase the dollars and not the pennies. But I've also found that sometimes the "frugal stuff" is far easier and far better than old-me gave it credit for. And not always for just the monetary reasons.

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Another application of this thinking is to recognize the value of time when it comes to investing. The sooner you set aside some money for the future, the bigger it will grow by the time you need it. The more time you have, the fewer dollars you will have to invest to hit FI. So many people want to kill all the debt (including mortgage) first. They do not understand that the later they wait to save and invest, the more it's going to cost them. Yeah, pay off the stupid CC debt as fast as you can, but don't forget to fund your future as early as possible.

I believe the great ARS is happily FIRE and still carries a small amount of low-interest student loans on the books. Very.Smart.Guy.

Tyson

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I think it's a good point from the OP - we are here to maximize happiness, and frugality is a means FI which buys us freedom from a job. 

For stuff like rice prep I always look at it as an investment.  I invest boring time to do the prep on one day where I have a lot of time (say, Sunday) and then I get the ability to waste very little time making food on all the other days of the week.  That's my compound payoff in terms of time. 

AlwaysLearningToSave

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And I think a lot of posters on here could use the reminder that time saved can be more important than money saved.

The key word here being "can."  It is not smart to be penny-wise but dollar-foolish.

If the trade-off truly is time spent saving versus productive time with a greater rate of return, then it is clearly appropriate to take the option with the better rate of return.  But if the trade-off is more like accurately time spent saving some money versus otherwise unproductive time, you are better off doing the money-saving activity. 

The danger of that line of thinking is that it can be a rationalization for laziness and spendypants behavior.  As ShortInSeattle points out:

. . . sometimes the "frugal stuff" is far easier and far better than old-me gave it credit for. And not always for just the monetary reasons.

As long as you make the decision to spend the extra money with the full awareness that each additional dollar of annual spending requires $25 additional dollars saved (an additional $2 per week requires an additional $5500 saved for FIRE), then there is no problem with making the less-than-completely-frugal choice.  And just because you choose to not save pennies now, doesn't mean you can't save those pennies when you hit FIRE and are no longer working for income.  The breaking point for worthwhile pursuit of frugality will be different for each person and will largely depend on how large the potential savings are in relation to the person's overall spending, keeping in mind that the overall goal is happiness.

mr_orange

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I think the compound effect of time is significantly more important than the compound effect of money, and I think that gets lost in the way of this community's emphasis on frugality.

I have made this same general point across many posts.  People, however, value their time differently.  A lawyer's time or a real estate developer's time are priced  A LOT differently than the time of many others.  Thus the utility of said time in the open market is very different.  Many people have "sub-optimal" results when they invest their limited time in pinching pennies instead of growing their stache by investing in better vehicles or focusing on making more money. 

On one of the threads I started several months ago someone pointed out the "secret mission" of the site/blog was to get people to consume less to save the planet and that is why there is a lot of focus on spending less.  One poster went so far as to call the sole financial independence goal banal.  It is not at all clear that this hidden agenda is implicit in the goals of "optimizing" things on the site.  To me what people should be trying to optimize is their happiness and freedom, which will generally involve some calculated set of tradeoffs among the two.  That is why it is called PERSONAL finance and it can't be simplified to a math problem. 
« Last Edit: October 20, 2015, 03:54:07 PM by mr_orange »

Tyson

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I think the compound effect of time is significantly more important than the compound effect of money, and I think that gets lost in the way of this community's emphasis on frugality.

I have made this same general point across many posts.  People, however, value their time differently.  A lawyer's time or a real estate developer's time are priced  A LOT differently than the time of many others.  Thus the utility of said time in the open market is very different.  Many people have "sub-optimal" results when they invest their limited time in pinching pennies instead of growing their stache by investing in better vehicles or focusing on making more money. 

On one of the threads I started several months ago someone pointed out the "secret mission" of the site/blog was to get people to consume less to save the planet and that is why there is a lot of focus on spending less.  One poster went so far as to call the sole financial independence goal banal.  It is not at all clear that this hidden agenda is implicit in the goals of "optimizing" things on the site.  To me what people should be trying to optimize is their happiness and freedom, which will generally involve some calculated set of tradeoffs among the two.  That is why it is called PERSONAL finance and it can't be simplified to a math problem.

Very true.  Putting time toward whatever gives greatest return is the best means to FI.  If you are a high earner or have the potential to become a high earner, then more money is more money and should be pursued.  For me, the revelation of MMM was that frugality is it's own form of investment.  The flip-side of the coin, if you will, and something I'd never really thought about.  I make a fair bit of money but never saved much because I was anti-frugal.  For me, the time invested in learning to be disciplined in my spending has paid off 10 fold. 

mr_orange

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Balance in one's life is key.

The conditions post-FI can be much different than they are pre-FI for most people too.  It is a lot easier to cook on your own and avoid going out to eat if you're not investing that time in doing projects where you are highly compensated for your efforts.  This is not an argument for wastefulness or to summarily dismiss the goal of being frugal.  It is a choice of which activity to focus on and people that are rational self-maximizers will select that which gets them to their goal the quickest.  The goal may or may not be minimizing time spent working.  For many the goal is to trade off time spent working for someone else with happiness today.  And yes....spending more money in many cases WILL make people happier today. 

To me it seems like much of the advice given is save the world advice masquerading as financial advice.  To me if the fundamental arguments can't stand on their own without a hidden agenda they probably are flawed in some fashion.  I'm all for being frugal, but past some point it does reduce happiness in trade for additional independence. 

Posthumane

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There is, of course, a balance to be struck but that balance changes not only from person to person, but to different times in a given person's life. One of the criteria that was put forward many times for evaluating money saving activities is to calculate an hourly rate of pay for that activity and compare it to what you think your free time is worth. Using the example in the OP of 45 minutes to save $2 on rice, that's a pretty meagre $2.66 per hour and probably not worth if if you're doing it ONLY to save money.

There are confounding factors though. One of them is enjoyment. Some people enjoy the time they spend cooking, so even if they didn't save anything they would prefer to cook their own food instead of buying pre-made items or eating out. Another example that comes up often for me is car work. While I may not save much money doing my own oil change over taking it to a discount oil change, I generally enjoy getting under my car and having a look at everything much more than I do drinking shitty coffee in a Jiffy-Lube waiting room.

Another complication is knowing how much your time is actually worth at any given moment. Sure, I may get paid $30/hour at my regular job, but that doesn't mean I can make $30/hr with the time that I save not doing some chore. The amount my time is actually worth changes by the hour depending on how much of it I have available to do what I want. If I were unemployed and had no commitments during the day I would be much more willing to spend time doing banal chores than if I were working 12 hr days and only had a short period in the evening to myself.

A third factor that's already been mentioned is that some things don't take up as much time as you think and may actually save you time. For example, I recently needed a tool and decided to make it out of some scrap material I had laying around, which took me about an hour. A family member laughed at that since an equivalent tool would probably cost me less than $10 at a hardware store, so to them I was clearly undervaluing my time. However, the nearest store where I could buy said tool was a 20 min drive away, which makes it close to an hour round trip so it wouldn't actually save me any time at all to buy it.

Dulcimina

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For an example, I saw a thread on here once about making your own "minute rice." Basically it went something like this: get a 2 lb. bag of brown rice, a couple bouillon cubes, seasonings, etc.; make the rice, wrap it in saran wrap, let it cool, freeze it, and boom--you have minute rice. And that would save me about $2/pound of rice. And if you eat a lot of rice (which I do), then that's a lot of money over a lifetime.

So I tried this for two weekends and it probably took about 45 minutes each weekend. Honestly, that's not worth $2.00. I would rather be doing so many other things during that time, and maybe even doing some work related to starting my own law firm by next summer (i.e., doing something productive that would lead to a potential increase in income, which is far more likely to lead me to financial independence than saving $2 at the grocery store).
I agree with you in principle, but not with the example that you used.  You aren't wasting the entire 45 mins watching rice boil, are you? You get the rice started (5-10) mins and depending on whether you are using a rice cooker vs stovetop vs. oven, set a timer and come back to turn the heat off. Ten mins more to portion out the cooled rice. 

During the down time within those 45 mins,  you could get two loads of laundry going; roast a pumpkin, eggplant or a chicken to go with the rice; cook some beans in the pressure cooker; clean the bathroom; send emails to someone you've been meaning to network with about starting your own law firm, check your account balances, read an article/listen to a podcast in your field, do some push ups, give yourself a mani-pedi.

So really, the only two things I disagree with personally about your post are 1) inefficiency and 2) treating every hour of  existence as though it was billable. My question to you is this - now that you aren't using that hour for making rice, have you actually used that time to start your firm?

aschmidt2930

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #10 on: October 20, 2015, 05:15:08 PM »
You certainly make some valid points.  In terms of your rice example, I'd say a majority of people will see a bigger boost to their bottom line by investing that time into their skill set/profession and thus increasing earnings.  If you're already ER'ed, different story.

robartsd

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #11 on: October 20, 2015, 05:26:11 PM »
While I agree with the OP's observation that sometimes people focus so much on pinching the pennies that they end up grossly undervaluing their time, usually in food related matters I see the time invested purchasing more quality/control in what I eat (in addition to the modest financial savings).

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #12 on: October 20, 2015, 06:02:55 PM »
I think, though, that there comes a point when investing more time in your job becomes counterproductive. At that point, why not save a few bucks with a little cross-training?

No one can do all of the things, so pick a few money-saving habits. I hate line-drying clothes, so I just use my dryer. I enjoy mending, though, so I don't throw away pants until they are completely irreparable. I enjoy making yogurt (even if it's just like, buy a carton, use the end to make a new quart, buy another carton, I still save money) but do not like making sandwich bread. Lots of options.

mr_orange

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #13 on: October 20, 2015, 06:03:09 PM »
There are some good points above.  The one thing I wanted to point out is that some people run small businesses and they literally could spend every waking hour working if they wanted to.  Hence my post about finding a nice balance in one's life.  So the idea that the bill rate of your time changes every hour of the day is true for a subset of people, but not everyone. 

The bottom line to me is that everyone's situation is different and force-feeding people with a steady diet of cutting their spending past the bone is not optimal in many situations whether you're measuring time to FI or happiness. 

Tyson

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #14 on: October 20, 2015, 06:42:06 PM »
I think you spend time dialing up income as much as possible, and also reducing costs as much as possible.  It's a double edged sword.  Or, maybe more accurately a pair of scissors.  The thing is, I already knew how to dial up income before I came here.  I'm a high earner (although not nearly has high as you), so one side of my scissors was sharp.  But I was also a big spender and thus the other side of my scissor was dull.  I think a lot of people are in this same boat. 

I rather like the challenge of being ruthless about cutting my spending.  Honestly, I'd rather do it now (while I have a high paying job) and can do it more or less at my leisure, as opposed to some time in the future when I might not have a high paying job and would be forced to do similar cuts but in a much less pleasant situation.  Plus it's very gratifying to know that I can live happily while spending very little.  That in and of itself is powerful.  And its something I would never, ever, ever have figured out on my own - I would have just kept escalating my lifestyle to match my income, for forever.  Being able to break that cycle is pretty cool.

mr_orange

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #15 on: October 20, 2015, 06:46:16 PM »
Agreed....as long as you do so in line with what makes you happy and are making informed decisions about what to spend your money on.  I am trying to cut my spending too and have a far easier time making more money than cutting spending.  I'm a novice at the latter activity though and any time invested in this is time I can't invest making more.  So balance is necessary given my circumstances.  I'm sure many others have this same struggle. 

Shane

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #16 on: October 20, 2015, 08:20:32 PM »
As with everything else, moderation is key.

Trying to be so frugal that it makes you miserable obviously isn't optimizing your happiness. If you don't like making minute rice, don't do it. Your time is your time, and you should spend it in ways that maximize your happiness, always with an eye towards your future goals, whatever they may be.

I don't see the whole hidden agenda of frugality as a means of saving the planet. As far as I'm concerned, there are many benefits to being frugal that may also help the planet, but it helps the frugal person as well. Does anyone not want to save the planet if he can do so by doing things that are beneficial to himself and have very little downside?

Everyone's situation is different. Many posters on this board are much more frugal than I choose to be, but it's a trade off. At their much lower spending levels the really frugal people may become FI in a shorter period of time. Each of us has to decide for himself which things are worth doing as DIY projects and which things we'd like to outsource. It's not for MMM or anyone else to decree which things you must do yourself and which things are okay to pay extra to have someone else do for you. 

aceyou

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #17 on: October 20, 2015, 08:26:49 PM »
Very true.  Putting time toward whatever gives greatest return is the best means to FI. If you are a high earner or have the potential to become a high earner, then more money is more money and should be pursued.  For me, the revelation of MMM was that frugality is it's own form of investment.  The flip-side of the coin, if you will, and something I'd never really thought about.  I make a fair bit of money but never saved much because I was anti-frugal.  For me, the time invested in learning to be disciplined in my spending has paid off 10 fold.

This may or may not be true.  I think it would be more accurate to say that Putting time toward whatever gives greatest return is the best means towards increasing net worth.    But that's different than FI, because FI doesn't care about just net worth, but rather whether your net worth is 25 times your spending. 

Take a couple examples:

Person A: (Mr. I'm gonna spend more, but have a higher income)
Income: 105,000
Spending: 60,000
Amount they can invest each year: 45,000
Amount needed for FI: 1,750,000

Person B: (Mr. I'm gonna spend my time reducing spending, but make a less as a result)
Income: 80,000
Spending: 40,000
Amount they can invest each year: 40,000
Amount needed for FI: 1,000,000

Person A used his time savings to save an extra 5,000 every single year through a higher income(thus a greater net worth), but person B will get to FI faster, and quite a bit faster actually.  Basically, becoming better at earning only helps you when you working, but you reap the benefits of reduced spending every year you are alive.

okits

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #18 on: October 20, 2015, 09:22:51 PM »

For an example, I saw a thread on here once about making your own "minute rice." Basically it went something like this: get a 2 lb. bag of brown rice, a couple bouillon cubes, seasonings, etc.; make the rice, wrap it in saran wrap, let it cool, freeze it, and boom--you have minute rice. And that would save me about $2/pound of rice. And if you eat a lot of rice (which I do), then that's a lot of money over a lifetime.

So I tried this for two weekends and it probably took about 45 minutes each weekend. Honestly, that's not worth $2.00. I would rather be doing so many other things during that time, and maybe even doing some work related to starting my own law firm by next summer (i.e., doing something productive that would lead to a potential increase in income, which is far more likely to lead me to financial independence than saving $2 at the grocery store).
I agree with you in principle, but not with the example that you used.  You aren't wasting the entire 45 mins watching rice boil, are you? You get the rice started (5-10) mins and depending on whether you are using a rice cooker vs stovetop vs. oven, set a timer and come back to turn the heat off. Ten mins more to portion out the cooled rice. 

During the down time within those 45 mins,  you could get two loads of laundry going; roast a pumpkin, eggplant or a chicken to go with the rice; cook some beans in the pressure cooker; clean the bathroom; send emails to someone you've been meaning to network with about starting your own law firm, check your account balances, read an article/listen to a podcast in your field, do some push ups, give yourself a mani-pedi.

So really, the only two things I disagree with personally about your post are 1) inefficiency and 2) treating every hour of  existence as though it was billable. My question to you is this - now that you aren't using that hour for making rice, have you actually used that time to start your firm?

Isn't Minute Rice more processed than regular rice (so, less filling and nutritious?)  I thought the real benefit of DIY was getting better quality food, not the $2/lb savings.

Otherwise, OP, I get what you're saying. Look at overall time and effort spent vs. money saved and value gained.

driftwood

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #19 on: October 21, 2015, 02:25:52 AM »
I think the compound effect of time is significantly more important than the compound effect of money, and I think that gets lost in the way of this community's emphasis on frugality.

And I think a lot of posters on here could use the reminder that time saved can be more important than money saved.

It sounds like you're referencing two entirely different things:  The compound effect of time on investments vs the value of your time to do what you like (not at all related to your investments), but possibly to your happiness. 

If you're focused on the compound effect of time, wouldn't you be motivated to invest each dollar that you possibly can as early as possible

The compound effect of time on my investments cannot be increased by me in any way.  I can invest from this second forward, no sooner.  So when you made your minute rice yourself and saved $2, you could invest that $2 right away.  You decided not to so now that is $2 that will not be invested now, so it will not leverage the power of time.  The time you save now from buying minute rice does not contribute to your investments compounding over time. 

This also gets mixed with our discussions on how we value time.  Your time only equals money if you would get paid for that time.  I can say an hour of my time is $30 but if no one will pay me for that hour, then it's really not related to money at all.  If spending time to do things myself (like the rice) today saves me $10 that I then invest today, then it will compound over time.  If I do the opposite, and save myself work today not DIYing, then I can't take that day of possible earning time and add it to my investments. 

Frugality that takes our time may not be worth it to us in terms of our happiness, but frugality that saves us $ that we then invest does contribute to our net worth, and does shorten our time required to work. 


Apocalyptica602

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #20 on: October 21, 2015, 07:28:28 AM »
I do place a value on my time, but I in no way expect saving time to accelerate my FI. Mainly because I don't generate income through side hustles. I'm a salaryman. I work 40 hours a week, I make $80k, I work 80 hours a week, I make $80k.

Thankfully my current job is pretty solidly around the 40 hour a week mark. If I save time it gives me more free time to do the things I enjoy. So the value it provides is "happiness".

The catch is when saving time costs more money than the marginal value of having additional free time.

"I save ~30 minutes a day by using the dishwasher" - great
"I saved 2 hours a week hiring a maid to clean my tiny 2 bedroom apartment" - probably not as great.


I think a lot of people, even on this forum, do a basic salary/hours worked calculation and say "Well my time is worth $X/hr." but don't have the current opportunity to linearly work more hours for the same rate whenever they find a spare minute.

Now, if they're approaching it from the cost they're willing to incur per hour to allow themselves more free time to pursue their non-income generating hobbies. That's a fair assessment such as: "I'd pay $50 a month to save myself a few hours of lawn mowing."

As with anything, mindfulness is important. It's a slippery slope from selective outsourcing into hundreds or thousands of dollars a month spent on 'convenience' which means you'll have to work longer in order to continue to pay for those conveniences.
« Last Edit: October 21, 2015, 07:31:14 AM by Apocalyptica602 »

ReadySetMillionaire

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #21 on: October 21, 2015, 07:36:20 AM »
I think the compound effect of time is significantly more important than the compound effect of money, and I think that gets lost in the way of this community's emphasis on frugality.

And I think a lot of posters on here could use the reminder that time saved can be more important than money saved.

It sounds like you're referencing two entirely different things:  The compound effect of time on investments vs the value of your time to do what you like (not at all related to your investments), but possibly to your happiness. 

If you're focused on the compound effect of time, wouldn't you be motivated to invest each dollar that you possibly can as early as possible

The compound effect of time on my investments cannot be increased by me in any way.  I can invest from this second forward, no sooner.  So when you made your minute rice yourself and saved $2, you could invest that $2 right away.  You decided not to so now that is $2 that will not be invested now, so it will not leverage the power of time.  The time you save now from buying minute rice does not contribute to your investments compounding over time. 

This also gets mixed with our discussions on how we value time.  Your time only equals money if you would get paid for that time.  I can say an hour of my time is $30 but if no one will pay me for that hour, then it's really not related to money at all.  If spending time to do things myself (like the rice) today saves me $10 that I then invest today, then it will compound over time.  If I do the opposite, and save myself work today not DIYing, then I can't take that day of possible earning time and add it to my investments. 

Frugality that takes our time may not be worth it to us in terms of our happiness, but frugality that saves us $ that we then invest does contribute to our net worth, and does shorten our time required to work.

Really interesting post, and I can see how my original post might be a bit confusing.

But I'm not talking about time in the market. Theoretically every little penny you save could be invested and become a big sum over time. Save $2/week on rice, invest that over a lifetime...Save $9/month on a cheaper internet plan, invest that over a lifetime...save $10/week by not by lattes at Starbucks, invest that over a lifetime...etc. That all obviously adds up to a decent amount of money over the course of a long period of time.

I counter that by saying that if saving money comes at the expense of spending a bunch of time to save said money, then no, the minimal savings are not worth it to me, even when compounded over a lifetime. And here, as you pointed out, the compound effect of the value of my time to do what I like is more important to me than saving a couple bucks.

Say I spend just two hours per week on things that save $10/week (hang the clothes up, make rice instead of minute rice, etc.). I'd rather use that time to (a) increase income or (b) do something more valuable/recreational with my time. I could bill a client .1 hour ($20) to more than break even on my savings, then use the rest of the 1.9 hours to do as I like (run at the park, hang out with family/friends, etc.).

Apocalyptica602 raises a good point--there's a slippery slope to outsourcing that could prolong FI for a long period of time. But I think that's all part of the cost-benefit analysis.

Kaplin261

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #22 on: October 21, 2015, 08:06:49 AM »
time saved can be more important than money saved

Your time is even more important if you have a child. You only get a limited amount of  time with your child. Is it worth investing 2 hours a week(1000 hours over 10 years) spent away from your child to save a extra $4000 over ten years.

If you have to sacrifice 40 hours a week to a job, yes time is very valuable. Do the obvious things by eliminating commute times to your job. Eliminate lawn chores by living some where that does not have a lawn. Eliminate some cleaning chores by living in a smaller than average home.

Another overlooked time waste is bad sleep. If you are trying to save money by not using heating/cooling and your sleeping conditions are not at optimal conditions 65-72 chances are you are not getting the best sleep. Resulting in more time in bed trying to get that sleep and or not being at optimal health during the day because of sleep deprivation. I noticed this in our own home, keeping our bedroom at 69 degrees we sleep very well compared to the restlessness we have when the temperature is above 74 in our bedroom or below 65. The cost is about $10 more a month but to us that is worth it to wake up feeling rested and having more free time because we don't need as much time for sleep. 10 year cost $1,770 and time gained over 10 years maybe 1000 hours

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: Observation: The Compound Effect and Why Time Is More Important Than Money
« Reply #23 on: October 21, 2015, 09:46:05 PM »
time saved can be more important than money saved

Your time is even more important if you have a child. You only get a limited amount of  time with your child. Is it worth investing 2 hours a week(1000 hours over 10 years) spent away from your child to save a extra $4000 over ten years.

If you have to sacrifice 40 hours a week to a job, yes time is very valuable. Do the obvious things by eliminating commute times to your job. Eliminate lawn chores by living some where that does not have a lawn. Eliminate some cleaning chores by living in a smaller than average home.

Another overlooked time waste is bad sleep. If you are trying to save money by not using heating/cooling and your sleeping conditions are not at optimal conditions 65-72 chances are you are not getting the best sleep. Resulting in more time in bed trying to get that sleep and or not being at optimal health during the day because of sleep deprivation. I noticed this in our own home, keeping our bedroom at 69 degrees we sleep very well compared to the restlessness we have when the temperature is above 74 in our bedroom or below 65. The cost is about $10 more a month but to us that is worth it to wake up feeling rested and having more free time because we don't need as much time for sleep. 10 year cost $1,770 and time gained over 10 years maybe 1000 hours

OK, yeah, but (a) too much attention robs kids of the chance to figure out stuff and find their own games and (b) some of those things, you can do together. Big Brother likes to press the reverse lever on my sewing machine, for instance. And I think it's important to show kids how to do stuff, or at least that stuff CAN be done, if you know what I mean.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!