Spending Money to Buy Time

[Aegishjalmur]

http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/28/545839192/need-a-happiness-boost-spend-your-money-to-buy-time-not-more-stuff

Found this article interesting and confirms something I think many of us here knew for ourselves- that buying extra stuff doesn't make us happy but that being able to afford to invest time in things we enjoy does.  Well the researchers didn't address early retirement, I know personally that is how I view it, I am investing(saving) now to buy my time later so I can do what I want to do and what I enjoy.

[EarthSurfer]

Hacks for living on the hedonic treadmill...

Minor hacks that don't actually increase someone's long term happiness when someone's life is divergent from their actual desires. (Discussion @ 4:50 in audio: "I think if something as simple as a $40 purchase has this ability to move the needle, albeit one rung temporarily..." )

What about not working 60 hours a week and scaling back the size of the house and yard? That might really have a long lasting multiple point effect on happiness!

Choices have consequences.

[Asalbeag]

I think this is an interesting discussion that I haven't seen addressed a whole lot on this forum. Many here would be willing to work fewer than 40hrs for a proportionate cut in pay, essentially paying their hourly rate for an hour of free time. But what if you can buy a few hours of time for less than your hourly rate, seems like a bargain, especially if you dislike the task.

Heck if you only have limited time then from a purely financial standpoint it makes more sense to pay someone to cut your lawn while you fix your car than take your car to a mechanic while you mow your own lawn, but the latter is likely going to be deemed more acceptable while the former would generally be regarded as a luxury.

Perhaps I'm wrong but I feel like any case study listing a lawn service or house cleaning would be quick ridiculed.

[Tasse]

I think what's really important to notice about that experiment is that people were happier having "bought time" with money given to them by somebody else with instructions to spend it. I'm doubtful that it could really be applied to paying a house cleaner regularly out of your own pocket! I guess the survey part covers this a little more rigorously though...

I have to admit I was surprised that getting a treat on someone else's dime didn't measurably increase happiness at all.

[Davnasty]

I don't think a study with 60 participants who were given the money and only showed a slight increase in happiness (very difficult to measure) is very reliable. Also, paying people to do things that you can do is almost always unmustachian.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/13/domestic-outsourcing-practical-or-wussypants/

If you were literally buying more time, as in a 25th hour of a day, maybe I could get on board but this isn't really buying time so much as paying for the privilege to do something else with your time. It does depend a little on how tight your schedule is and how much you like your day job/how much you dislike the task being outsourced. If your schedule is so tight that you don't get to spend any time with your kid and paying someone to mow will give you an hour with them, OK. Or you could just not mow the yard as often. :)

Then there's the little details, if I hire someone to do a 2 hour task how long did it take me to find and hire them? Did I miss out on learning something or getting some exercise?

This study is meant to compare spending on things vs. spending on services. I think the important thing to remember, which OP hinted at, is that you don't have to spend on either. Investing now means you're spending on future freedom. Once you have that, spending an hour cleaning or working in the yard or cooking should make you happier.

[Davnasty]

Still thinking about this and had some more to add. Any time you compare two options, try to keep in mind that part of achieving FIRE and/or happiness is thinking outside the box. If you don't have time to clean, maybe you have too much house. No time to mow, too much yard. Do you need to mow once a week or once a month. Can you cook simpler meals to save time?

Just like we ask ourselves "Do I need a new coffee maker?" maybe we should ask "Do I need to have a clean house?"

Not saying you don't. Personally, I'm happier in an uncluttered and clean space. But it's still worth asking the question, don't just do it because it's what you do.

[DarkandStormy]

Sample size is too small (60 people) to draw any conclusions.

A lot of their "buy time" examples are sweat equity.  I'd feel guilty about paying someone to mow my lawn or do my grocery shopping because I can put in minimal effort "for free" to do it myself.

That said, if those were my choices I'd probably pick that over a consumer item.

[Aegishjalmur]

As EarthSurfer said, it's all about choices. What struck me about the study is that I think it illustrates that most people have put only minimal effort, if any, into figuring out what makes them happy. For too many people, they buy 'things' because they don't know what else to do with their money and how to use it to leverage their longterm happiness and they think it's what they need to do to have happy. They buy instant gratification because it's immediate and they can see the results- 'I now have X10V Shiny iWidget Model 9 that shits rainbows and glitter'. they don't stop to think that they don't need it, they don't really want it and likely won't use it enough, if at all, to justify the cost.  Financial discipline to buy your freedom takes time and it takes a certain mindset and understanding of longterm goals and priorities to not get caught up in the here and now consumer cycle.

[ketchup]

The only time I've outsourced something that I could have done myself recently was when I paid a whopping $200 to have our car professionally detailed.  They did a fantastic job, but mostly it was due to circumstance: my girlfriend was out of the country for a couple weeks and was using the car the day after she got back in a very visible capacity for a hotshot wealthy client (we have an "old" 2001 car, but it's in great cosmetic condition and "cleans up nicely"), but even more importantly, I was scuttled on the couch with a bag of frozen peas recovering from my vasectomy, so detailing the car wasn't exactly something I was excited (or able) to do.  And I had just messed up the leather with a bag of mulch (they fixed that almost perfectly).

I still felt like a bit of a moron though.  And getting the "Mr. ketchup, your Volvo is ready." phone call really made me feel like a schmuck.

[Imma]

I don't think a study with 60 participants who were given the money and only showed a slight increase in happiness (very difficult to measure) is very reliable. Also, paying people to do things that you can do is almost always unmustachian.

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/09/13/domestic-outsourcing-practical-or-wussypants/

If you were literally buying more time, as in a 25th hour of a day, maybe I could get on board but this isn't really buying time so much as paying for the privilege to do something else with your time. It does depend a little on how tight your schedule is and how much you like your day job/how much you dislike the task being outsourced. If your schedule is so tight that you don't get to spend any time with your kid and paying someone to mow will give you an hour with them, OK. Or you could just not mow the yard as often. :)

Then there's the little details, if I hire someone to do a 2 hour task how long did it take me to find and hire them? Did I miss out on learning something or getting some exercise?

For me it's a bit different as I have a chronic illness and at times my physical energy is limited. My partner works a job that takes him away from home for longer periods of time. During those times, when I work overtime, I hire someone to clean my house (for half of what I earn).

Now, I could not do that, and not clean and lower my standards even further, but my cleaning standards aren't high to begin with and our house is small. Plus because of the nature of my illness I need to keep up a basic standard of hygiene.

So the choice is doing it myself and not working overtime (and potentionally losing my job, as it's a company requirement to be willing to do overtime) or pay someone to do it, keep my job and still earn more money.

I like the basic idea of MMM and insourcing, but I think it only works like that when you're fairly healthy and fairly physically strong.

[wannabe-stache]

Sample size is too small (60 people) to draw any conclusions.

A lot of their "buy time" examples are sweat equity.  I'd feel guilty about paying someone to mow my lawn or do my grocery shopping because I can put in minimal effort "for free" to do it myself.

That said, if those were my choices I'd probably pick that over a consumer item.

I am going through this now.  I spend a good amount of spare time taking care of things like the lawn or cleaning that we could outsource.  I don't like paying for services.   BUT, for example, i don't want to spend the time learning how to refinish and stain my front door.  i found a legit contractor that will do it for $150 which means i don't have to spend time doing it myself.  i would probably do a crap job anyways and now i can allocate an entire day this weekend to making meals for the week and helping my wife with our 6 week old son.

For us, $150 doesn't move the needle and it's a no brainer.  For others in a different situation it might not be.

[Tasse]

This study is meant to compare spending on things vs. spending on services. I think the important thing to remember, which OP hinted at, is that you don't have to spend on either.

+1

Buying time might make people happier than buying trinkets. But buying a few hours on the weekend is a far cry from buying long-term freedom.

[Cranky]

It makes sense to outsource jobs that you hate if someone is paying you extremely well for your  time.

My time is not all that valuable, so I'm happier (and richer) when I figur out how to enjoy doing my own work like cleaning the bathroom.

[Asalbeag]

Financial discipline to buy your freedom takes time and it takes a certain mindset and understanding of longterm goals and priorities to not get caught up in the here and now consumer cycle.

Right but there's also getting caught up in that time investment. Realistically for lots of people the earliest they could retire might be in 10 years even with that discipline and MMM. But for something like $40 a week you can buy some of that time to have now to spend with your kids when they're little instead of in 10 years when they won't want to be seen in public with you anyway. You're still avoiding consumerism to buy time which is in keeping with the whole concept of MMM you're just buying the time today instead of a little bit more of it in 10 years.

So what if it adds an extra year to your working career, you can never go back to this time when your kids are the age they are now and they'll appreciate your time a lot more than the best toy they can get.

Full disclosure I do think that study is very flawed but the concept is worth discussing regardless. Also I can't bring myself to pay anyone to buy me free time and as a result end up more exhausted after the weekend than before it and my house is a yard are still a mess!!

[Tasse]

But for something like $40 a week you can buy some of that time to have now to spend with your kids when they're little instead of in 10 years when they won't want to be seen in public with you anyway.

Then I guess the question is how many people genuinely spend that purchased time with their children. (Once they're a little older I bet they'd benefit from doing some of those chores, anyway!)

*speaking as a non-parent