It’s often said that “money can’t buy happiness,” but what if the reason for this is that we’re purchasing the wrong things? There’s an increasingly accepted idea that spending money can change your life for the better, as long as you spend your money on buying more time. Often, when individuals think about how to spend money, their first thought is to buy something they’ve been wanting for a long time, purchase a new car, or obtain other materials objects. You can always earn more money, but you can never get back your time.
In reality, your spending strategy should focus on simplifying your life and increasing your happiness, which can actually be done simultaneously. In most cases, material objects will complicate your life, but if you spend that same amount of money on something that makes your life easier, like hiring someone to clean your home or cook your meals, you’ll achieve a simpler lifestyle and improve your overall happiness.
You’re probably thinking this is some modern hippy minimalist idea, but it’s coming from personal experience. Most people are focused on keeping up with the Joneses, but never reach any sort of gratification by consuming more and more. The happiest people that I know, live an organized life ONLY doing what they want.
No matter your income level, you should “buy less stress,” and there’s data to prove it. I’ll break down everything you need to know about how to spend your money in a way that can change your life for the better.
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The Data Behind the Idea
In a series of recent studies conducted by The Wall Street Journal, they tested the theory about how spending can impact happiness levels and the results came as a shock to many. With more disposable income, it’s often assumed that individuals who buy more material things will be happier, but these studies showed that people that bought time for themselves were actually the happiest. These results spanned different countries and income levels, but still, people were more likely to choose material items instead.
In a small study in Vancouver, adults were sent $80 to spend on two upcoming weekends. One weekend, they had to spend $40 on something that would save them time such as grocery delivery or getting the lawn mowed. The next weekend, they could spend the $40 on material items like wine, food, or clothes. When asked, the participants said they felt happier on the weekends that they spent money to save time, and that this happiness came from the feeling of having more time.
A larger study of more than 6,000 adults reinforced the idea that having more time brought more happiness. People who spent more money on saving time had greater levels of satisfaction with their lives than those who purchased mere things. But, despite this clear delineation, only half the respondents chose to spend money on time-saving activities and only 28% spent money to avoid doing tasks they disliked. The way you choose to spend your money is nuanced and dependent on many factors, but by taking a more strategic approach, you might actually find yourself in a happier, healthier, and less stressful situation day in and day out.
Your Time is Valuable; Buy Less Stress
When you break down how much your time is worth, it becomes clear that saving time is often more valuable than saving money. For instance, if you’re a therapist that makes $300, that’s the price tag you can put on one hour of your time. Within your career, it seems simple, but the water might get murky when you think of your time outside of your job. If you spend your weekends and evenings doing tasks that you could pay someone $50 an hour to do, you’d still be saving “money” and time because an hour of your time is actually worth $300.
Buying less stress is a tactic that will change your life once you adopt it. This approach is even more effective if you outsource tasks that you dislike doing. You’ll save time, money, and find more happiness in life because you can use your days in the ways that you want to. If you’re not sure where to start, here are some areas where you should hire someone else:
Cooking and Meal Prepping
What you put into your body impacts your mood, energy levels, and all-around health. With busy schedules and demanding lifestyles, it can be difficult to find the time to plan, prep, and cook healthy meals for you and your family. You might find yourself ordering food or going out more than you’d like, which can be expensive and unhealthy. Many people are hesitant to invest in meal prep services or hire an in-home chef because it feels like unnecessary spending but keeping you and your family nourished in a way that also helps you stay happy is never unnecessary.
Administrative Tasks
You don’t need a full-time personal assistant to make your life 10x easier. Explore hiring a virtual assistant or a freelancer that can help you sift through emails, keep your schedule appointments and events, plan your trips, or any other random task that will save you time. If you run a business, this might seem obvious, but assistants can be a great help in your personal life as well. Your time is valuable, don’t spend it doing tasks that other people could easily do for you.
Shopping and Errands
Unless running errands brings you joy, stop doing them. Whether it’s using a service like Instacart to get your groceries delivered or hiring someone specifically to check errands off your to-do list, it’s worth it. Not only can these tasks take a lot of time out of your week, but they take a ton of mental energy to keep track of. Clearing these tasks from your physical and mental to-do list is one of the simplest ways to optimize your life.
House Cleaning
In the US, the average hourly rate for housekeeping services can range from $25-$90 an hour, depending on where you live and how often you need the service. Instead of letting the dishes that are piled up in the sink cause you stress, simply outsource the task on a regular basis. Not only will you save time, but you’ll be able to enjoy a clean space more often which can improve your mental and physical health, too.
Yard Work or Landscaping
Spending at least 120 minutes each week in nature is scientifically proven to improve your health and well-being, so creating an outdoor space that you love to spend time in is a great investment. However, this work can be challenging, time-consuming, and require specialized skills. With a quick Google search in your area, you can find professional landscapers to help you with bigger projects. Or, if you’re just looking for someone to pick up dog poop and mow the lawn, find a teen in your neighborhood or a niche service for those specific tasks!
There are many ways you can spend money to save time, and if you ever doubt yourself, remember how much your time is worth. If you can spend more time making money OR spend more time making yourself happier, these costs will never be unnecessary.
Keep Your Finances Clean and Simple
Don’t overcomplicate your life with multiple mortgages, cars, and unnecessary payments. It’s best to keep your financial situation as simple as possible while still providing what you and your family need to thrive. Material items are often the culprit of more stress in our lives, contrary to what you might think. Though they offer immediate gratification, tying your happiness to things makes you vulnerable when they break, stop having the same excitement as they once did, or become obsolete. On top of all this, they complicate your finances, leave you with more to track and think about, and usually aren’t worth it. To simplify your finances, here are a few hacks you can start doing now:
Have Separate Accounts
Keeping your personal accounts separate from your business accounts might be a no-brainer; it makes tax season simpler, keeps you from having to diligently track every transaction, and gives you a clear, constant snapshot of your various financial situations. But employing this strategy within your personal life can be a great way to simplify things, too. You can have a separate account for discretionary spending vs. an account that is used to pay bills. The way you split things up is up to you, but the less you have to keep track of, the better your life will be.
Invest in a Bookkeeper
Your finances aren’t something that should be taken lightly. Hiring a bookkeeper or having your personal assistant track and manage your financial situation can take a huge load off your shoulders. They will have more dedicated time to track your spending or set budgets, helping you meet your financial goals more efficiently. The more income you have coming in, the more helpful a personal bookkeeper can be. Be sure to hire someone you trust and don’t lose touch with your finances completely; it’s easy to get taken advantage of in this arena if you’re not cautious.
Consider What Works for YOU
Your situation will be different from your neighbor’s situation, and that is perfectly okay! When it comes to your finances and the lifestyle you lead, you have to figure out what’s right for you and your family. You might feel societal pressure to buy a car, but if you live in a city with good public transit, you could cut costs and take an Uber or hire a driver for longer distances. These small measures can save time, money, and stress, but they are unique to every household in the world.
Don’t Skimp Where It Counts
When you hire a professional to help you manage your finances, do your shopping, or clean your home, don’t cut costs just to save a bit of money. In specialized services, such as accounting or legal services, this becomes even more critical. Going for the cheapest option might save you money upfront, but if the job has to be done again or fixed down the line, it will cost more time and money than if it was done right the first time. If you ever doubt yourself, remind yourself that you work hard for the money you have, and your time is valuable; you deserve to live a worry-free life by hiring the right people to help you.
Simplifying your life will make you happier. Less clutter in your physical space, financial space, and mental space will release you to focus on the things you love: your family, your passions, and your hobbies. Invest in yourself; invest in your happiness.
Turn to Technology if Possible
There are so many technological approaches to solving problems today. You can automate a lot of the administrative work in your life such as paying bills and scheduling your week, but it doesn’t stop there. Technological solutions like Zoom can save you a tremendous amount of time by having meetings without traveling, especially for the ones that don’t need the face-to-face interaction. Something as simple as a Roomba vacuum can save you an extreme amount of time for a small cost. It might take some research to figure out what tools will fit well into your life, but maybe you can ask your personal assistant to take care of that for you.
Just because you have always done something a certain way, it doesn’t mean that that is the best way to do it. Just like businesses should constantly optimize their operations, households should try to optimize theirs regularly, too. Technology has come a long way in the last few decades and there is likely a number of tools that have the potential to change your life.
Conclusion
Money can complicate your life, but it can also simplify it if you use it as a strategic tool. It’s challenging to quiet all the chatter that exists in our world; humans get bombarded with an outrageous amount of marketing material every second. Marketers are often trying to convince you to buy something, making you think that you HAVE to have it to be happy. But happiness is more often found in simplicity. When you optimize your life and spend the money to do it right, you’ll find yourself with more time to do the things you love and spend time with the people you love. Time is the only resource you can’t get back; perhaps we need to start measuring it a bit differently.
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQ
Resources:
- https://www.success.com/7-ways-to-save-money-by-simplifying-your-life/
- https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/26/yes-you-can-buy-happiness-if-you-spend-it-to-save-time.html
- https://www.discover.com/online-banking/banking-topics/spending-to-save-when-its-smart-to-splurge/
- https://www.wsj.com/articles/if-you-want-to-feel-better-spend-money-on-saving-time-1505095980
- https://www.wealest.com/articles/spend-money-to-save-time
- https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/08/28/545839192/need-a-happiness-boost-spend-your-money-to-buy-time-not-more-stuff
- https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/cleaning-services/
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44097-3
- https://rebisimpleliving.com/material-things/