At some point in life, for all of us, time rather than money will become the limiting factor in our lives. Hardly any of us would trade places with 95-year-old Warren Buffett, despite his wealth, because we all realize he’s running out of time.
In what ways can we exchange money for time?
#1 FIRE
FIRE stands for Financially Independent, Early Retire. The best way we trade time for money is by working. If you really want to trade money for time, then you should at least consider quitting work – at least the part of it that you don’t really like. You don’t necessarily have to retire. You can work fewer hours, or fewer days, or fewer weeks. Or you may see fewer patients per hour. Or limit the procedures you perform. You can pay someone else to take the call; pay a writer to write your charts; or pay an MA, nurse, APC, clerk, or other skilled healthcare professional to do some of the work you don’t want to do.
#2 Household chores
One of the first things many doctors hire is housekeeping. If you’d rather pursue a hobby than clean toilets, this is your chance. You don’t have to do your own laundry either. Someone else will pick it up, wash it, fold it and deliver it back to you. If you want, you can hire a babysitter or a tutor to help the children. There is no rule that you can only use childcare if you go to work.
More information here:
My internal struggle to outsource the chores I hate (or can’t do).
What we can learn from the French about work-life balance and retirement
#3 Landscaping
Lawn maintenance is perhaps the biggest time-consuming job, but almost everything that needs to be done in your garden can be rented out to someone.
#4 Driveway maintenance
Do you live somewhere where the fluffy (or not so fluffy) stuff falls? You don’t have to spend time on that if you have money.
#5 Shopping
Nowadays you can place your order online and pick it up at the parking lot. You can even have it delivered to your home.
#6 Meal preparation
Heard of DoorDash? You can actually order it every day if you want. If you don’t mind doing a little yourself, you can check out HelloFresh or Sunbasket. You can hire someone to come to your home every day and cook a delicious breakfast, lunch and dinner for your family. We discovered that you can even hire someone to do that on your houseboat if you want. No, it’s not cheap, but you have more money than time now, right?
#7 Time at the airport
There is little I hate more than being in an airport. You can reduce this by paying for premium parking, a car service or maybe even just Uber. You can get TSA PreCheck, CLEAR, and Global Entry. You can fly first or business class and be the first off the plane. Or you can go big and buy a NetJets subscription and stay out of the terminal altogether.
#8 Time at the library
Buy a Kindle and download your books from home in minutes. Or just buy the books. Seriously, it’s amazing how much time and effort people will put in to avoid spending $20 on something that will entertain them for eight hours.
#9 Recreational viewing
It’s not the same, but it’s pretty amazing how much time you can spend watching movies, sporting events, shows and concerts. Many of these can be viewed directly in your home theater for just a few dollars. Often the experience is even better. Watching a cycling event is a classic example, but watching a football match on TV is often better than watching it from the nosebleed. Hamilton, from the original cast, even eventually appeared on Disney+. So did Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. Almost any movie you want to see can be downloaded at about the same time it becomes available in theaters. Save yourself a lot of time and effort by getting a nice home theater installed and spending a few dollars on downloads and streaming services.
More information here:
I spent six hours with a bunch of Taylor Swift-obsessed doctors; This is what I learned
Spend this, not that
#10 Fly people to you
Do you want to see your sister and brother-in-law? Maybe you don’t have to travel across the country to get to their house. Maybe they can come to yours if you pay for some or all of it.
#11 Car care
If you buy newer, more reliable cars, you’ll spend less time on them. If they do have to go to the store, you can pay the store to pick them up and return them. They may even trade you a loaner car that you can use in the meantime. The same goes for almost everything that goes to the store. My boat dealer will pick up my boat, winterize it, and bring it home if I’m willing to pay for it. Some warehouses even deliver it to the lake and launch it for me.
#12 Home care
While it can be challenging to find really good people, any home repair or improvement job can, at least in theory, be outsourced.
#13 Financial advisor
Are you tired of managing your portfolio? You can outsource this to a financial advisor. They might even do it better than you.
#14 Use technology
New tools and software are constantly being developed to help automate many of the tasks you spend a lot of time on. Artificial intelligence can become so good that it takes away many of your tasks. An example in my life is team management software for the hockey teams in which I play and coach. No more sending emails, texts, and calls to get everything organized. It’s all in the app, saving you time and effort.
#15 Buy the best tools
If you’re still doing some odd jobs, why are you using crappy tools? Buy the best broom, vacuum cleaner, lawn mower, drill, electric saw or whatever. If something breaks, buy a new one. Your time is worth more than whatever you save by using anything but the best.
#16 Shorten your commute
Rent or buy a place closer to work and spend less time in the car on the road.
#17 Hire a driver
Or, if you can work from your phone or computer, you can convert your travel time into work time by hiring a driver. Now you can arrive at work later or leave early and still get your work done.
#18 Premium parking/valets
No more having to park on the perimeter to save a few bucks. You don’t have to do that anymore, so why waste your time?
#19 Stop driving to save money
If you go on a ski holiday, stay in a ski-in, ski-out apartment. Eat at the expensive place on site. Rent skis in the shop there. In fact, think of all the tricks those frugal people do to save money and stop doing it. You save a bit of fuel and a bit of the planet, but most importantly, you save time.
#20 Calculate the value of your time
What is your time really worth? I mean after taxes, of course. Is it $10 an hour, $100 an hour, $1,000 an hour, $10,000 an hour? Whatever it is, start using that number when making decisions about how you use your time. Knowledge is power in this regard.
More information here:
What is actually the value of our time?
Parenting, priorities, and a life well spent when my child graduated high school
#21 Pay to get gifts wrapped
I bought some gifts for my wife while my hand was in a cast. I was never very good at wrapping presents beautifully. There was no way this was going to happen with one hand. But guess what? Many places will do that for you, even if you order online. No more staying up until 2am on Christmas Eve and having a miserable time the next day.
#22 Pay for exclusivity
Do you want to meet certain people or certain types of people at a certain event? There may be some kind of premium ticket that allows you to do that. You can show up late and still get the good seats if you pay more than the general admission ticket. Never listen to the opening acts of a concert again.
#23 Consume stuff
Don’t feel like taking the time to pack up those leftovers? Throw them out. Don’t feel like fixing that broken gadget or sewing the hole in your pants? Throw things away and buy new things. Instead of washing items, just treat them as disposable items. No, it’s not good for the planet or your wallet, but it can save you a lot of time.
#24 Give things away
Ever tried to sell something? It could take forever. But if you really want to get rid of it, put a “free” sign on it and put it out front. It won’t take long.
More information here:
Life Expenditure Stage
The importance of real partners
#25 Pet care
Do you love animals but hate taking care of them? Someone else can walk your dog. Mobile units come to you to wash your pet and do its hair. There are even mobile vets.
#26 Concierge Doctors
Don’t waste any more time in waiting rooms or trying to reach your doctor. Pay a concierge fee and they will answer the phone every time you call.
#27 Home gym
If the gym is 10 minutes away, that means 20 minutes of wasted time per day. How much equipment do you actually use? Can you simply buy the equipment (possibly including a larger house or garage) and use it at home?
#28 Hire employees
Running a business? Figure out how to get yourself out of it. Hire employees to do what you do. Spend a little more and get better employees who can free up even more time for you.
#29 Buy an iPhone and use it
I can’t believe how much more efficient my life is when I use digital calendars. My iPhone has replaced dozens of devices in my lifetime. You no longer have to spend time buying, maintaining and learning to use these devices. Get the high-speed internet service while you’re at it. Seriously, you spend your entire life waiting for a page to load?
#30 Healthcare
Healthcare is not cheap, but it can certainly extend life in many circumstances. Buy health insurance and use it. Many immunization and screening exams are included in the price.
I think I’ve only reached the tip of the iceberg here. I bet we as a community can think of a hundred more ways to trade money for time.
How do you exchange money for time? How much has it changed your life?
#Ways #Buy #Time #White #coat #investor