For every moment that you spend on something irrelevant, you could have used that same time to do something worthwhile. Time really is money, and it’s time to stop thinking of it as something that you have no control over. So if you’re interested in finding out how time-saving techniques can convert their benefits into assets, read on.
Time and Money Tracking
One of the most time-honored pieces of advice for both time management and money management is that you need to track what you are spending, both time and money. You’ll probably be amazed at how much time you are spending on things that are largely irrelevant and why you always feel exhausted even when you didn’t accomplish very much. You’ll also be surprised to find out where that couple of hundred dollars goes every month. Thirty minutes here and five dollars there can really add up.
Time and Money Blocking
Okay, true, in the world of time management, it’s called time blocking, and in the world of finances, it’s called creating a budget. Whether you’re trying to manage your time or your money, it’s worthwhile to understand exactly where you would like to put your resources. When you have a plan for where your money is going every month, then you won’t need to worry about overspending and having to use a credit card at the end of the month that will make it even more difficult to keep on track of your finances.
When you start getting behind on payments, it quickly becomes a slippery slope. In fact, those with a “Very Poor” credit score between 300-579 are often required to make larger deposits and pay higher interest rates, which makes it even more difficult to crawl out of debt (Lift Credit). It’s much easier to create a reasonable budget that you can stick to.
Using the Small Bits of Time and Money
You can’t underestimate the significance of the small things — both in time and money. An extra ten minutes sitting on a train can either be spent doing nothing important, or you can use it to do something that will have a major impact in your life. And don’t forget that those ten minutes on the train twice a day, five days a week adds up to an hour and forty minutes a week.
The same is true with money. By all means, if you want to donate your spare change to the Salvation Army, feel free to do that, but don’t spend the extra seventy cents left over from your morning bagel on something that you don’t actually value.
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It’s easy to think that the small things don’t matter, but when you start evaluating your decisions over a long period, you’ll find that they add up. With time management, a little bit of mindfulness will get you that extra twenty minutes that you need in the morning to plan for the day. And with money management, seventy cents every day might mean the difference between taking that vacation at the end of the year or staying home.
