Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: This week we're talking about money related topics. Today's tip
Speaker 1: is to be careful that you don't waste huge amounts
Speaker 1: of time to save little bits of money. In other words,
Speaker 1: don't be pennywise with money, but pound foolish with time.
Speaker 1: Time is ultimately a more scarce resource than money. You
Speaker 1: can make more money, but you cannot make more time.
Speaker 1: One of the most poignant insights I've come to over
Speaker 1: the years is that time keeps passing whether or not
Speaker 1: we think about how we're spending it. So it is
Speaker 1: incredibly easy to spend time mindlessly. We can spend money
Speaker 1: mindlessly too, of course, but for most things we have
Speaker 1: to actively choose to part with our cash. Consequently, it's
Speaker 1: always tempting to be stingy with money but profligate with
Speaker 1: time in ways that aren't too smart. For instance, let's
Speaker 1: say that you're flying somewhere on vacation. The direct flight
Speaker 1: costs eighty dollars more than the one that connects, so
Speaker 1: you go with the connection and congratulate yourself on being
Speaker 1: such a frugal traveler, but then your first flight is late,
Speaker 1: you miss your connection. Now you're spending one of your
Speaker 1: precious vacation days stuck in an airport. Pennywise, pound foolish.
Speaker 1: I love reading frugal blogs and books, but sometimes people
Speaker 1: get carried away and make choices that are also pennywise
Speaker 1: pound foolish with both time and money. Yes, ramen noodles
Speaker 1: and frozen pizza are probably cheaper than lean protein and vegetables,
Speaker 1: but eating unhealthy foods raises your risk of health problems,
Speaker 1: and if that becomes a problem, you'll spend tons of
Speaker 1: money and time dealing with chronic medical conditions. As the
Speaker 1: saying goes, better to pay the grocer than the doctor, pennywise,
Speaker 1: pound foolish. There's lots of satisfaction in doing something yourself, too,
Speaker 1: but some jobs are best done by people with specialized
Speaker 1: skills or better safe the equipment then you own. Cutting
Speaker 1: down your own tree might save money, but if you
Speaker 1: get a chainsaw injury that sends you to the e
Speaker 1: R for stitches, you'll be paying for a while, both
Speaker 1: financially and in time when you can't do things with
Speaker 1: your injured arm. The question of being penny wise with
Speaker 1: money and pound foolish with time really comes into play
Speaker 1: with big life decisions like choosing where to live. People
Speaker 1: sometimes decide to move far from work so they could
Speaker 1: have a house with a big yard. It's an understandable impulse.
Speaker 1: I mean, we all want to do things for our families.
Speaker 1: But one time study of Los Angeles families found that
Speaker 1: children in these houses averaged less than forty minutes in
Speaker 1: their backyards per week. Parents average less than fifteen minutes
Speaker 1: in their yards In half of the households. No one
Speaker 1: spent any leisure time outside during the study, and this
Speaker 1: is in Los Angeles, where it's always outdoor weather. It's
Speaker 1: interesting to think how many parents in this study might
Speaker 1: have bought themselves a forty minute daily commute to have
Speaker 1: a house with a yard that their kids use less
Speaker 1: than forty minutes a week. Just in general, it might
Speaker 1: be cheaper to live further out, but you pay in
Speaker 1: time spent stuck in traffic. You need to be saving
Speaker 1: a lot to make that misery worthwhile. In any case,
Speaker 1: when you're doing something to save money, make sure you
Speaker 1: pause to ask if you're spending a lot in time
Speaker 1: as a result, it might still be worth it, but
Speaker 1: when you factor in the opportunity cost of time, it
Speaker 1: might not be worth it too. It might not be
Speaker 1: worth driving to a store to save two dollars on
Speaker 1: something when you can order it online. My hour of
Speaker 1: time spent driving there and back is definitely worth more
Speaker 1: than two dollars, and I'm guessing years is too. So
Speaker 1: how will you make sure that you're not pennywise with
Speaker 1: money but pound foolish with time? Something to think about
Speaker 1: today and every day in the meantime. This is Laura.
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. M Hey everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod that's b the number four then Breakfast
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com.
Speaker 1: That Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. For
Speaker 1: more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i heart
Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your
Speaker 1: favorite shows.