Lessons I’ve Learned as the Spouse of a Financial Advisor: Time Is Money

Welcome to the first of our series: Lessons I’ve Learned as the Spouse of a Financial Advisor. Over the next couple months, I will be taking partial authorship and sharing some of my favorite things (so far) I have learned being married to Matt. I remain biased, though I hope to share useful insights, as well as allow you to get to know Matt better.

The first of the series I’d like to focus on something Matt has really instilled in me: Time Is Money, and Money Is Stored Time.  It is a cliché, but for good reason.  Money is best spent giving you the most valuable resource, time. It is what I have found to be the best tenet in developing a budget—what should I spend to give me the most value?

When developing your personal budget, there are of course the obvious necessities; shelter, food, water. Though, the value certainly cannot be overstated there—without those, you’d spend all your time hunting & gathering! Then comes non-necessities, but can be time savers, such as hired home cleaning.

I was resistant to adopting this; I take great pride in keeping our home neat and tidy and thought three hours spent on the weekend was no big deal. I love shopping, so my logic had been I’d prefer to utilize these funds shopping, and cleaning isn’t so bad. With time and growing my own business, I started to dread the house cleaning more and more. One day, Matt brought up the debate again, and asked me ‘What could you do with three hours every weekend to grow your business?’ That really got me thinking—my time is valuable; I can earn more by working than cleaning, so the cost benefit made sense. Having time to do my intended work, or refill my cup with some R&R, has given me more value than shopping. Needless to say, I am now never going back.

What is your time to do things that bring you purpose and joy worth to you? Next time you are thinking of being frugal, I urge you to explore what is most valuable to you and how your time might be spent doing something that generates revenue or joy. Until next time. – Taylor