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Buy time
Maybe time is money but time is also precious and no money in the world can bring it back. So, spend your money and your time wisely. “Before you reach for your wallet, try just stopping and ask yourself, ‘How will this purchase affect the way I spend my time?'” said US psychologist Elizabeth Dunn in her research paper published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, written together with Daniel Gilbert (Harvard University), and Timothy Wilson (University of Virginia). “And if the purchase isn’t going to have much of an impact on how you spend your time, your money might be better spent somewhere else.”
For instance, you might want to get rid of the dreading chore of cleaning the house and have a date with your spouse instead. If money can get you out of doing the things you don’t really like and help you do something else more pleasurable, then you shouldn’t hesitate to buy the gadgets or services that might simplify your tasks. “This is kind of like buying your way out of sort of the worst minutes of your day,” Dunn said.
If the “buy experiences” approach brings you memorable moments, the “buy time” principle allows you to avoid “doing things that just like suck the joy out of life”. And if that doesn’t make you happier, I don’t know what could!
