Time is Money, and Money is Time

I had never truly understood the meaning of “time is money” until this reading. Maybe, though, it is just another interpretation or aspect of “time is money.” Maybe it’s more, money is time. The more money you have, the more access you have to things that “save” time. I appreciated the illustration of the differences in transportation: plane is faster than car, and car is faster than bus. Money also allows people to “spend” their time differently. A wealthy parent may have a maid to clean, while a working mother with young children would not have that luxury, forcing them to spend that time cleaning and cooking, instead of resting or purely having time with their children. Someone with excess money would have the ability to buy groceries without having to spend the time scouting for the grocery store with the cheapest prices, finding the cheapest brands, dealing with coupons, calculation price per ounce, etc. However, people with a low budget have to spend that time and often have to sacrifice time and health to buy enough affordable food. Additionally, someone with a higher paying job is usually allowed more flexibility with their work schedule than someone with a lower-paying, physical labor job. There’s not necessarily a logical reason for this. This is very common throughout the US, though. Restaurant workers are required to schedule their lives around their work schedule, made each week by their boss. However, an accountant may be required to work a certain number of hours a week but has the power to change their scheduled hours to how they want them or how they best fit with their personal life.

4 Responses to Time is Money, and Money is Time

  1. Erin Davis January 26, 2016 at 9:37 pm #

    I agree with all of this entirely. I hadn’t previously thought about how time really is money. I always just kinda thought that was something an uptight boss would say to his workers. However, you bring up a solid point about the difference of lifestyle by profession. I have known SO many people, myself included, who had to schedule their lives around a random schedule that varied each week. This is especially seen in retail and food/beverage industries. It’s entirely unfair, especially for mothers and fathers or those with serious priorities and school. I know many parents who have had to miss their children’s events or simply just missed their children emotionally as they worked into the night to serve others who could really care less about their well-being. However, those who work behind a desk or cubicle have a very set schedule and never need to worry about when their next shift will be or how many hours they will be given. It’s quite unfair, especially since many people working sporadic hours often have very draining and laborious jobs that require immense amounts of patience and self-control. It really does bug me that high paying jobs allow stricter schedules and time off. I simply wish I could see this luxury in all professions. I don’t see why there must be a hierarchy when it comes to mere fairness and recognition of each employee as a person with physical and emotional needs. There needs to more equality, especially within jobs that seem to have sporadic hours and strange schedules.

  2. Ty January 27, 2016 at 12:05 am #

    I agree that time is money, however I do believe that the more money you have (depending who the person is) you might lose track of time and not be able to spend those precious moments with family or friends because you are so busy chasing after more money.

    For example, though the CEO has more time to delegate his work to others to spend time with family that isn’t what always happens, nannies are hired to take the place of the mom or dad while they go off to different business trips or events. Though the worker class citizen may have less time to spend because they need money to put food on the table children are more understanding of that than of the CEO or higher paid person who simply is too into their work or money.

    When the working class parent has time to make to events or school games it is seen as a gem or happy occasion, on the other hand the higher paid parent is scolded because they don’t come as often as they could. I for one remember all the times when I would cook or clean with my parents and siblings, it served as a bonding tool rather than just a task. I think what we value as a luxury plays a huge role in that sense.

    The worker class parent is less likely to waste money on things and actually try to spend time with their kids unlike those who have more time and money to spread but choose to do otherwise.

  3. Luke January 27, 2016 at 3:12 pm #

    You say that there isn’t a logical reason for low-end jobs having less flexibility than higher-end jobs, but really there is. The lower wage jobs like food service and physical labor are executors of jobs in management. A management job requires more knowledge and experience, but not always more time. On the other hand, ringing up a cash register doesn’t require too much thought beyond counting change, but consistency is key.

    It’s part of a fair economic system that our country has been founded on, and the consequence is that some end up with less than others in terms of time and space.

  4. Prof VZ February 7, 2016 at 9:18 pm #

    Very interesting conversation here about inequalities of time and space: are they justified by our economic system or exploited by it? How does access to certain jobs play a part? I also appreciated Ty’s reflection on the ways in which money often forces one to value certain kinds of time (family time, for example) less. Inequalities of time certainly cost folks, but inequalities of income can sometimes reveal very different value systems when it comes to cherishing one’s time.

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