Why You Should Value Time over Money: Happiness in the Short and Long Run

The point of money is to buy more time

Ben Le Fort

May 06, 2024

Wall Street 2 is a bad movie.

But it has Michael Douglas in it, who has some great line readings, like this one:

“Money is not the prime asset in life.
Time is.”

The two most important assets in life are time and money.

In an ideal world, we would have all the time and money we need to live our best life. But in the world we live in, two things are true:

Most of us realize and are willing to trade our time for money—but we struggle with trading money for time.
We struggle equally with spending our money and our time in a way that maximizes our happiness.

In my 20s, I had an especially lop-sided view on this; I was willing to trade in essentially all of my time for money. This was understandable because I had no money, but I was young, meaning I felt like I had all the time in the world.

Now that I’m in my 30s, I have money but feel the opportunity cost of not using time in my 20s. I’ve still never stood in the Louvre or toured the ruins of the Roman Empire—things I have long dreamed about.

In my 20s, I had the time for these adventures but no money to pay for them.

In my 30s, I have the money but little time (I have a full-time job, a writing side hustle, and two kids under four).

Or at least that’s what I tell myself. Perhaps the truth is that I still place an unhealthy value on money over time—After all, I would not be the first person in history to plan a European vacation with two small children.

The research confirms people who value time over money are happier

A 2015 research paper, "Valuing Time Over Money Is Associated With Greater Happiness," investigates the impact of prioritizing time over money on overall happiness.

The researchers conducted six studies involving nearly 4,700 people. They found that those who preferred time over money reported higher levels of subjective well-being—which is often used as a way to measure happiness.

These results were not influenced by things like materialism, material striving, or demographic factors like income, marital status, age, or gender.

A 2019 paper, "Valuing Time Over Money Predicts Happiness After a Major Life Transition," explored how prioritizing time or money affects major life decisions and subsequent well-being.

The study included 1,000 students who were about to graduate from University and checked back in with them a year later.

Students who valued time over money at the beginning of the study were more likely to pursue “intrinsically motivated activities” a year later—which is a fancy way of saying these people engaged in activities that they enjoy.

Intrinsically motivated people are far less likely to put off dream vacations or take a job solely for the money.

Unsurprisingly, the group that valued time over money reported much greater levels of well-being a year later.

People who value time over money are much more likely to have a more active social life, leading to greater happiness.

That was the finding of a 2018 paper titled “Valuing Time Over Money Is Associated With Greater Social Connection.”

The researchers conducted three studies involving 734 participants to determine if people who prioritize time over money have better social relationships.

At this point, you are probably not surprised to learn that those who valued time over money spent 18% more time socializing than those who valued money.

These results held after controlling for factors like extraversion, age, gender, and socioeconomic status.

Is it the money, or is it your mindset?

I don’t want to dismiss the fact that many people reading this will be dealing with very difficult economic realities.

The cost of living is high, and many people are in a situation where they don’t have the luxury of prioritizing time over money—they are working their butt off to pay for the basic necessities.

But, if you’re in a position where you can comfortably cover your living expenses and put money aside for long-term savings goals, it’s important to ask yourself what expensive or time-consuming items are sitting unchecked on your bucket list.

Do you really “not have the time” for that European vacation, or is that a comforting lie you tell yourself because, deep down, you still value money over time?

Making of a Millionaire

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