SEPTEMBER 2004 IN
RICK ASTER’S WORLD

The Commercial-Free Mind

Part 9: Time Is Money

Time or Money?

A common criticism of commercials is that the products they promote are a waste of money. Most of the time, this is a valid criticism, but it overlooks a more important problem. The commercials themselves are a waste of your time.

If you are an average U.S. television viewer, you easily might see the commercials for a new shampoo 125 times. If you watch these commercials when you see them, you are spending an hour learning the most superficial information about a product, with only the slightest chance that you have any interest in the product. And losing an hour of your life to this kind of trivia is a greater loss than the disappointment you would likely experience if you spent the $6 to purchase the new shampoo and try it out.

Time is more important than money because time is the actual stuff of your life. It’s what your life is made of. Of course, in economic terms, time and money are interchangeable to an extent. As we sometimes say, time is money. Ultimately, though, time is more important. As hard as it is to live without money, if you have no time, you literally have nothing in a material sense. Looking at it in a more relative way, money can buy you things, but this has no value unless you have time to use or experience the things you buy.

Dollar Wise and Hour Foolish

It is nevertheless part of American culture that we love to save money. All this really means is that we’re paying less than we imagine someone else is paying, but it still feels good, and advertisers take advantage of this tendency of ours. “Save save SAVE!!” scream the commercials as they try to get us excited about saving money.

Intellectually, we know we don’t have time for all the money-saving opportunities that come our way, but we still fall for the “bargain” pitches every now and then. If you need to throw some cold water on some of your money-saving urges, all you need to do is take a cold, hard look at what you’re being offered. Here are several examples.

Saving $800 on a model-year-end automobile may cost you extra if it means you’re buying a car 8 months sooner than you need it. If it also means that you’re not getting the improvements that come in the next model year, it can be a downright bummer.
The “super size” version of a fast food meal might seem like a bargain, but if it means you are paying an extra $1.20 to gain an extra three ounces of body fat you don’t need, what’s so special about that?
Money saving coupons can save you as much as $1.00 each, but what do they cost you? If it takes 3 minutes to cut out the coupon, take it along, and wait for the checkout clerk to ring it up, or if you have to find a more expensive, less suitable item to use the coupon, you’re lucky if you come out even.
You can save 25% at department store sales, but saving $5 or $10 is hardly an advantage if it means you have to spend an hour on a trip to the store that you otherwise wouldn’t have made.
A five year vacation timeshare plan that lets you trade your timeshare week for a week in any of a hundred other places might seem pretty good if you just look at the money. What they don’t mention is how complicated the exchange process can be. If it takes you 30 to 40 hours each year to trade your “week” for the vacation you really want, then you’ve just spent the equivalent of nearly a week of work to get your week of vacation, and you still have to pay for the vacation!!
Similarly, the “free vacation” offers that require you to sit through a two-hour sales pitch may not be as good as paying for a vacation during which you’re really on vacation.
Plastic surgery is more likely to seem worthwhile if you imagine that you are merely spending money for an improved appearance. But it’s more than just money. The surgery itself can take hours, and in the recovery process, you might lose several days to pain, followed by more days or weeks of ugly bandages and wounds. Chances are, the time costs are greater than the money costs. This is even more evident in orthodontic treatment, with the drastic lifestyle compromises it requires for a treatment period of one to three years.
Almost every computer comes with a free operating system, but if it is an operating system that requires you to spend a day or two per year patching and cleaning up security failures, how “free” is it?

Whatever you’re offered, remember how valuable your time is, and you won’t waste large amounts of time trying to save small amounts of money. Then, instead of feeling that smug feeling about the money you’ve saved, maybe you could start feeling smug when you simplify your life and save more of your time for the things you do that are most important to you.

Next month: Push Back

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