We often think of saving time and saving money as virtues to be proud of. Especially if we grow up in a culture or community that prizes frugality, it’s easy to think that saving resources is an end in itself.
But, while we all might have different approaches to our finances and our time, I think it’s important to have goals when it comes to saving. If our goal is to just have more, then I’m afraid we won’t actually experience the value of more. As someone who believes that having is not an end in itself, I find myself reassessing exactly why I want to keep what I keep– and save what I do save– for the future.
Let’s talk about saving time first. Why do we always feel short on time? I shared earlier this week about why it’s important to have unstructured free time, but I wrote less about the importance of actually using it well. Give me some “free time” in front of my computer, and I’ll be on Pinterest, surfing random websites and looking at gardening ideas. Fun, maybe, but probably not what I need.
So, when we save time— whether it’s simplifying our meal prep, putting together a capsule wardrobe, or choosing to be less busy– we also need to know what we actually want to do with that saved time.
It can be as simple as sleeping a little longer. It could mean going for a walk. We might even prefer to sit down to a real breakfast rather than stuffing a granola bar in our purses and hitting the drive-through.
But we need to know what we’d like our extra time to entail before we start “saving time”. And when we’ve identified those goals, then we’ll be less likely to squander the additional minutes we’ve gained.
So what about saving money? There are so many reasons that can motivate us to save money, and I’m unable to cover them all. But, I believe that saving money should not simply be for the sake of having more of it.
I was fortunate to grow up in a family that was not in constant financial struggle. But I do admit to witnessing family members who felt that just a little more money in the bank would provide more security, stability and freedom.
But guess what? It didn’t seem to. While earnings increased, insecurities remained. There was not a moment when I saw them say, “Now I have enough. Good. I can stop.”
So what do we save money for? I think it’s an excellent question to ask on a regular basis. Whether it helps you resist buying things you don’t need, or reminds you of what your highest priorities are, it’s good to know why you’re saving. It’s good to know what you hope it will do in the future.
Why I save time and money: 4 reasons
Quality time with friends and community. I love being able to stay late at our community group, or go out for the occasional coffee with a friend. Both my husband and I enjoy cooking and serving dinner.
Traveling to new places to sightsee or volunteer. This year’s travel line-up is an exciting one! We’ll be exploring gorgeous places, visiting new friends and hopefully snapping some great photographs.
Times of need in our family and community. I believe that generosity is a state of mind rather than a percentage or number, but I want to be able to be hugely generous. And it’s important to have an emergency fund, too!
Peace, health, and well-being of our bodies, our minds and our world. We care a lot about the food we eat and how we treat our own bodies as well as the bodies of others. This means we care deeply about how our purchases and consumption affect our community and our world.
What do you save time and money for? What are some ways you would like to use these resources in your life?
Wonderful blog post, thank you for sharing! You’re so right about saving time, and then ending up using it for Pinterest or something. 😉 I was recently given a little bit of money to buy myself something nice. I’ve been saving it, but I’m saving it not indefinitely. I’m saving it until I find something that is useful, pretty, or brings me joy.
It’s absolutely true that we should have goals and know what we’re aiming for when it comes to time and money–or it might be going to things that aren’t a priority to us at all. Right now, we have specific financial goals–we’re saving up for a car, setting up a new apartment, and a future baby–so that gives us direction and motivation. I’m not one to save money just for the sake of having more of it, because that’s an endless pursuit.
This is so good Daisy. There is a balance for sure but I get a little concerned when people mistake their job as security/provision. God is our provision and I have to trust that if I’m honoring Him my needs (maybe not all of my wants) will be provided. There were moments early on after my husband went freelance where really we shouldn’t have been able to pay our bills (my husband went freelance) and every time it worked out. We hustle for sure but I’m constantly reminded that it’s not only our hustle that provides savings.
I feel like I try to save money to have some security. To be more specific, I like having some savings in case something goes terribly/something unexpected happens. I think it’s good to think about worst case scenarios and be prepared for them!
– Deniz
http://www.dressedupdeniz.com
My husband and I was just talking about this last night, Daisy! We were in the my little one’s room with no electronics and we find it to be very peaceful, no background noise and we vowed to make it an everyday thing. We’ll take the time to concentrate on each other without any distractions. Great post as always, Daisy! xx
Shireen | Reflection of Sanity
My main goal (in this season of my life) is to save time and money to be able to spend as much time with my baby girl as possible. I’m able to work from home (doing my freelance work) part time as a result of saving money and being frugal in a lot of areas of our life. And anytime I can save time in one area….it means I have more to devote to either work (to be able to keep staying at home) or my family. It’s all a cycle of give and take in my life right now 🙂
I definitely set goals for saving money, but I can’t say I really set goals for saving time. I mean, I have ideas in mind, but not concrete goals. I love that idea! I think I’ll start saving time to get more sleep. 🙂 I suppose you may have already guessed that I save money for travel! We also work really hard to save money for retirement, and we try to max out our IRA each year. What’s your travel line up for this year? I can’t wait to hear/read all about it!
This is a great post! I think we really do need reasons for saving time and money so these things don’t become idols with insatiable hunger, and it’s important to keep those goals/ reasons in mind. There are people I know and love who run rat races of all types (even if, on the surface anyway, they appear to be very non-materialistic people), and it’s because they don’t have clear goals defined. I wish they would read this post too!
I really liked and agree with this post. I’ve met so many people who seem so bent on saving, but I’m not exactly sure what they’re saving for! Money is completely worthless to me if I don’t have any plans for it. ANd to me, I prize time over money any day haha 🙂
These are great points. I guess I have never really thought of saving time! I just always feel like I never have enough time as it is, but I could sure use to save some of it. And I admit to sometimes having the mindset of just wanting to save money to have money. I think it’s the in case of emergency mindset. If someone ends up with a big medical bill or we total a car or something, we won’t be high and dry. But there are always things that come up so it is hard to get to that place of just having much extra anyway! At least for the season of life we are in right now. Always inspiring, Daisy!
I think the idea of saving money and to what extent can be a strong cultural thing. I took a financial literacy class a couple months ago and it definitely was a huge dose of reality for financial things after college. But I love how you explain that saving money just to save money doesn’t really get you anywhere. I loved that you said to have more shouldn’t really be the end goal, and it really isn’t. It’s so good to look at money and realize that yes, it is a means to having other things in life or traveling and having new experiences, but it isn’t what we value. It’s just paper after all! That is to say, saving money is very important once we know the things in life we are striving for and the experiences we want to have, with family, friends and others. Thank you so much for sharing this perspective Daisy! You always shed a lot of insight on important ideas like this!
This is a side that you don’t hear about often. I loved the meaning behind this post!
It’s so true.
Saving time and money can be GREAT, but really only if there’s a goal in mind for that time and money.
I save time because I want to spend more quality time with my husband.
I save money because it’s our dream to own a home.
It’s so frustrating that even at a person’s wealthiest they feel like they cannot stop. The human mind can never be satisfied. Where on Earth did that come from? I love your posts because you make me think. My day goes on thinking about my “free time” thinking about my trip to the store and only actually grabbing what I need. We are saving little by little what we can, with hopes to purchase a home later this year or early next. I really want to have a home before we get married next year because that is it’s own stress. Your posts inspire and bring me back to reality. You should write a book. (; I think it’s be a bedside staple to remind me that what I have is enough, life is enough and to find the strength to be content.
http://www.accordingtokiki123.blogspot.com
This post really made me stop and think – why are we trying to save money? For our future home, future travels, future experiences,and future family! I think it’s a wonderful thing to keep in mind, and helps to remind us why we make little daily sacrifices!
I love reading your posts because they’re always thought provoking and makes me evaluate parts of my life! I was always taught to save money “for a rainy day”. Since I’ve been on my internship, I’ve been trying to save money (which isn’t easy) but I’ve become so obsessed with saving as much as I can and becoming stingy with it! Whenever I need to get something fixed in my car, I feel sad that I have to cough up hundreds of dollars but reading this made me realize that moments like these are what I’ve saved for! I’m (supposed to be) saving for money in case of an emergency and so I shouldn’t be so sad to part with it when it’s what I’ve been saving for.
thesundaywardrobe.blogspot.com
I feel like I am always saving! Right now we are saving to pay off a loan and for our trip we are taking in the summer! I find I always have a goal in mind when saving though, I don’t think I’ve ever saved just to “have more money”
Really great post! 🙂
http://www.losetheroad.blogspot.ca
So true about money! There have been a bunch of studies done on this – everyone things a set amount will class them as ‘rich’, but when they reach that amount they don’t feel ‘rich’ so they want more….
It is important to have goals for so many things in life, but savings goals are a great idea! 🙂
Away From The Blue