We all know the tired cliche that time is the most valuable asset. But what’s less known is that there are ways you can buy back your time. In fact, you may be surprised to learn just how cheaply you can do it. I’ll teach you exactly how below.
But first, you must understand that there are likely some limiting beliefs you’re going to need to get over along the way.
Allow me to illustrate with an anecdote:
I recently told my parents I was considering hiring someone to clean my apartment. They couldn’t believe it.
“You’ll have to pay for that, you know,” my Mom told me.
This attitude has always baffled me.
The people I know who drop money on fancy clothes, brand new cars, frequent meals out at expensive restaurants… These same people are often blown away to learn I rarely spend money on those things, and much prefer to spend it on stuff like: home cleaning, grocery delivery, mentorship, conferences, etc.
The reason I spend on these things is because I’m buying back my time. And I can actually do it pretty cheaply.
Most of the client work I do comes out to make me at least $100+/hr. And I value my free time, and the time I devote to my own projects, even more than the time I spend on client work. So why the hell would I spend that time doing things like cleaning my house, working on my car, or doing my taxes?
Don’t get me wrong, I still cook. I make my own coffee. I do my own laundry. But that’s because I like doing those things, or at the very least, I don’t mind them much. I HATE cleaning, taxes, and doing anything involved with maintaining my car. So if I can pay someone $15-50/hr to do those things for me, I’m going to do it. Every single time.
Similarly, people are always amazed at what I’ll spend on coaches, mentors, or conferences. What they don’t realize is that these things shave years off of your learning curve. What would you pay to buy back a year of your life?
This is the same reason I don’t have a spending limit or budget for books. You are literally buying someone’s condensed life wisdom… often for $10-20. That is one of the best ROIs ever.
So that’s it, dear reader.
If you want more time, you must buy it back from others.
Here are a few ways to do so:
- Home cleaning
- Grocery/meal kit delivery
- Wash-dry-fold laundry service
- Hiring out landscape/lawn care
- Books
- Coaching
- Mentorship
- Courses