Why time is more valuable than money

You can't make it back, so spend it wisely

When most people hear the words ‘value’, ‘cost’, or ‘price’ – they immediately think about money. In our society, money is the default measurement used to determine if a person is ‘well off’, so much so that the word ‘wealth’ is often used interchangeably with ‘money’. So many of the major decisions we make throughout our lives involve earning, spending, and saving money.

This is not going to be an essay about how ‘money doesn’t matter’ because I don’t believe that. Money is important. Even if you don’t consider yourself a money-focused person, you can’t deny that it’s hard to live without it.

There are modern city dwellers who dream of living off-grid, tending to a farm and living off the land. But that costs money. One does not acquire farmland and proper shelter for free.

Even those who claim that ‘money doesn’t matter’ quickly realise how much it does, when they need it in an emergency, or when they are struggling to pay for their bills and groceries.

You can lament the existence and importance of money all you want, but such complaints have no tangible benefit.

With that said, money is only one of the resources we have available to us, and I would argue that it is not the most important.

Consider this:

Who is wealthier between a 90-year-old billionaire and 20-year-old with zero net worth?

Assuming all else is equal, who would you rather trade places with? Most people, young and old, would pick the latter. Why? Because he or she has more time, more vitality, and therefore, more potential.

I use this extreme example to demonstrate how money is not necessarily the most valuable form of wealth. Essentially, it is a store of value and unit of exchange. But intrinsically, it has little value compared to resources like health, time, and relationships, all of which are rarer and more fundamental to well-being. Of course, money is not totally disconnected from these, or other forms of wealth.

Money is constantly being created (that’s why we have inflation). On an individual level, we can make money, lose money, and make money again repeatedly. Running out of money is not ideal, but if you’re still alive and capable, you can make it back.

The same cannot be said for time. Time is finite and any time that we spend cannot be made back. The clock ticks only in one direction, and none of us have a rewind button for life. We don’t even have a pause button.

As a result, time is extremely precious. Perhaps the popular expression ‘time is money’ should be replaced with ‘time is more valuable than money’. I believe this would be more accurate.

If this idea was more deeply steeped in the public consciousness, the way people live would look rather different. Fewer men and women would feel inclined to sacrifice their limited time, relationships, and long-term physical and mental well-being to chase additional money that they don’t really need. People would guard their time with more care and avoid spending it frivolously, or on things that harm them.

Most individuals and societies intuitively understand the value of youth. Some even say that, “Youth is wasted on the young” because as we age and gain life experience, we gain a better appreciation of the advantages of youth.

As the amount of time we have decreases, the remaining time becomes scarcer and thus more valuable. In modern societies, we tend to reduce the advantages of youth to the physical (health, looks, athleticism, etc.), but the greatest advantage of youth may simply be longevity. Having more time to live means having a greater potential to fulfil.

When potential is used well, it leads to success. Older people typically have an advantage when it comes to finances and knowledge precisely because they’ve had many decades to exercise their potential. The better they fulfilled their potential, the more ‘successful’ we may consider them.

However, regardless of your age, we all have potential. When you are setting your priorities and making decisions, make sure you consider your time and health at least as much as you consider the financial aspects.

After all, these are two of the most precious resources that we have.