Is Time Really Money?

In the year 2011, the movie “In Time” came out starring Justin Timberlake and a beautiful actress who is out of my league. Like, really out of my league. Like, if she’s in the NBA, I’m TV personality Ryan Seacrest. Anyways, the concept of the film is once you turn 25, you have a limited amount of time left in your life. People are able to receive more time by working essentially making “time” the form of currency. A cup of coffee costs a couple minutes, a bus ride a couple more, and clothes even more. You get the point. But this begs the question, how much relevance does this world have to ours?

“Time is money.” – Probably the same dude that invented fire let’s be honest. He was a go-getter.

*Disclaimer* I’m not being sexist, keep in mind this was an extremely long time ago and women weren’t allowed to coin phrases back then. (I just used “coin” as a verb while referencing the phrase ‘time is money.’ The wordplay, yes I know. I write for Jay sometimes.)

Let’s make the connection between our world and the one in the movie. It’s date night and you want to take a girl out to a restaurant at least on the same caliber of a TGI Fridays. (By the way, they’re not paying me for the plug, I just really like the Bourbon Barrel Chicken.) An entrée is going to cost around $13, and her entrée is going to cost about the same assuming she is a keeper and does NOT order a salad. If you two both get drinks then your tab is around $40 after tip. Don't be a horrible human, tip 20 percent if everything went smoothly.

Okay so let’s say you earn about $10 an hour. That’s a decent wage for kids our age. If your check was $40, then that date cost you four hours. It took four hours of work before you could take Denise out to eat. I mean Denise is pretty cute, has a great smile and eyes that look like forever but that date cost you four hours of your life. Was it worth it?

The point of this post is to bring to attention where you “spend” your time. Money can come and go so fast. The next time you see a price tag, think about that number in terms of hours worked instead of dollars. As we transition to adulthood, we tend to work and spend more. Money and time management go hand in hand. Time is priceless, spend it wisely.

Oh and when I said, “I write for Jay” earlier, I was referring to Jay Z. When you’re friends with him, you don't have to use his last name.

Daniel Santasier