Is Time Really Money?

The expression “Time is money” is a very commonly used phrase in English. People use it all the time in a variety of different ways. It is used most often by businesspeople that want to spend their time for business and making money and not for idle chitchat or small talk. It’s used to say “Hurry up” or “Don’t waste my time”. Personally, I don’t like when people use that expression this way, but I have to agree with the expression itself. Developing skills, doing work, and learning all take time. In order to get a job that pays well, you need to spend time obtaining skills to get such a job. There are very few exceptions to this case. Sometimes people can get lucky and win the lottery, inherit a lot of money from family, or so on.

As children, we are often told to study in school and to get good grades for the sake of our future. Most parents want their children to get into a good university and work a high paying job. Most children do not realize just how important it is to use time wisely. I think it is a bit cruel to force children to study only for the sake of making money and being successful in the future, but nevertheless it is important to think about this when raising a child. We need to invest a lot of time and money into a child’s education in order for them to make money in the future. It is an endless cycle.

I think it would be more accurate to say that time is everything. People want to pursue their dreams and live their lives the way they want to. Nearly all of those dreams involve money. Traveling the world, living a luxurious life, even helping others through volunteering involves money in some shape or form. Time is probably our most important finite resource while money is our most important manmade resource. We spend time to make money, and spend that money to make ourselves happy by pursuing what we like, which also takes up our time.

There is another saying related to time; “Time waits for no one”, which says time is always moving and we can’t pause our lives. Another way to interpret this saying is that we have a limited amount of time to live, so we should use it wisely. I much prefer this saying to “Time is money” because it has better implications than “You should use your time to make money”. As humans, we can’t afford to spend time hesitating over everything.

There have been several times where I think to myself “What I’m doing is a waste of time and I could be using this time in a better way”, but I never think, “Time is money”. As much as I dislike the expression, I have to begrudgingly agree with it. I am very concerned about our future and the high possibility that we humans will continue to live and prosper only by making money. Unfortunately, I don’t think we can escape from this path to a money-centric future.

Rai

Vocabulary

chitchat (noun) ? a light, casual conversation
exception (noun) ? something that does not follow a rule or pattern
cruel (adjective) ? causing bad feelings in others
for the sake of (idiom) ? for the good or benefit of
finite (adjective) ? having a limit; not infinite
begrudgingly (adverb) ? reluctantly or resentfully; unhappily or unwillingly