I want to share a revelation with you. It's about time. No, I don't mean it's about time that I do this. I'm talking about time compared against money.
I was sitting in a waiting room with my young son, having been dropped off because an injury meant I could not drive. And it got me contemplating what life would be like with someone to ferry me back and forth. No need to factor in park and walk time - oh, the many minutes I could save. In fact, my vehicle could double as a mobile office, with me beavering away in the back. But before getting carried away daydreaming, was it financially viable?
Chatting to my little one, I wondered out loud whether it would be an idea to hire a driver or save the money. He said save money. And that was it. Like a thunderbolt. Of course I should save money. And spending on a driver would help me do just that.
I can't do two things at once - I keep having to relearn that one - so if I had someone to run errands, drop things off, pick them up and do basic food shopping, if I could sit and work in the back of the car while being driven, if I could free myself up - mentally as well as physically - from certain mundane tasks, then yes, it would save me money. Because my hour is worth more than the driver's, I would be earning the difference if I worked during those hours. More importantly, though, it would buy me time.
You see, it was not just about squeezing every possible working moment out of a day.
Buying this sort of support would mean that I got to talk to and interact with my child when going somewhere in a more enjoyable way. Instead of having the corner of his head visible to me in the rear-view mirror and him talking to the back of my right shoulder, we could read books, doodle or just sit side by side.
Overall it would mean a more relaxed me, reclaiming many hours over the course of a week.
Hiring a driver might seem a tad over the top, but we do this sort of thing all the time. What it boils down to is exchanging money for time.
We do this every time we buy pre-packed food, for example, or a loaf of bread. Instead of spending the time baking, we want to use that time doing something else.
There's always a trade-off. Perhaps you're booking a holiday - do you spend more on a direct flight and get an extra day where you're headed? Or do you sacrifice your time and save money getting a non-direct flight? Perhaps you are saving up for a down payment to buy property, are paying down debt, or want to spend more on a special occasion. Is your time worth delaying that goal?
Do you book that expensive hotel that's right in the middle of town so you can just walk out and take in the city, or save money staying further out and having to commute every day?
Sometimes we will value money more, other times it will be time that we prioritise.
We are constantly exchanging money for time - and time for money.
Deciding which is more important is very personal. Some days money will matter more to us, other days time will. We each have to figure out what works for us and why. One thing I'm sure of is that I value time more and more with each passing day. And whereas chances are you buy your bread ready-made, I want time to bake my own, and break it with the special people in my life.
And so the decision is made. I'd rather be a fresh person getting out of a tired car than a tired person getting out of a fresh, top-model car. Now please excuse me while I figure out how to hire that driver.
Nima Abu Wardeh is the founder of the personal finance website cashy.me. You can reach her at nima@cashy.me
