I used to get hung up on the “time is money” thing too, but now that I am self-employed, I look at it a little differently. Exercising or spending time taking actions designed to save money is not “wasted” time, because I can simultaneously use that time to think about my business. I know I will always make time to have an appointment with a client, so how I use all the time that I am not actually spending with clients is just an opportunity to generate ideas and improve my life in other ways as well.

But then again, I suppose you planned on going back again that month and could use the coupon then.

It was kind of cool to go to Hawaiian goodwill actually because they had a giant rack of Hawaiian shirts that they called ‘Aloha shirts’, a giant rack of muumuus, and more floral/summer dresses than any other thrift shop I’ve ever been to. Usually trying to find a decent summery dress at a thrift shop in the Northeast is really tough.

Love the link on thrift shops. However, I don’t think they gave some of the really good tips! For example: I always dress in a very tight fitting top (usually my ballet leotard) and a loose, flowing skirt. That way, I can try on any clothes I want to in the store and still be modest if they don’t have a dressing room. This has helped eliminate so many purchases that I never wore because I didn’t like the way they fit when I got home.

Thanks for an awesome blog!

I did drive to the store however, so I guess your story is still better.

Seriously though, been there done that many times. Now I just buy anything I think I might need and return the unwanted bits next time I’m at the hardware store. It seems with a house you’re constantly there anyway.

My husband and myself went to the hardware store to buy an appartment bike. It’s half an hour away.

We forgot our shopping bag/cart to carry the bike back home. How stupid. (Here is a picture of a cart/bag similar to ours except for the colour and pattern http://tinyurl.com/lheljv)

We walked for about ten minutes, him carrying the bike box and me carrying a blender (that we bought on sale for 50 unplanned dollars).
Then we realised we couldn’t do it (well, he couldn’t). He went home with the blender to get the cart while I waited for him.

I realise if I had brought the blender home instead, he could have carried the box a bit closer. Instead, I just waited, and I couldn’t even lift the box. I felt stupid.

Finally, he was back after close to an hour (we never got very far from the shop) and we got the bike home.

We wasted a lot of time by forgetting to bring the bag/cart along in the first place. It carried the box perfectly (we took the bag off of it and tied the box to the frame).

It didn’t cost us any money at all, but what a waste of time! We’ll make sure to plan it better next time.

Thanks for linking to The Ultimate Guide to Thrift Store Shopping. I’m a huge thrift store fan, if that wasn’t apparent, and love finding good deals. Glad you found the post useful!

I split my time between London and rural New England. In London, I use public transport and my feet to get around, and just about every errand I run (whether public transport is involved or not) involves a round-trip walk of over half a mile, plus the 35 stairs up to my flat. In New England, I have a car and only take a walk when I decide to get some exercise — time always seems too short to walk to the post office/bank/shops, when I know I can combine errands, take the car, and get back to work faster.

I feel more efficient when I’m in New England, zipping around to get stuff done and maximizing my time in front of the keyboard. But I feel so much better in London: my clothes fit, I have more energy, my ‘keyboarding backache’ goes away, concentration is better.

Much of life is about achieving balance, and acknowledging and managing the (often hidden) costs that accompany benefits.

J.D., I hope you can keep up the walking regime for as long as you want to, perhaps even using your walk time to work on your book. When I was still teaching lit., some of my best students were swimmers and long-distance runners, who used used their lengthy training time to mull over their reading or outline their essays.

Heather (#22): You’re 100% right – I’ve got to remember that strategy.

J.D did not miss any deadlines (I see this post) but he was able to get some exercise, live life and just be. Stop forcing dollar value on all aspects of one’s life! So much for personal finance!!!!

I’ve never put this into practice but a friend of mine who did a lot of plumbing work on his bathroom told me that instead of making 4 million trips to Home Depot he would just buy a whole pile of plastic fittings, joints etc to have available since they were so cheap. It really cut down on travel time.

In my main job I’m a minister, so I’m with you 100% on the question of there being more to life than money. What I meant to address, though, was the question of value.

Dollars and cents are neither good nor bad; they are simply one way to measure value. Though I used to have a very high paying job, pursuing a call to ministry had a much higher value than the salary I was earning.

My primary point was that we should be intentional about our choices, whether they involve our money, our time, our emotion or our energy. I’ve done a program with high-powered CEOs where I have them document how they spend their week, then have them break it down further into categories — time at work, time with spouse/partner, time with kids, etc. Finally I ask them to list the three most important things in their life. It’s a pretty big moment when they realize that the most important thing in their life — almost always their family — is getting a small fraction of their time. Since most have never really calculated the cost (emotional, relational, etc.) of how they spend their time, the exercise’s impact is often considerable.

Time has value, whether with roses or work. That was the point I was trying to make.

Perhaps a little planning before going out would help? Or maybe you can bring a little pouch with you that has all the important little coupons and documents with you when you go walking.

It’s really heavy and works just fine for lightweight projects. But I’m a renter, and hate to drill holes in somebody else’s workbench – plus I always think that this lease is my last lease here. (6+ years later I’m in the same house.)

These bolts were to mount a bench vise. I bought this bench vise in June 2004, on the weekend we moved into the house. But I didn’t buy the stuff to mount it to the bench. For five years, I’ve had a useless bench vise on my workbench. Why? Because I didn’t have the right bolts. And during these past five years, I’ve done nothing to remedy the situation. sigh

Sometimes I am so lazy and dumb that I astound myself.

I like to factor in the value of time when trying to save money whilst shopping. If saving 5 cents takes too long and involves going to multiple shops which are not in close proximity, i don’t consider it to be a worthwhile saving.

How do you read while you walk? I’d end up on my face for sure.

Next time put the coupon in your wallet to make sure you have it with you when you need it.

Good choice in not spending just to be spending.

Molly, there is also more to time than money. Walking to the hardware store provides exercise, and sometimes it’s enjoyable to take a walk.

All of life shouldn’t be whittled down to saving pennies here and there (remember the cocoa story?).

Stop and smell the roses.