This insightful guest post is brought to you by Amy Davis of Slay Your Budget. Amy, an ardent fan of the University of Pittsburgh Panthers, previously worked as a therapist, but now she’s a full-time mother of four and staunch advocate for financial freedom. This shift in focus came about after her third daughter needed a long NICU stay and numerous surgeries resulting in substantial medical bills. So, as you read her compelling personal journey and intriguing revelations about the value of her time, we hope you’ll find something that resonates with you.
There was a time when my professional life revolved around being a therapist for children and teenagers grappling with various mental health issues. The children and teens came to me after a psychologist had evaluated and deemed them in need of treatment. It was my job to devise a treatment plan and kick-start their therapy journey.
Creating these treatment plans was a collaborative effort with the parents, aiming to pinpoint areas for improvement and agreeing on shared strategies to address these issues. More often than not, the concerns voiced by parents revolved around their children not listening, talking back, having tantrums, etc.
Bear with me; this does lead to a discussion about personal finance!
Working in healthcare, it wasn’t enough to simply assure everyone that we would work through these problems, despite my trustworthy nature. There needed to be proof that the time and resources spent on a child were making a difference in their behavior.
And to do this, I had to define and then measure progress against these behaviors- a concept we call “operational definition” in psychology. The importance of this concept lies in its universality- two different people assessing the same treatment plan should have a clear understanding of the behaviors they are measuring.
Take temper tantrums as an example. What could be a child throwing themselves on the floor and crying for one parent, might mean screaming and hitting for another.
Hence, a treatment plan shouldn’t vaguely state that “the child will listen.” Instead, it should specifically mention, “the child will respond with the requested action on the first prompt 4 out of 10 times,” which provides a quantifiable definition and measure.
Then the progress can be tracked and goals can be refined. If a child achieves the target of 4 out of 10, we can then aim for 10 out of 10.
This long explanation is just to highlight one point – we have to define things measurably, even when it comes to our personal financial desires.
When confronted with something desirable, it’s easy to say “I want that” or “I really want that,” but what does that really mean? These are ambiguous words that don’t provide quantifiable information.
My approach is to question whether it is worth my time. What’s really at stake here?
Consider the nature of my job with these children and their families. It was far from glamorous or comfortable. We worked in challenging environments, homes or schools, facing the reality of poverty and sometimes squalor.
There were times when my clients were teenagers, much bigger than myself, and some were prone to violence. My task was to encourage them to think and behave in a way that they were naturally averse to. Despite its emotional rewards, it was often draining and poorly compensated.
So, every time I look at something I want, like a $100 pair of shoes, I ponder if it truly justifies five hours of arduous, discomforting work? When placed in this perspective, it seems easier to resist.
Even if you love your job, you’re exchanging time for the things you crave. Is a new $4,000 HD TV truly worth swapping possibly 100 hours spent with your loved ones, pets, or at a favorite holiday spot?
If bought on credit, the time spent paying it off could possibly exceed 100 hours.
Chew on that for a moment.
As a stay-at-home mother, though, am I still tied to this time-based cost? I can almost hear my regular readers who know my story ask.
Yes, I am not trading my own time initially, I am however, investing my husband’s time. The idea of spending my husband’s time away from our family makes me even more cautious about spending.
Thus, when considering buying something non-essential, I think to myself whether the time spent earning that amount is worth the item I want.
Believe it or not, that often makes the answer a simple ‘no’.
Even if you are retired and not trading your time directly, ask yourself if buying that item is justifiable when you could have used that money to earn dividends or maintain your IRA.
So, whenever making a purchase, think about its relative value to your time and earnings, not just the price on the tag.
And how about you? Do you assess the worth of your wants quantifiably before purchasing? I’d love to hear if this method had made a difference in your finances! Are you finding this post useful?