The Value of Time

I have always heard that everything has a price tag on it.  Now I do have a few items in my house that I would not take money for but overall, everything has a value.  Society has taught us to place a value on everything.  What about time?  What is the value on our time?

I have to admit that in the past, I never factored in my time to the value of things.  I just ordered my first set of groceries to be delivered to the house and it was totally worth a $10 delivery fee to save myself the trouble.  In the past, I would think, "I am not paying someone to do something I can do myself.  Well, my time is worth $10 to me.  I will invest in delivered groceries again.  

Travel agents get paid when you book your vacation.  The work they do in advance of that booking to gather information for you is their time.  If you don't book with them, then you have robbed them of their time.  Be committed when you involve another person.  Be committed if you ask an artist to design a tattoo for you.  They get paid when you get the tattoo.  People's time has a value on it.  If you hire a speaker, the price reflects the time to prepare what needs to be said.

Some places charge for their time.  Some tattoo artists even charge a deposit to put a pencil to paper.  I don't blame them.  I have witnessed so many times that someone comes into the shop, discussed a design, had it drawn and then did not get it.  Most places require a non refundable deposit on work to prevent this.  A deposit to hold a car, furniture, goods and even services is a good idea to ensure that we have skin in the game.  We are humans and if we don't have skin in the game, we tend to not follow through with our plans.  

If you scroll past this blog post with one thing, let it be the awareness that more goes into things that the actual thing itself that requires time.  Most don't get paid until the task or goods are complete.  Be aware and be committed when you involve others in your dealings.  Our time is valuable.  I need to order my groceries now so that someone else can shop for me.  My time is valuable.

Make today the best ever!
​Jennifer