Financial Friday: Wasted Time & Wasted Money Or Is It?

Wasted Time & Wasted Money Or Is It?

by Alice Shaffer

I was looking for a topic for this week's Financial Friday and was talking to a fellow professional nanny about the upcoming INA Conference.  We were discussing the costs involved in the INA conference. Yes they can be viewed as expensive to someone who doesn't have a large paycheck. I was sharing with this nanny, that everyone has to determine what their Opportunity Costs are.  For me I place a lot of opportunity cost and value in going to nanny conferences. These are the places where nannies and agencies are in a face to face environment, not online or on the phone.  Yes online and on the phone play important parts in everyone's life -both personal and professional. To me though, there is just something that is worth the pennies saved and the budget cuts and savings I make throughout the year to attend the conferences.  I guess one could compare it to shopping online vs shopping in a store, especially if you are touchy feely with the products you want to buy.  You may compare it to the newest E-book readers and reading a paperback book.   To me the value of these things become validated when I am in a professional environment with my colleagues and friends learning more about my career and industry-whether it costs me nothing but gas money or almost $1000.  

After my conversation ended with my friend, I was catching up on some blog reading and ran across a post this week on The Simple Dollar : What Exactly Is “Wasted Time” (or “Wasted Money”)? 

It is an excellent post on how the author was told that he was wasting his time playing board games with friends on the weekends.   Throughout the rest of the post was how to determine what YOUR values in time and money are.  It also helps you determine what is not a waste of your time and money. 

For me some things that are not a waste of time & money: 

• spending time with friends  

• playing board/card games with a group of friends monthly  

• going to Nanny Conferences, Nanny Support Group Meetings, Nanny Night Outs,

• visiting my family out of town as much as I can 

• spending money on the upcoming arrival of my niece/nephew

• membership fees to Nanny Support Groups & Associations

• my health insurance

• my weekly chiropractor visits

• my IRA, my savings accounts, my Smartypig goal accounts

• my personal trainer I see twice a week

  What are some of things that are/are not a waste of time & money for you?