Understanding The Money Value Of Time

Because Time Is (Literally) Equal To Money

Hi! I’m writing here after a while, and after countless attempts to be consistent :)

Today’s newsletter is about the importance of knowing money value of your time.

Introduction

When I first came to the US and started looking for on-campus jobs at NYU, I noticed something interesting. The pay wasn’t listed as an annual or monthly salary, it was shown as dollars per hour. Strange, right? Especially for us Indians, who are used to asking friends about their CTC (Cost to Company), the full annual package. That’s how campus placements worked during undergrad too.

But what if I asked you today: how much do you earn per hour? In other words, what is the money value of your time? Would you be able to answer quickly? Most people would pause because they’re unaware of it. And that’s the paradox. We often say time is our most valuable asset, yet we rarely know its actual money value.

Kunal Shah, the founder of Cred talks about this concept in this podcast:

”Some Indians might be earning $100/hr, but they’d still spend an hour finding coupon codes to save $10 on a flight ticket, simply because they’re not aware of the money value of their time.”

Before you read further, calculate your hourly rate by dividing your annual salary by 365 days x 24 hours.

Your Time Wealth

Sahil Bloom, one of my mentors, writes about this in the Time Wealth section of his New York Times bestselling book, The 5 Types of Wealth:

Would you trade lives with Warren Buffett? He has a net worth of approximately $130 billion, access to anyone in the world, and spends his days reading and learning. That all sounds great, and yet I'm willing to bet that very few of you would agree to trade lives with him.

Why not? Warren Buffett is, at the time of this writing, ninety-four years old. It doesn't matter how much money, fame, or access he has—you probably wouldn't agree to trade your remaining time for his. On the flip side, as Graham Duncan pointed out, there is a decent chance that Buffett would trade all of his billions of dollars to have your time.

This brings a paradox to the surface-one I call the paradox of time: You are subconsciously aware of the immense value of your time, but you regularly and consciously take actions that disregard that value.

Measure Your Time With Money

Once you truly understand the value of time, especially when you’re young, and begin measuring it in terms of money, your decision-making changes.

You start eliminating or outsourcing tasks that fall below your hourly rate. You become more intentional about who you spend time with, cutting out people or habits that drain your time (and therefore your money). And just as importantly, you begin to respect other people’s time, recognizing the cost they pay when they give it to you.

One of the biggest mindset shifts I’ve experienced after adopting this mental model is starting to view time as a finite asset. And once I did that, my behavior began to change in small but powerful ways:

• I join meetings 5 minutes early, having already researched the person, their organization, or any materials they sent me. It helps me make the most of the conversation, and shows that I value their time (and essentially, their money).

• If a meeting runs over, I always ask, “Can I take 3 more minutes for one final question?” Even small things like that show respect for my own time and for theirs.

• I’m extremely punctual, for both professional and personal calls, online or offline. I don’t like to keep anyone waiting, and I don’t appreciate being kept waiting without prior notice.

• I earn $30/hour pre-tax at my university job (more on that later). Based on that, I outsource at least 4 meals a week that cost me around $45 total. That saves me roughly 4-5 hours of cooking, time I can now invest elsewhere.

• My communication : Calls > voice notes > texts. I keep texting to a minimum.

• I’ve stopped spending hours arguing about the past. I’ve already removed the people who were emotional or mental liabilities. That alone saved me more time than I can count.

Bonus Point

One of the guest speakers in our marketing class introduced us to a fascinating concept about how different cultures perceive time.

• In Western countries like the US and many European nations, time is viewed as linear: a finite, scarce resource divided into measurable segments. This creates a schedule-oriented mindset, where punctuality, productivity, and efficiency are highly valued.

• In contrast, Eastern countries such as India and Japan tend to perceive time as cyclical. Time is seen as a repeating pattern, driven by seasons, life cycles, and natural rhythms. Here, events often unfold more organically, and the emphasis is placed on context, relationships, and flexibility, rather than rigid clock-based scheduling.

Click here to explore this concept further.

Conclusion

As you can probably sense, being in the US, and especially in a fast-paced city like New York has gradually shifted my relationship with time. Over the last eight months, I’ve found myself leaning more toward the Western way of viewing time: linear, measurable, and intentional.

That doesn’t mean I’m working nonstop or promoting toxic hustle culture. Far from it.

It simply means I’ve become more aware of the finite nature of time, and more intentional in how I use it. Because now, I know the money value of my time. And once you know that, it’s hard to go back to spending it carelessly.

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