This assignment made me think about the importance I place on money over how I value my time. Every day we make a series of small decisions about where we go to purchase goods and services. Sometimes, we will travel a bit further and spend a little more to get exactly the product or service we want. At other times, we will also extend ourselves that extra distance to save money. I realized I had been looking at this situation myopically factoring in the cost per gallon in fuel and the wear and tear on my car and not factoring myself into the decision.
The way I was looking at things, I was using a factor of a PVf equal to the Cost of the item times as many as I needed to buy that item. If I bought it locally there were no additional costs incurred, but I was not factoring in My Time (MT) at DT (.4 hour) + additional Check Out Time (.1 hour) for an additional 20. To drive to find a lower cost incurred the cost of driving of Big Box Cost (BBC) that was equal to Local (LC) cost + 20 x .2 mileages (M) for a formula of
LC (X) - BBC(X) + M = PVf
Now that I factor in my time the formula looks like this:
BBC(X) + MT + M - LC(X) = FVf
so that if I can buy mustard at $2 locally and 10 for $10 at Walmart the true cost of the mustard would be:
1(10) + (20 + 4) - 2(10) = 14
So that essentially, when I did not factor in my time I thought I was saving $6 by driving across town and that was my PVf, but when I factored in my time the “savings” of driving across town changed to a FVf and it actually cost me $14 to shop at store I did not even like.
When I thought about it, the moments add up quickly into dollars. No wonder my employer is so sensitive about staff who attend to personal business on company time. As for me and my driving time, sometimes it made sense, if the drive was a pleasant one, going the extra mile was no problem. However, I will never again haul myself across town to save a few dollars. My time is literally worth more than that. With the simple tools of a pencil, paper and a little bit of time, I was able to make my life both more productive and more pleasant.
References
Evans, L. (2012). Effective Use of Time Management Tools and Checklists. Retrieved 07 02, 2012, from Life 123: http://www.life123.com/career-money/career-development/time-management/effective-use-of-time-management-checklists.shtml
Mind Tools. (2012). Effective Scheduling. Retrieved 07 02, 2012, from Mind Tools: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_07.htm
Whitehorn, D. (2008, 12 01). Effective Use of Time. Retrieved 07 02, 2012, from Dedicated, The Legal Secretary Journal: http://www.legalsecretaryjournal.com/?q=effective_use_of_time
