Being frugal with TIME

[speakmato]

And I don't mean the magazine

I'm talking about what you did to save on time. I find that we're often too concerned about spending too much money (or making more of it) that we trade time for it, time we could use to relax and enjoy our all-too-short lives. I once read an article in The New Yorker about how making more money or having more space (say in a suburban house) wasn't always "worth" the time basically wasted in a really long commute.

Of course, that's a personal decision and everyone has different desires and limits, but I'd like to know what tiny things (or not-so-tiny) you've done of late to save time as opposed to money. After all, time may well be the most precious resource of all.

For example, the other day I chose to use my cell to call 1800free411 for a listing instead of my landline, because when checking listings on cell you can ask it to send a text with driving directions. It's weird and seems to save an infinitesimal amount of time, but I didn't have to walk back to my office to check google maps to print that stuff out.

The other day I decided that I'd be putting my recyclable trash into old paper grocery bags instead of plastic trash bags (for the wet trash), allowing me to just toss the whole paper bag in instead of having to empty the bag (plastic bags are banned from the blue bin). It also had the added benefit of reducing all the paper bags I had lying around.

Very small things, I know, but once they become habits, you end up having more and more time you can spend at play or in meditation or whatever. Perfect for the hippie lifestyle

What did you do to gather up your desired seconds?

[Broken Arrow]

That's an excellent topic! I'm much more concerned about time management than I am with money management.... Time is finite and once it's gone, it's gone for good. At least with money, you can make it back.

I don't have any particular tips to share though... just that everything in my life is centered around being as time (and money) efficient as possible... down to the placement of my garbage cans, motion sensing lights, etc etc....

[sweeps]

I save both time and money by using online bill pay.

I also save a lot of time by using an RSS feed reader. I can quickly browse updates to lots of web sites without actually going to them.

[LuxLiving]

a productivity dashboard:

Free Time Management Software | RescueTime

[cheap]

I use online bill pay to save time. I also save time by having someone else clean my house. My time is worth more than I pay the housekeeper.

[LuxLiving]

I save time by not going into the metro area unnecessarily. The Hubster works there. If there's something I need to pick up, drop off, buy, or research, I ask him to do it on his lunch hour or on the way home. Saves me time, money and wear and tear on the vehicles.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I am not very frugal with time.

I have the luxury of lots of time, as I do not now earn any income and have sufficient income through my husband. This means I can do things the slow way: Garden with no power equipment and no chemicals. Walk to the store a couple times a week. Help out friends spontaneously when they are in a jam partly because of their own lack of time. Do things like start a pot of beans to soak in the morning, then be here to turn on the gas to cook them just the right amount of time to be ready for supper. Read for hours in a day if I want. Research ethical investment possibilities. Without planning ahead, accept the invitation for supper with a friend in whose garden I have worked one afternoon. Strike up a conversation with the woman also looking through the books for sale at the dollar store. Grate up the motel soap bars that were in the bathroom drawer to use them ore easily for washing laundry. Paint the exterior trim on the house rather than hiring it out. Meticulously attend my amaryllis collection. Stop and smell the roses--not just once in a while like some sort of wake up call, but every day, multiple times a day. I am very, very, very blessed to have so much time. I am waiting for my DH to have so much as well.

[Caoineag]

When running errands, I organize by location so no backtracking.

When cooking (especially since we usually do it from scratch), we make multiple items at a time or do something else entirely while the meal is cooking such as clean house.

I pay all my bills online.

If I need to buy something other than clothes, I do my research online and usually buy online so I don't have to go shopping at multiple stores to find stuff. (this tends to save time and money on the things I tend to buy)

Thats all I can think of at the moment but lots of multitasking on simple tasks tends to mean I keep most of my time free to do things I enjoy.

[LuxLiving]

I use ebay and paypal to do gift shopping. Just bought a little something for FrugalSon's birthday (not for a few months yet) in about 5 minutes time. Bought thru Buy-It-Now on ebay, paid thru paypal. SPEEDY!! No lines, no going from store to store, got him something he'll love, and it didn't cost me any gas (other than what shipping I had to pay) and no wear and tear on my vehicle. I'm happy with the process! I don't like in-person shopping.

[PrincessPerky]

Originally Posted by Joan.of.the.Arch

I am not very frugal with time.

I have the luxury of lots of time, as I do not now earn any income and have sufficient income through my husband. This means I can do things the slow way: Garden with no power equipment ..... I am very, very, very blessed to have so much time. I am waiting for my DH to have so much as well.

sounds wonderful!

unfortunatly with 3.5 kids I don't seem to have time even though I don't work..wonder if I am doing something wrong?

generally if it is free I do it the quick way (online bill pay and such) but if it costs money I tend to do it the slow cheap way.

Exceptions would be using the dryer (allergies/doesn't dry in house..to huimid) and other cleaning chores.

On the other hand, I hurry thru chores so I have more time to spend with the kids