We’ve all heard that time is money, but how would you like a $4,500/hr return on your time?
Well I got good news and bad news.
The good news is anyone can earn this return. The bad news? You can only earn it for about 4 seconds.
Believe it or not, once in awhile, I’ll clip a coupon. Apparently millionaires aren’t suppose to admit this, but I will and I’ll tell you why.
First, some might argue that I’m negative on coupons.
I’m really not.
My contention is that they won’t make you rich. Yup, you’re not going to get rich because you clipped a 50-cent off coupon for a box of Barilla Pasta.
Still, many Slowlane disciplines are great behaviors to carry into your Fastlane because they will keep you rich. I make no bones about it. When I was a broke, struggling entrepreneur I clipped coupons. I shopped at Goodwill. I did many of the things you do, and yes, I still do.
Remember, time is your most valued asset. Outside of your mortal limits, time cannot be created, only spent or wasted.
Here is a great example.
Like most guys, I’m pretty routinized when it comes to grocery shopping. I go to the same grocery store, Frys, once a week and usually buy the same stuff. My checkout tab is usually about 35 bucks.
Now every week, I get the pictured coupon mailed to me in my mailbox.
The coupon is for Fresh and Easy Marketplace but I don’t shop there. However, because I’ve shopped at Frys 20,000 times in my lifetime, I know they take competitor coupons.
So here is my admission: I actually rip this coupon out and toss it into my wallet. It takes me 4 seconds to do so. Since there is virtually no time cost to this action AND I know I will be at Frys once per week, the Return on Time Invested (ROTI) on this little action yields stellar Fastlane returns.
If you calculate the value of this coupon in terms of an hourly rate, it is $4,500 per hour. Yes, $4,500 per hour!
Here is the calculation:
(60 seconds / 4 seconds) X $5 X 60 minutes = $4,500 per hour.
Last time I checked, I don’t earn $4,500 per hour. Every so often, a coupon can strike up a Fastlane return with no time cost.
This is why I find this coupon worthy of my attention, and any coupon that carries with it a negating time cost (a few seconds) is worthy of clipping. The problem I have is the miseducation that coupons will somehow make you rich, or when people spend hours-and-hours clipping coupons only to experience negligible saving.
My point is this: Your primary concern shouldn’t be how much money you can save on that 12 pack of Coke, but at what rate are you valuing your time?
While we can see a “Millionaire Fastlane return” on this coupon for a few seconds, are you getting a Millionaire Fastlane return on your weeks, months, or years? Are you getting a Millionaire Fastlane return by sitting in traffic and working in a cubicle for 50 hours a week? And will you EVER?
Offense is earning. Defense is saving.
~ MJ
And Stop The Prostitution of Monday Through Friday!
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