Americans report lack of money as their primary source of worry (Rheault, 2011), but to earn more money you have to trade your time. It’s a vicious cycle choosing between earning more income or having more free time. Hal E. Hershfield and his research shows that while money and time are both important resources it is often the case that more time makes you happier overall (“Chapter 2: What Makes People Happy” 119); there are diminishing returns on your level of happiness and your income. Not only is having and wanting more time correlated with increased reported happiness in the population at large, but spending that time developing relationships and enjoying life experiences correlates to increased reported happiness.
How does this relate to a singular person? I can only speak from my personal view to provide perspective, but I would also choose more time when asked the question on if I would prefer more money or time. A larger salary would be nice and I think that if this study was done in 2024, there would be a larger percentage of people stating that more money would make them happier with the rate at which inflation is wreaking havoc in people's lives. Certainly the amount necessary to have a good quality of life would be much higher today than it would be in the referenced article claiming $75,000 salary is where the return of increased emotional well-being of an individual levels off (Khanman& Deaton, 2010). Although I would prefer more time with my family over more money, I can say that as a parent and a husband it would be nice to have more money. I have a daughter that was born with a rare genetic condition that we did not know about until she was 4 months old. Since then, parenthood has looked very different and so do our finances. Where before we may have saved for a trip abroad or to see my family in Texas, we are now saving for expensive physical therapy intensives for her. There are many more doctors appointments and we may need a specially modified vehicle to transport her in the future. There is an unexpected financial burden that comes along with having a disabled child but my wife and I have worked out a budget that makes it that much easier to manage and discuss. Although more money would be nice to be able to afford both my daughter's therapy as well as regular trips to Texas, my family is more than willing to come here to visit. This allows us the ability to focus our financial resources on her.
Although finances are a struggle, I recently quit my job so that I can apply myself more in school and spend more time with my family. Working and being in school keeps me out of the house a lot which can make coordinating appointments that I need to attend very stressful. Being able to spend time with my wife was difficult, so having more time in my day is more valuable to me so I can enjoy having lunch with my wife and daughter. Being able to step in during an occupational therapy appointment so my wife can go to lunch with a friend is a seemingly small but life changing adjustment. Having more time will allow me to pursue hobbies and learn outside of school. I can start to work on game development that I have been chipping away at in a more serious manner. My wife can take time to join the community garden nearby without having to worry about who will watch our daughter. It will be an adjustment, losing income, but we are able to adjust to my veterans benefits by focusing on paying for needs and cutting out the expensive wants during this season of our life.
Having more time also allows me to focus on my own health. Working, being a father, and being in school does not leave much time during the work day for me to attend my own doctors appointments, workout, prepare meals, or get outside regularly. While in the Marine Corps I was in two motorcycle accidents that left me with persistent back pain. Having more time during working hours will allow me to finally go back to the doctor so that I can start physical therapy again. These appointments will cost money which is where the juggle between more time and more money again begins to become difficult. This is going to be balanced by money saved by preparing meals for the week so that my wife and I are not tempted to eat out. We could spend the money to eat a larger variety of foods from a store like Whole Foods or we can choose to eat nutritionally dense but simpler meals. The latter helps streamline the process of preparing foods for the week and also gives us more time to spend together as a family to do things such as getting outside more. We are in a unique position having a medically complex child who is physically disabled while also being a couple that likes to go out and do things outside like hiking. Having two people to help carry her or her equipment makes getting out, even for a walk at the park, much less stressful for my entire family.
Although I think many people would agree that if someone was to hand them a million dollars they would not say no, having more time that can be spent intentionally on bringing one joy has a brighter impact on our worldview. By choosing more time over more money I have opened myself up to better health, stronger bonds, and the ability to pursue my passions. Money is important to a certain extent. Being unable to afford rent, food, clothing, or anything that brings one joy would make someone miserable. It would make sense that that person would choose more money over more time in that situation but if all the necessities are provided for then life is for living. There is no greater joy that I get than being able to support and love my family. To feel their love for me in return makes all the hard days worth it.