I saw a post on Instagram today, “If you were offered $150 an hour to work on Thanksgiving from 5am to 5pm, would you do it?”
Twelve hours. One thousand eight hundred dollars.
A year ago, I wouldn’t have even hesitated. Hell yes. We can celebrate Thanksgiving on another day. Money is money, right?
But I’m currently reading Sahil Bloom’s book, The 5 Types of Wealth (which is excellent by the way), and it’s shifted something in me. It’s made me sit with the harder question, not “Do I want $1,800?” but “What am I giving up to earn it?”
Because yes, $1,800 could make a real difference. But at what cost? Exhaustion? Missing family? Showing up to dinner the next day exhausted and grumpy? Or worse, someone I love isn’t available the next day… and the moment is simply gone? Since my daughter flew the nest recently, this sits sensitively on top of my broken heart.
And then another question emerges, Why do I feel the need for the $1,800 so urgently?
If there’s a very specific goal, like a mortgage lump-sum payment that lowers interest and accelerates freedom, then maybe it’s worth it. Maybe. Or maybe you want to pay off the credit card that has been hanging around your neck like the Jacob Marley’s chains in A Christmas Carol (tis the season!). Then maybe it is worth it.
But if the money is just going to disappear into “life,” was the time and physical sacrifice worth it?
This is where Bloom’s idea of the five types of wealth hits home for me.
Financial, Physical, Social, Mental, and Time Wealth.
I imagine that most of us overvalue the first one and undervalue the other four. I know I have, from the moment I found myself a single parent and rather broke if I’m being honest, financial independence has been first and foremost in all my goals.
I want to pose a few questions to you in this post today, the kind that make you tilt your head a little and rethink what “wealth” really means. I’ll certainly be talking about this over dinner tonight (go find your earplugs honey!).
Questions to Help You Decide on Money vs. Time
1. What exactly is this extra money for?
Is it attached to a clear, meaningful goal, or is it just “more”?
Would it speed up something important (debt, savings, a dream), or simply vanish into the ether of living expenses?
2. What am I giving up for this money?
Not in theory, in reality.
Is it sleep? family connection? a rare moment of peace and quiet? your own rest?
Is the trade-off worth it?
3. How will this choice affect me the next day?
Will you be energized by the extra income… or too exhausted to enjoy the people you love?
4. If I choose money over time today, is this becoming a pattern?
Is this the only time you’d make this choice, or is this part of a bigger habit of sacrificing time wealth for financial wealth?
5. Which type of wealth am I trying to grow right now?
Am I prioritizing the right one for this season of my life?
6. If the money didn’t matter, what would I choose?
This one is confronting, and revealing and I feel like my choice today would be different from just a year or two ago.
7. What would “future me” thank me for?
Rest? Memory-making? Progress on a goal?
Which choice supports the version of you you’re trying to become?
A Final Thought
There’s no right or wrong answer to the $150-an-hour (US) Thanksgiving question.
Some seasons demand income. Others demand presence.
What matters is that we make the decision intentionally, understanding both the value of money and the value of moments that never return. By the way, I’m still hoping my daughter returns, but don’t tell her I said that.
When we start viewing wealth as more than just dollars, our decisions become richer too.
