Time is money ...

I recently went to #Nordstrom Rack just to purchase some inexpensive sandals. As many of my readers know, 95% of the time, I choose quality over quantity and have no problem dropping good money for well-made goods. This just happened to be one of those 5% times where I needed a cheap pair of sandals quickly for a weekend away.


I didn't have time to wait for a cheap pair from Amazon and my foot is really difficult to fit shoes to properly so I needed to try them on. Besides, I had a $20 coupon for Nordstrom Rack and wanted to use it. I searched that shoe section for an hour trying to find something that fit my foot, was not made in China and that was under $50. I got two out of three (under $50 and fits really well, still made in China). I also found a cute pair of black flats for $40 as well


Here is where it gets interesting. The shoes (each cost approximately $39) less than $80 for both and I had a $20 off any purchase coupon. So, my purchase price went down to $60 for both. I found the same two pair of shoes for $15 cheaper each on #Amazon (with free shipping). So, did I spend the time, fuel and effort to take the shoes back so I can order them on Amazon or is my time worth more than $10?


This is a question I ask myself often. Do I go to three different grocery stores and spend an hour clipping coupons so I can save $20? Well, I don't know about you but my time, at least according to my tax records, is worth about $30 an hour and I have better things to do with my $30 an hour than trek around town to save $10. In case you are wondering, I ended up not taking the shoes back. So, the moral of the story is this, do you spend more time (which is money) trying to save money when you really only break even? And a second thought, do you know your real worth enough to know when wasting your time to save a buck really is wasting your money?