Why the Cheapest Option Can Cost You More: The Hidden Value of Buying Back Time
A behavioural finance perspective on why saving money is not always the same as making a valuable decision.
What Is Your Time Really Worth?
Imagine that you have two ways to complete the same journey.
The first costs only a few dollars but takes two hours.
The second costs considerably more but gets you there in 30 minutes.
Which is the better choice?
Most of us instinctively focus on the financial difference. We can see the money leaving our bank account, so paying more feels like a loss.
But the cheaper journey also has a cost: 90 minutes of your life.
Unlike money, those 90 minutes will never return.
We encounter this trade-off constantly—when deciding whether to drive or take public transport, cook or order food, complete a task ourselves or hire help.
The cheapest option may save us money while quietly consuming our time, energy and attention.
The Common Belief: Spending Less Is Always Financially Wiser
From a young age, many of us are taught to be careful with money:
- Compare prices.
- Look for discounts.
- Avoid paying for convenience.
- Do things yourself whenever possible.
- Choose the cheapest acceptable option.
These are generally sensible habits. Uncontrolled spending can prevent us from saving, investing and preparing for the future.
The problem arises when we reduce every decision to one question:
“Which option costs less money?”
Price and value are not the same.
Value investors understand this well. The cheapest company is not necessarily the best investment. A low price may reflect weak fundamentals, poor management or declining prospects.
Similarly, the cheapest everyday option may carry substantial hidden costs.
The Hidden Problem: Money Is Visible, but Time Is Not
A S$30 taxi fare is immediately noticeable. Two additional hours spent commuting often are not.
This happens partly because of the money illusion of everyday decision-making: We measure financial costs precisely but treat time and energy as though they were free.
Money appears in our bank statements.
Time disappears quietly through:
- Travelling
- Queueing
- Planning
- Comparing prices
- Completing repetitive tasks
- Correcting avoidable mistakes
- Recovering from physical and mental exhaustion
There is also an element of loss aversion. Spending money creates an immediate and visible sense of loss. The time saved feels less tangible, so we tend to undervalue it.
As a result, we may spend an hour to save S$10 without considering whether that hour could have been used more meaningfully.
The Behavioural Insight: Wealth Changes Which Resource You Protect
One of the clearest differences between people at different stages of wealth is how they allocate money and time.
People with limited financial resources often have to spend more time to save money. They may travel farther for cheaper groceries, take multiple buses instead of using a taxi, repair an item repeatedly or handle every household task themselves.
Those with greater financial flexibility can use money to save time. They may pay for faster transport, delivery services, domestic help, automation or professional advice.
This does not mean that wealthy people always make wiser decisions. Nor does it mean that people with less money manage it poorly.
They simply face different constraints.
When money is scarce, saving S$20 may be more important than saving an hour. But as financial flexibility grows, the value of that hour may eventually exceed the S$20.
From The Value Steward perspective, the deeper purpose of building wealth is not simply to own more things.
It is to gain greater control over your limited time—and use it for what matters.
The MARGIN Framework for Buying Back Time
Before paying for convenience, consider its MARGIN of value.
1. M — Money
What is the full financial cost?
Include the purchase price, recurring expenses, maintenance and any financing costs.
The purpose of buying back time is not to ignore affordability. A purchase that creates financial stress may ultimately consume more time and energy than it saves.
2. A — Alternatives
What realistic alternatives are available?
Do not compare the purchase only with the theoretical cheapest option. Consider whether that alternative is practical for your family, health, schedule and responsibilities.
3. R — Recovered Time
How much time would the purchase genuinely return to you?
If a S$30 service saves three hours, the effective cost is S$10 per recovered hour. This does not automatically make it worthwhile, but it gives you a clearer basis for comparison.
4. G — Goals
What will the recovered time help you accomplish?
Will it allow you to:
- Spend time with your family?
- Exercise or rest?
- Focus on meaningful work?
- Learn a valuable skill?
- Care for your physical or mental health?
Time saved without a purpose can easily disappear into distraction.
5. I — Impact on Energy
Some activities consume more than time. They also create stress, decision fatigue and physical exhaustion.
A service that saves only one hour may still be valuable if it protects the energy you need for the rest of the day.
6. N — Net Value
After considering money, time, energy and opportunity cost, does the benefit justify the price?
This final question prevents two opposite mistakes:
- Paying for convenience without considering affordability
- Rejecting valuable help simply because a cheaper option exists
Real-Life Example: An Expensive Car That Buys Back 5.5 Hours
A mother of five in Singapore recently described why her family chose to own a car despite its high cost.
She spent about 4.5 hours each day driving her children between school, childcare and other activities. Without the car, she estimated that the same journeys would take close to 10 hours by public transport.
Her family reportedly spent around S$1,000 each month on fuel, parking and road tolls, excluding road tax and insurance.
Viewed only through a financial lens, the car was expensive.
However, compared with the alternative, it potentially recovered approximately 5.5 hours every day.
Those hours allowed her to prepare dinner, help with homework, get her children to bed earlier and have meaningful conversations with them during their journeys.
The family did not pretend that the car was free or automatically necessary. They made deliberate trade-offs to afford it, including buying a budget-friendly second-hand vehicle, giving up holidays to distant countries and considering moving closer to the children’s schools.
The car was therefore not merely a status symbol.
It was an intentional allocation of money toward time, energy and family life.
You can read the original CNA commentary about the family’s decision.
Practical Application: Calculate Both Prices
Before deciding whether something is too expensive, calculate its two price tags.
The money price
How much will I pay now and over time?
The life price
How much time, energy and attention will each option consume?
Then ask yourself:
- How many hours will this purchase genuinely save?
- What is the effective cost of each recovered hour?
- What meaningful activity will replace the task or waiting time?
- Is there a less expensive option that provides most of the same benefit?
- Can I afford it without sacrificing emergency savings, insurance protection, debt repayment or long-term investing?
- Am I buying back time—or simply upgrading my lifestyle?
You can also create a simple personal rule.
For example, if you value an hour of discretionary time at S$25, you may consider outsourcing a task that costs S$15 and genuinely saves an hour—provided it fits comfortably within your budget.
This is not a perfect financial formula. Time spent with a child, caring for your health or getting enough sleep cannot always be assigned an accurate monetary value.
The purpose is simply to stop treating your time as free.
Key Takeaway
The cheapest choice is not always the most valuable.
Spending money to save time can be wise when it is affordable, produces meaningful benefits and supports your deeper priorities. But convenience becomes wasteful when it creates financial stress or when the recovered time is simply consumed by more distraction.
Money can be earned again. Time cannot.
Financial wisdom is knowing when to protect your money—and when to use it to reclaim more of your life.
What is one task or expense for which you would willingly pay more to regain your time and energy?
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Join the conversation in the comments and share how you decide when convenience is worth paying for.
