Feb 19, 2019 | by Cindy Sullivan
I recently spoke at a Lunch-n-Learn where they used a great icebreaker to kick off our discussion. Participants were told to imagine they have been given $86,400. They are required to spend it all – none can be saved. Their assignment was to consider HOW it would be spent. Many then shared what they would put the money toward: paying off student loans, saving for retirement, paying down their mortgage, gifting money to family, taking a dream vacation, etc. Each person’s intention was to do something important - something that has big impact and reflected what is important to them. They were then told that the number 86,400 also represents the number of seconds there are in a day. So, how would you choose to spend those moments?
Each day we are granted that amount of time and are required to spend it. Time can’t be “saved” in the traditional sense so it will be used somehow. In reality, there will be a large portion of time that goes toward basic requirements - sleeping, eating, caring for children / family, driving to work, etc. but there is still a significant portion that is spent at our choosing. When given the task of allotting the best use of a large amount of money, we tend to be very intentional in our thinking. It makes sense to align our spending with our priorities. However, is that what happens in the busy-ness of life? Do we allot our best resources to things that are priorities or do we give away our time to the minutiae of the day, to tasks that are enjoyable but not important, to interruptions or even other people's crisis? Wouldn't that be the financial equivalent of standing with our money in hand and doling it out to those who happen to walk by first and demand it of us? That doesn't make sense but in actuality is what we often do.
Each day we should consider that we each receive 86,400. You'll spend it all - the question is HOW.
