08/19/2026
A UBC study followed 6,000+ working adults and found that people who spent money on time-saving services reported higher life satisfaction than those who spent the same money on stuff - 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪 𝕤𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕝𝕖 𝕥𝕚𝕞𝕖.
Time affluence isn’t just for people with tons of discretionary money. It’s a strategy anyone can start using.
Here’s how to start buying yours back:
1️⃣ Delegate the tasks that drain you. For example: hire a cleaner, have your groceries delivered, or buy a meal kit subscription.
2️⃣ Take unpaid time off. This is *huge*. US workers average 11 vacation days a year. In Europe, 4 weeks is usually the minimum. Rest isn’t a reward, it’s a right, and with the right planning you can afford to take unpaid time off.
3️⃣ Automate your money. Every manual transfer and “did I pay that bill” is time, stress and potential decision fatigue that you don’t need in your life.
4️⃣ Batch the small stuff. Groceries, bills, gifts. There’s ways to create systems for all of these and immediately decrease your mental load.
5️⃣ Say no more often. A really easy way to buy back time your time? Not saying yes to things you never wanted on your calendar in the first place.
6️⃣ Reframe what money is for. Once your needs and goals are funded, every extra dollar is really a choice between things and hours back in your own hands.
💾 Save this for when you need the reminder.
🔁 Share it with someone who needs permission to buy their time back.
📖 Read more: sagefinancial.com/blog
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[IMAGE ALT TEXT] Graphic with a cream background and navy text. Headline reads “How to Buy Your Time Back.” Below it, six numbered tips are listed: delegate draining tasks, take unpaid time off, automate your money, batch small decisions, say no more often, and reframe what money is for. Includes is a link to the original blog article.
