He used to pinch pennies everywhere he could until he learned how much it was costing him in time

As much as I want to save money, I'm even more interested in saving time. Money comes and goes, but time only ever goes. It's my most precious resource — fleeting and non-renewable — and I'm increasingly protective of it.

• I used to focus a lot more on pinch pennies, until I realized it was costing me time.
• I assigned my time a value — $60 an hour — and make decisions based on that figure.
• I don't waste time trying to save a few cents when I could be doing something more productive.

I used to try to save money without much thought for the time invested. But while I still aim to cut costs within reason, I now take a more balanced approach. Resetting my priorities has helped me ditch some counterproductive attitudes and habits around time and money, and left me feeling better about how I manage both.

First, I had to escape the penny-pinching mentality

Americans love bargains. We wait in long lines for them. We brag to our friends about them. We endure total mayhem for them. Getting a good deal is such a cultural imperative that I've had people give me a funny look or a hard time when I don't look for one. On the other hand, people rarely bat an eye if I blow half an hour comparing prices — that's called being a "smart shopper."

I've squandered time in countless ways trying to save a buck. I've driven out of my way for cheaper gas, searched for free parking to avoid feeding a meter, taken a circuitous route to bypass a toll road, passed up a nearby ATM for one farther away to evade withdrawal fees, gone store-hopping (both online and in person) to find the best price, booked a connecting flight rather than a more expensive nonstop, and on and on. 

Whether or not these decisions were fruitful, my approach was flawed because I wasn't seeing a complete picture. I tended to look only at how many dollars I saved, but failed to account for the time spent and any hassle or frustration added in the process. When I started seeing all the costs involved, I realized that saving money can be pretty expensive. To change my behavior, I had to start valuing my time more explicitly.

I decided what my time is worth to me

People say time is money, but that raises the question: how much? Everyone values time differently, and to help me decide how I spend mine, I put a specific dollar amount on it. For me, at present, that amount is $60 per hour (or $1 per minute). On average, I'm willing to trade my time to earn or save that amount, but the rate is meant to be instructive, not decisive, so it's flexible depending on the circumstances. 

Having a dollar amount in mind helps me quickly assess whether an opportunity to earn or save money is worthwhile. If I'm not netting close to $1 per minute, I'm probably not interested. Filling up at a gas station 10 minutes away will save me $5? Not worth the trip. The other grocery store down the block has the same whiskey for $20 less? Sounds good! 

This approach also works in reverse to help me decide whether I should spend money to save time. If a non-stop flight is $50 more but it spares me from a three-hour layover, count me in! (But if that layover involves a comfortable airport lounge where I can be productive, then maybe not.)

I shifted my focus to saving time

To reframe a familiar aphorism: a minute saved is a minute earned. Much like I've sought ways to cut dollar costs in the past, I now look for ways to trim hours, minutes, and seconds. 

Many of the strategies I use to save time don't cost me anything financially. For example, I recently started paying rent through Bilt Rewards, which lets me pay electronically through an app on my phone rather than mailing a check. It might only save me five minutes each month, but over the course of a year, that's an hour I can spend doing something else. (Plus I save on stamps and earn credit card points in the process.)

Some time-saving measures I do pay for, but at a price that's clearly worthwhile according to the hourly rate I've set for myself. One example is expedited airport security via TSA PreCheck and CLEAR. I estimate these services save me around 10-15 minutes (on average) each time I fly, which is often enough that the total time saved vastly outstrips the cost of membership.

Finally, I'm content to do home repairs or other work myself if it saves me a lot of money, but I've become more willing to pay above my rate to avoid tasks I strongly dislike. For instance, I absolutely loathe doing my taxes, so I've started hiring a CPA to do it for me. It costs me more than $60 per hour, but given how miserable the job is for me, it's money well spent. 

I adopted practices that fit my new mindset

Prioritizing time over money has helped me cultivate practices conducive to getting things done quickly rather than cheaply, and makes me feel better about my relationship with both resources. Here are a few examples:

I don't dwell on trivial decisions: Which car or refrigerator I buy merits some thought; which paper towel I buy does not.

I made a rule that I'm not allowed to spend more than a few seconds thinking about nonessential items that cost under around $20. I don't break out a stopwatch, but when I catch myself hemming and hawing over an everyday purchase like peanut butter or batteries, I immediately stop and make a decision.

I let good enough be good enough: I'm still willing to shop around when it's justified (and I've accounted for the time it takes), but once I find a price I'm satisfied with, then I'm done. Maybe there's a better deal out there, but continuing the search beyond what's needed bears swiftly diminishing returns.

I don't second-guess myself: Similar to the last rule, once I've made a purchase, I try to forget about it unless I have a compelling reason to reconsider. Prices of consumer goods change all the time, and in the past I might have kept an eye out for further discounts even after buying. Now I see my purchases as done deals and put them out of mind.

I recognize my own privilege: Not everyone has the luxury of prioritizing time, as many people can't afford to pass up opportunities to save money even at a disproportionate cost in time. Acknowledging tradeoffs between time and money and being more intentional about how I manage them has made me more appreciative of both, and of the privilege I have to choose which one takes precedence in my life.