Time is Money – Meaning and Explanation

Introduction: The phrase “Time is money” was first quoted by Benjamin Franklin. This saying suggests that time and money are somehow equal.

Meaning

This proverb, ‘time is money’, means that ‘time is equivalent to money’. It highlights the importance of value of time.

Time should be used in doing productive works. A person make use of his time by working hard to earn money. On the contrary, if the time is wasted, then it is equivalent to losing money.

Time is money in a literal sense because efficiency and being on the right time enable us to earn more money. In a metaphorical sense ‘time is money’ reminds us that time is valuable.

Explanation

There is no need to dwell on the truth of the maxim in the present day. The rush of the hurrying crowd, the shout at the bus and railway stations, the sharp ringing of the mobile call, the constant activities of the airless apparatus, are daily and hourly telling the same tale that ‘Time is money’.

In a literal sense in the business life of the present day, ‘Time is money’. When we are working, the time that we spend at work directly translates into money that we earn. This is especially the case if we are working freelance. Opportunities of acquiring money have increased to such an extent that, for the worker, time means money.

Time becomes the capital of trading, professional, or businessperson. The more efficient that we are with our time (the quicker that we can get our projects done), the more money we can earn.

Sometimes, being in the right place at the right time enables us to make some profits. This is true on the stock market, for example.

So many new avenues of enjoyment have been opened up of recent years, and have been rendered so cheap, that the only requirement for their enjoyment is time, but to the busy man, ‘Time is money’, and so they cannot he enjoyed.

Like money, too, time, once lost, is gone forever. Hence, one should exercise due care while spending time. We should always try to make the best use of time.‘Time and tide wait for no man’, says the proverb. If you use your stock of time rightly, it will hear your rich interest but if you waste this invaluable capital, it will make you poor indeed.

‘Take time by the forelock’ so as to reap the fullest benefit out of it. Lost time is gone forever and can never be recovered. It is on our own to use or to waste, and another cannot use it, neither can it he accumulated – ‘Time flies’.

Even if we do not literally think of time as money, the phrase ‘time is money’ nevertheless reminds us how valuable our time is. The importance of time cannot be estimated aright because it cannot be seen, hence its losses cannot be measured, and we are inclined to waste time as we should never waste money.

This little, commonplace maxim is of great service. ‘Time is money’.