Time vs. Money: Where do you stand?

I read an interesting article in Scientific journal Cosmos recently. Apparently, research suggests that paying people to help out with odd jobs that you don't enjoy doing could lead to a happier life. A research team from Canada, the UK and the Netherlands conducted a global study of more than 6000 people, and found a correlation between happiness and procuring paid help with their least favourite daily jobs, such as cleaning and cooking.

The research looked at the hypothesis that using a portion of your income to effectively "buy" free time by outsourcing, helps to reduce the negative effects of the feeling of 'time scarcity', which include increased anxiety, reduced happiness, insomnia, and even obesity! We have all been there, with a deadline looming, feeling stressed, and reaching for the nearest tub of ice cream. These results are particularly relevant in discussions of gender-based labour division in the home, the researchers say. “Within many cultures, women may feel obligated to complete household tasks themselves, working a ‘second-shift’ at home, even when they can afford to pay someone to help. In recent decades, women have made gains, such as improved access to education, but their life satisfaction has declined; increasing uptake of timesaving services may provide a pathway toward reducing the harmful effects of women’s second-shift.”

With this in mind, I took to Facebook to poll my audience and a whopping 67% agreed that given the choice between a limitless supply of time or money, they'd choose time. My take on this, is that given a limitless supply of time; as well as, you know, enjoying time with my family, sleeping, all the fun stuff- I could also spend enough time hustling that I could generate enough money to be comfortable anyway. As the old adage goes, money doesn't buy you happiness, does it?

As a wife and mother, I've often found myself guilty of trying to do everything for everyone. I am in a very fortunate position of genuinely loving my job and my business, and even choosing my own hours to a degree, but I see so many others struggle with a stressful job and demanding home life. Trying to get a work / life balance can feel like a battleground in many households.

So how does this relate to property?

Well as a landlord, you might be finding that whilst you can do it all, you no longer want to. You already have a busy home life, a demanding job, an a million and one things you want to do with your time which don't involve re-pressurising a boiler for somebody else. And that is okay; it's okay to hand over the responsibility of those headaches you no longer want to deal with, in fact it's good for your health (and your waistline), according to the science!

One of my greatest joys in this business is being able to take the stress and worry off a landlord's shoulders. Don't have time to read up about the legalities of a situation with a tenant? Just call. Don't want to worry about every piddly £30 repair job? Let me. Not sure where to begin with vetting, contracting, deposits? That's what I am here for!
If you're not sure what help you need right now or where to begin with outsourcing some of your stress, give me a call on 01268 955001 or click 'contact', and I'd be happy to help you to put a plan in place.