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● Have you watched the movie ? If you haven’t, I won’t spoil you, but here’s a bit about the movie. In the year 2169, the human race was genetically engineered so that people would not grow older than 25. After their 25th birthday, a 12-month countdown on their wrist starts, and when the timer drops to zero, the person will and die immediately. As a result, that can be transferred between people or deposited into or banks. Although this principle comes from a Sci-Fi movie, it is a truth we often forget; as American author, poet, and philosopher would attest: In other words,  This truth can be life-changing as when we adopt the perspective that we buy material things with time instead of   we can fully grasp the gravity of our purchases and comprehend their full cost. This truth can be applied to our lives by examining how much life we are exchanging for the material things we buy. To facilitate this thought experiment of how much time you are giving up for purchases, I will be using the . In 2023, the from work, inclusive of CPF contributions of full-time employed residents, is . I will be rounding it up to for simplicity’s sake. Singaporeans work an average of in 2023. Also, most Singaporeans work five days a week which equates to For 2024, the (excluding holidays) is about  days a month. Assuming you earn $5,200 a month, work 5 days a week or 22 days a month and 9 hours a day; you will be making: Here are how many hours of your life each of these common Singaporean purchases and some ostentatious purchases will cost: Puts things into perspective, doesn’t it? Personally, I was shocked by the time needed for an HDB flat, while other things like a look less expensive after this exercise. At the end of the day, the money you worked hard for is your own, and you can spend it in any way your heart desires. However, it can be beneficial for you to do this exercise and understand how many hours of your life you are trading away for each material item you buy. When it comes to money and time, both can be considered commodities as there is only a limited amount that we can own. Once it has been spent, it is gone for good. As such, we would naturally want to get our money’s worth and maximise the value you get for each dollar you spend. But, unless you are a time traveller who can bend the rules of time and space: Every human being is only given ; once it is gone, you cannot replace it. My man Thoreau wanted us to grasp that our every action is a tradeoff that requires the use of the limited amount of life we have. I also see that things can add time—eating healthy food, meditation, and staying active make us live longer and improve our quality of life. In a sense, we can actually ‘increase’ our time in the long term. This does not mean that we should be worrying and obsessing about maximising our precious time. Instead, I think we should seriously consider what we are trading these precious hours for. Personally, this helped me reconsider my purchases and made me a bit more resistant to the siren song of . It also made me more mindful of how I spend my money as I give up my life for it. There are other things you can trade your time and life for. But at the end of the day, I understand that your goals are different from mine. If there is one thing I want you to take away, it is this: Please carve out some time to think about what you are trading away your precious time for…