There are two things that we seem to constantly be trying to balance in our lives: money and time. For most of us, having more money requires that we give up our time to working more. The more hours that we put in at jobs that we often don’t like, the more money we can have to spend on the things we do enjoy having during our limited free time. But perhaps there is a better way. Perhaps you can put in fewer hours at your job so that you have more time to give to activities that you enjoy. And perhaps in doing so, you can actually create more wealth for yourself.

Here is a look at fifteen different ways that you can create a happier, more luxurious, more indulgent life for yourself by giving up some of your time:

1. Barter your services with neighbors and friends.
There are certain things that you are good at doing and you don’t mind doing them at all. Then there are things that you absolutely hate to do. Free up your life by trading the services you enjoy for the services that are distasteful. For example, someone who loves being around kids but hates doing housework can trade babysitting time with a relative who needs a break from the babies and gets relaxed by cleaning. Someone who is a whiz at fixing computers can trade services with someone who is great at keeping a lawn mowed. Oftentimes, this translates directly to saving money because you stop hiring people to do things like clean the house and fix your computer. Plus it gives you more time doing things you enjoy and less time doing things you dislike. It also strengthens your bonds with the people you have in your life.

2. Mentor a child.
Take the time to guide a young person in his or her life. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on activities with a youngster. Instead, challenge yourself to find great free and cheap activities that help you really bond with a child. The benefits you get may not be monetary but they will be endless. You will have that opportunity to see the world through a child’s eyes which gets your priorities back in order and helps you remember that you don’t need to spend a lot of money to have a rich life.

3. Trade massages with a lover or a close friend.
One of the things that we so often spend money on is relaxation. We spend money on entertainment to relax or on alcohol that makes us relax or on travel so we can get relaxed. The truth is it’s much easier to relax than doing any of these things requires. And it doesn’t cost much money at all. The trick is to take the time to share a relaxing experience with someone you love on a regular basis. Plan weekly one-hour massages with your partner, spouse or best friend. Get together, dim the lights, take time out from the world and give yourself fully to giving or receiving that massage. You will feel like the richest person on earth. And you’ll stop spending so much money trying to get relaxed.

4. Do something for the earth.
Join a hiking group that’s going out to clean up trails. Donate your time to a water preservation society. Do something that’s going to help the resources of this earth last longer. How does that benefit you? You’ll be able to live a longer and healthier life. And the basic laws of supply and demand say that less resources is going to drive up the cost of everything so you’re probably saving yourself money in the long run as well.

5. Take the time to walk.
Yes it is faster to get in your car and drive somewhere. It is also far more expensive. Even with the cost of gas down, you’re still spending a lot of money to keep that car up and running and in good working order. Give up some of your time to walk. It’s good for you and it’ll save you some cash.

6. Get and give free stuff.
There are many different ways that you can give away things you don’t want and get things that you do want without spending money. The “free” section on Craigslist, the “free” boxes at bookstores and yard sales and online groups like Freecycle are a few examples. You can also start your own local group of people (using a tool like Google Groups or Yahoo Groups to keep it organized) through which the members of the group can trade/give away/ get free items. It would be a lot less time-consuming to just go buy what you need but this way is far more cost-effective. And re-use of things is even better than recycling!

7. Trade education with others.
You know the saying about teaching a man to fish right? Well, in today’s society, a man who can’t fish must go buy his fish. It is more cost-effective to learn how to do things for yourself so take the time to learn. The best way to do this is to give your own time to teaching others what you know in exchange for learning what they know. Similar to the barter system, you would teach your friend Sally to sew so that you didn’t have to go to a seamstress if she would teach you how to change the oil in your car so you didn’t have to go to a mechanic. Make a list of what you know well enough to teach someone else and a list of things you need to learn and start figuring out who you can trade with.

8. Make gifts.
We spend a ridiculous amount of money giving gifts to the people in our lives. We give gifts for holidays and birthdays and weddings and getting well and getting over things and just getting together. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to give to those around you. But consider giving a gift that takes you more time to make than it costs in money. Photo scrapbooks are an excellent example of something that doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to make but is best done with a lot of time invested. Taking the time to create truly personal presents is absolutely worth every penny that you won’t spend!

9. Spend time with people of an older generation.
Volunteer in a nursing home. Visit your mother or grandmother. Invite the friends of parents to the dinners you have at your home. Investing some time in the people who came before you is going to create wealth in a few different ways. First of all, these people are going to have some really great practical tips for you about saving money if you bother to ask them because they’ve had to do it before. More importantly, they will help you to re-focus on the things that really matter in life and will make you feel richer for having had the chance to benefit from their wisdom.

10. Invest time into turning your hobby into a career.
Take whatever you really love to do and figure out how to make it a part-time job. At first glance, this is going to seem like actually adding more work to your life since you’re actually starting a second job but in the end it’s going to translate into less time doing what you don’t like and more time doing what you enjoy. For example, the secretary who starts a part-time freelance writing career may eventually be able to freelance full-time and have a more meaningful life without reducing her income. Likewise, the supplemental income from a small candle-making venture could mean that the doctor can take on fewer patients and have more time at home working on her “hobby”. The hard work this requires at first will pay off in the end.

11. Have a yard sale.
We all have junk piling up in our homes that we don’t need. Most of us just let it sit there. Others of us call the Goodwill or the bulky collections truck to come haul it away. Instead, take the time to have a yard sale. You won’t make a fortune off of selling your stuff but you will get a little bit of money as you get rid of your things. If you’re really feeling generous, donate the proceeds of the sale to your favorite charity. You can get a tax break while de-cluttering your life.

12. Invest time in completing projects that interest you.
Maybe you have always wanted to reupholster the couch but you’ve just never bothered to do it. Perhaps you’ve often thought about writing out the family tree for your kids to have but you just never took the time to do that. Maybe you once wanted to hike every trail in your state but then it just seemed like an insurmountable project. It doesn’t matter what the project is; take the time to complete it. In the end, you will have a product (the couch) or achievement (finishing the trails) that you can be proud of. And when you have things in your life that you’re proud of, you’re far less likely to spend money on things you don’t actually want to find temporary happiness.

13. Take the time necessary to take care of yourself.
If you don’t take care of yourself, you’re going to get sick – it’s that simple. And in today’s society, sick costs a whole lot of money. It costs health care money and prescription money and time off of work money. So you don’t want to get sick. And that means you should take the time to keep yourself well. This means taking the time to eat right, taking the time to exercise often, taking the time that you need to just relax, to be with people you love, to be alone. It means taking the time to have a balanced life because an imbalanced life is going to cost you your health and your money.

14. Take the time to build a community of people around you.
The best thing that you can give to others is your time. Take the time to have potluck dinners and inexpensive coffee dates. Hang out with your friends and family members. Turn off the TV and really take the time to listen to each other talk. This helps you financially in a number of ways. At a basic level, enjoying spending time with the people in your life will mean that you don’t spend so much money seeking out useless entertainment together. (Why spend a fortune on theatre tickets when you’re happy cuddling in front of a movie with someone?) At a greater level, you will find that these people will be there for you if you ever do find yourself facing serious financial trouble and needing help. Of course, you shouldn’t befriend people so they’ll help you get on your feet if you fall. But you should build communities that will be there for you in the rough times as you would be there for them. By taking the time to enjoy people, you build the kind of rich life that people of all economic levels are striving to have.

15. Take the time to figure out what really matters to you.
Most of us don’t actually need to put in as many hours at our jobs as we do because we don’t actually need as much money as we think that we do. The problem is that we don’t know what really matters to us so we throw money away willy-nilly trying to find some sort of happiness. If you take the time to really figure out where you want to spend your money, what you could do without and what the important things in life are for you then you may find that you don’t need as much “stuff” or money as you’ve been thinking that you did. Spend time each day or week really getting in touch with yourself – meditating, journaling, asking yourself the hard questions that will get you back to the core things that matter to you. You may discover that you don’t care about having organic food as much as you care about having afternoons off of work to pick up the kids from school. Or that you want time off to stay at home rather than time off to go on vacation somewhere. Knowing what you really want will help you put your money where it matters.

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