Buying back time: Where money helps most

For many people, the biggest luxury in modern life isn’t being able to buy things, it’s having enough time and headspace to properly enjoy what we’ve got.

If there’s room in your budget, here are a few ways to use it to give you more time and freedom in ways that will benefit you the most.

Outsourcing stress

What are the friction points in your household? What tasks on the to-do list make your heart sink? Could you afford to outsource any of them?

If life admin is taking up a lot of bandwidth, you might find a virtual household management service worth the investment, meaning you can hand over tasks like scheduling routine family appointments and dealing with emails from the school.

Another source of stress is the endless list of jobs around the home that never get done. Divert some budget towards a professional organiser or handyperson and in return you’ll have less clutter, more storage and a much lighter mental load.

Household chores

Cooking, cleaning and laundry are the chores which take up the most time in an average family. Many people already hire a cleaner and know what a huge difference it makes – but it’s rarer to outsource the other two jobs.

A pick-up laundry service sounds extravagant when you can do it yourself, but if you add up how much time you spend on the washing each week it might actually be a really good use of your resources.

In recent years, supermarket deliveries and dinner kits have reduced the load of meal prep for many of us. But if you’ve got the budget you could go a step further by using one of the growing numbers of personal chef services.

A much cheaper way of shifting some of the burden could be a subscription to one of a number of apps designed to make family meal planning more collaborative and democratic. The rule is simple: no vote, no complaining.

Family logistics

For households balancing careers, children and caregiving responsibilities, the juggle can be immense.

Even if your family is beyond the stage of needing a nursery or nanny, there may be times when investing some money in extra help is worth it for the reduced friction. Think beyond the obvious: you might be surprised to find a school run service works best – or even a regular dog walker.

It might not be how you envisaged raising your family, but if it works with your budget and buys back an extra half-hour in the evening to properly talk or enjoy dinner without multitasking, the trade-off can feel more than worthwhile.

Convenience

If you’re heading away from home, upgrading your travel plans is one of the best ways to turn money into time.

A business-class plane ticket, for example, buys more than just a bigger seat. Fast-track check-in and priority luggage collection both save time and make travel less stressful – and the in-flight champagne service doesn’t hurt either.

If your budget doesn’t stretch that far, it might still be worth choosing a full-service carrier instead of a budget one. This can cut your time in transit thanks to more convenient schedules, better punctuality and landing at gates that aren’t miles from the terminal.

Time as wealth

The fact that so many of these services now exist shows many of us simply don’t have enough hours in the day, or enough spare capacity in our busy lives to stay on top of everything.

So forget the idea that outsourcing is only for people obsessed with status. Instead, if you’re already investing enough for the future, think about how the money you have today can help you live the life you actually want.

10 June 2026