Every day, every one of us has to make choices. They can be big choices or small choices.
Why did you decide to read this blog today? There are many other things that you could have chosen to do instead.
You make about 35,000 choices a day and the majority you don’t even give a second thought to.
Let’s revisit the last post, there are only 24 hours in a day. We cannot make an extra hour of time.
So how are you going to spend your 24 hours?
For the average person a normal working day would be broken down something like this:
| Activity | Typical Time |
|---|---|
| Sleeping | 8 hours 0 minutes |
| Working (paid work) | 7 hours 30 minutes |
| Commuting | 45 minutes |
| Eating & drinking | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Personal care (washing, dressing, etc.) | 1 hour 0 minutes |
| Household tasks (cleaning, cooking, shopping) | 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Leisure (TV, hobbies, social media, reading) | 2 hours 30 minutes |
| Exercise & sport | 30 minutes |
| Socializing/family time | 45 minutes |
As soon as you choose to do more of one thing, you have less time to do another.
Your time is limited to 24 hours, so an extra 30 minutes on social media each day, will mean 30 minutes on other activities.
For some they might choose not to exercise at all, for others they might cut down on something else.
What would you choose to cut back on?
In the US the median household income was $87,460.
They spend their income in roughly these proportions:
| Spending Category | % of Income | Amount (based on $87,460 income) |
|---|---|---|
| Housing | 34% | $29,700 |
| Transportation | 16% | $14,000 |
| Food | 12% | $10,500 |
| Insurance & Pensions | 13% | $11,400 |
| Healthcare | 8% | $7,000 |
| Entertainment | 5% | $4,400 |
| Clothing | 3% | $2,600 |
| Education | 2% | $1,750 |
| Miscellaneous | 7% | $6,100 |
If they have to spend more on one item then they will have to spend less on another item. If the cost of gas rises they will have to choose to cut their spending elsewhere.
How would you cope with rising gas prices?