I spend a lot of time on this blog posting about ways to save time and money. Personally, I hate the idea of wasting things. I feel bad if I have to toss veggies that have gone bad or if I buy something and never use it or if I get to the end of a day and can't think of anything I accomplished.

But that got me thinking about the difference between spending and wasting. We don't want to waste time and money, but we have to spend them. So how do we tell the difference?

I think time and money are spent not wasted when they bring you something you truly value and their use does not keep you from something that you need. So, an afternoon lying on the beach is spent if it brings you needed relaxation or casual time with loved ones. Time and money spent on a plane ticket to visit an old friend may be well-spent — unless of course it means that you can't feed your family this week.

I guess it boils down to these questions:

What do I get for my expenditure of time? What do I give up? Is the exchange worth it?