Text:
The informant, A, recalls a high school classmate saying, “Time is money, you’re a big spender,” whenever they were working on tedious task such as a project or in-class exercise and felt it was taking too long.
Context:
The classmate would usually say this during group projects or in class work sessions, especially when the work felt repetitive or long.
Analysis:
This saying twists the common phrase “Time is money” by adding humor. Instead of saying they’re wasting time, the classmate plays with the idea that they’re “spending” it freely. Even though they weren’t literally losing money, the comparison made it clear that spending too much time on something unproductive can feel like a loss, similar to a financial loss. The lighthearted delivery might also suggest a coping mechanism for dealing with the frustration of tedious work.