10 years ago, I was considering signing up for a bootcamp to transition from architecture into UX. That was a fantastic time to break into the field—10x easier than today.

But the bootcamp cost $3,000, and I didn’t want to pay for it. Instead, I waited four years before switching careers.

Looking back, I thought $3,000 for two months was too expensive. What I didn’t realize was that four years of my time was far more costly.

So a hard life lesson I learned is when paying for something, I should also consider the value of the time it saves me.

Money can be re-earned, but time cannot.