Money is Time.
Your money is a record of your time.
Your spending is more than a number. It represents time you exchanged for that money. This system puts that relationship at the centre of your finances.
Purchase
$20
that lunch
Your time
TIME
the resource it represents
Your money is a record of your time.
Don't just ask “Can I afford it?” Ask “Is this worth my time?”
The philosophy behind the tracker
You can earn money again.
You can't earn time back.
Money can be earned. Investments can recover. Businesses can be rebuilt. But an hour spent is gone forever. Money is Time exists to help you become more conscious of what your money actually represents.
An illustrative example
$60
a dinner out
divided by your hourly value
2h 15m
Time spent
Example based on a $27/hour wage. Money is Time calculates this automatically from the wage you set.
The System
Everything connects back to one idea.
Money is
Time
Understand where your money goes and how much time those purchases represent.
Dashboard
See your financial life in one place.
Your income, your spending, and your time, in one monthly view.
Income
Know what your time is worth.
Set your hourly value once during setup. Everything else in the system is built on top of that one number.
Expenses
Every purchase has a cost beyond its price.
The system doesn't just record what you bought, it converts it into the hours you worked to afford it, automatically.
Budget
Spend with intention.
Rollover monthly budget boards aren't about restriction. They're about deciding where your time-derived money should go, on purpose.
Subscriptions
Find what you forgot you're paying for.
An audit table surfaces recurring charges that quietly add up, easy to lose track of, expensive in hours over a year.
Savings
Turn today's time into tomorrow's freedom.
A goal tracker with progress bars, money set aside now represents time and options you're keeping for later.
Inside the System
See it for yourself
Main dashboard
These are real screenshots taken straight from the template. I'll be polishing them up over time.
It's not about tracking everything.
It's about understanding everything.
Why it works
Every small piece, doing something on purpose
See the real cost
A spreadsheet shows you a number. Money is Time shows you the hours behind it, the actual piece of your life every purchase is asking for.
Built to change behavior, not just record it
Most trackers are a diary of what already happened. This one changes what happens next, because hours land differently than dollars do.
No new habit required
It lives inside Notion, logging a purchase takes seconds, and the hour-conversion happens automatically, no formulas to maintain, no spreadsheet to babysit.
Freedom, not restriction
This isn't about spending less. It's about spending on purpose, so the hours you're trading actually buy you the life you want.
How It Works
From setup to a clearer picture
- 01
Set your time value
Enter your hourly wage or salary once during setup.
- 02
Track your money
Record income, expenses, budgets, and subscriptions as they happen.
- 03
See the connections
Watch spending automatically convert into the hours it actually cost you.
- 04
Make better decisions
Use that clearer picture to spend on purpose, not on autopilot.
Who it's for
See yourself in this?
Anyone who's looked at their bank statement and felt genuinely confused about where the month went.
People who know their hourly wage but never think about it while they're actually shopping.
Freelancers and hourly workers who feel the cost of time more directly than most.
Anyone building wealth by noticing what their time is worth, not just by trying to earn more of it.
To be clear
What Money is Time isn't
Professional accounting software
A bank, or a system that syncs to one automatically
Financial advice
A replacement for a financial professional
It's a personal financial organization and awareness system, nothing more, nothing less.
Made by Gerald
I'm Gerald, the student behind Cheese. Money is Time came from a simple realization: money can be earned back, but time can't. I built this to make that relationship visible.
You only get one life.
Spend your money like your time matters.
Not sure yet? Start smaller
Money is Time - Simple Finance Tracker
The same idea but free. Track income and expenses and see the time behind them.
Try it freeMake it yours
A good system should fit your life, not the other way around.
Once Money is Time is in your workspace, tell me what you'd like changed. It's included with your purchase.
- Colours
- Icons
- Wording
- Layout
- Small workflow adjustments
- Small formula & database changes
What makes Cheese different
You only get one life. Build it well.
I don't think your money, school, habits, health, and goals are separate problems. They're all pieces of the same life.
That's why I build Cheese differently. Instead of giving you another app to manage, I make Notion systems that help you organize the things that matter, make progress on them and actually enjoy the process a little more.
Because you only get one life. It deserves a system built around it.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
You enter your after-tax hourly wage once during setup. Every expense you log is automatically divided by that number, so you always see both the dollar amount and the hours it cost you.
Have an idea?
Help shape the next version. I read everything myself.
Stay connected
Want to see what I'm building next? Occasional updates, new systems, and ideas.
Pairs well together
