Elizabeth Henson

Saving Vs Investing Money: Why a Time Versus Money Mindset Matters More

9/16/2026

Date

Have you ever felt a flicker of guilt over an $8 cup of coffee? Elizabeth Henson did too, until she overheard a stranger’s comment at her local coffee shop that changed how she thinks about it entirely. In this episode of the Messy Success Podcast, she unpacks a time versus money mindset that shapes nearly every financial decision she makes, and why she believes the advice to simply save your money can actually hold you back.

It started during her CEO hour, a weekly ritual where she sits with her journal, no laptop, no phone, to think through her business with intention. While she was there, she heard someone nearby say they couldn’t afford an $8 cup of coffee. That comment sent her back to a video she’d seen from an expert on the Lewis Howes podcast, who said the worst thing you can do with your money is save it. Elizabeth breaks down why that statement is true once you understand the difference between saving vs investing money, and why she considers investing her real form of saving.

From there, the episode moves into the practical side of buying back your time. Elizabeth shares how she treats an $8 cup of coffee as an opportunity, not an expense, using that time to list items on Facebook Marketplace or work through a task that generates far more than $8. She talks about paying for a better airline seat specifically so she’ll hold herself accountable to work during the flight, and outsourcing tasks so her energy stays on the highest value parts of her business. The most memorable example is her yearly $100 silent retreat with her friend Rocky, four hours with no laptop and no phone, which is where she developed the entire theme for one of her biggest events.

This episode also gets honest about relationships and money. Elizabeth’s husband operates the opposite way, spending time to save money rather than spending money to save time, and she explains why neither approach is wrong, just different. By the end, she leaves listeners with a simple challenge: stop asking only how to save money, and start asking how to turn it into more, whether that’s turning $4 into $8 or an $8 coffee into thirty minutes of real ROI. If you’ve ever wondered whether your spending habits are working for or against you, this conversation is worth the listen.

SHOW NOTES:

02:00 Her CEO hour ritual

03:30 The comment that stopped her cold

05:00 The worst thing you can do is save

07:00 Saving vs investing, explained

10:00 Turning $8 into more with 30 minutes

13:00 Is your coffee date generating or draining

15:30 Buying time on flights and outsourcing

18:00 The $100 silent retreat that built her event

21:30 Why she and her husband are opposites

23:30 The ROI question to ask yourself

25:00 Go get that coffee