How much did that super-grande caramel mochaccino that you had this morning cost? Just $5, you say?

Think again. It also cost you part of your life. According to the principles of Your Money or Your Life, the money management book by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin, money equals life energy. In other words, you worked some period of time for that mochaccino, thereby spending part of your life to pay for that fleeting treat.

"Consciously or subconsciously, we all use some kind of formula when deciding whether or not to make a purchase. Typical factors that weigh into most major purchase decisions are the amount of cash in our pockets and the debt limit on our Visa cards," says Russell Wild, MBA, a fee-only financial planner and investment advisor based in Allentown, Pa.

"But an ultimately more important factor, and one often ignored, is the amount of life energy or true personal cost involved in making a purchase."

Thinking of money as life energy is an excellent way to spend less. For example, would you buy yet another pair of shoes if you knew it would cost you five hours of your life? Or how about a new car when your old one works fine if you lose several weeks of your life to pay for it, and yet more time to maintain it?

When considering a purchase, Jane Boursaw of Traverse City, Mich., keeps this concept in mind: "Do I really want to spend X amount of hours sitting at my computer for this item?" she says.

"Is it worth the time I'd have to spend away from my family, or time I could be doing something I really wanted to do -- like playing with my kids, reading, napping, planting flowers? I try to think about that when I pull out my credit card or checkbook."

What's your time worth?

If you want to know how much time your purchase is costing you, the first step is to determine how much your time is worth. If you make $20 per hour, you might assume that your time is worth $20 per hour. Not so. You also need to consider how much it costs you to work at your job. Figure out how much you spend every year on these items and services. Commuting to and from work, including gas and car maintenance. Gifts for office parties. Lunches at work. Coffee breaks. Vacations you take to get away from work. Wine and beer you drink to unwind after work. Your work wardrobe, including cleaning costs. Therapy that you go to because you hate your job Child care.

Now subtract this from your yearly after-tax salary and divide by the number of hours you work in a year. That would be 2,000 if you work a 40-hour week with one two-week vacation per year. However, you should also count the time you spend commuting, working overtime, doing work at home and attending work-related outings such as conferences after hours and on the weekends.

The result is how much you actually earn at your job, and how much an hour of your time is worth.

"People realize they're earning much less than they thought," says Carolyn Hilles, who gives money management workshops based on this concept. "When people realize they're really working for $14 per hour, that $14 bottle of wine looks a lot different. They say, 'I worked one hour just to pay for this, and I don't even remember drinking it.'

"I've seen it blow people's minds open. They didn't understand what they were hiring themselves out for and what they were spending it on. They have one life on this earth, and they're blowing it on stuff that doesn't meet their values."

If you run your own business, another way to think of money is the amount of product or services you'll need to sell or earn whatever you buy.

"Because I'm a writer, I tend to think of the spend part of the equation a little differently," says Jennifer Lawler, author of Dojo Wisdom: 100 Simple Ways to Become a Stronger, Calmer, More Courageous Person.

"For example, I know how hard it is to sell one copy of my book to one customer. I make about $1 in royalties from that sale. So every time I go to spend money, I think of how many books I have to sell to pay for the expense. This really puts the reins on things."

Spending wisely

For simplicity's sake, let's say that your actual earnings are $10 per hour. That means if you buy a $200 golf club, you're using 20 hours of your life to pay for it. Does this mean that you have to give up golf, or new shoes, or trips to Cancun? And how do you figure out which purchases are worth the life energy spent and which are just a waste of time?

When comtemplating a purchase, you should consider three things, says Wild: personal cost, utility value and social impact.

"Personal cost is the amount of your personal life energy that went or that will go toward paying for the purchase," he explains. "Utility value is the life energy saved or gained by making the purchase. Social impact is the effect that your purchase will have on the world and all of its inhabitants."

Only you can decide whether the personal cost, utility value and social impact of a product or service are in alignment with your own values. For example, that new rider mower may cost a bundle, but it's worth it to you because you'll save time over the old push mower. Or perhaps it's not worth it to you because the mower negatively impacts the environment.

Still can't decide whether to drop the bucks on the latest electronic doodad or those sparkly earrings?

"A quick-and-dirty exercise is to ask yourself what the world would be like if everyone -- including over a billion Chinese -- followed your actions," says Wild. "Is that a world you'd want to leave to your children?"

"Another exercise is to find someone you really admire and respect. It doesn't have to be anyone you know personally. It might be, for example, George Washington or Mother Theresa, or even a fictional character such as James Kirk or Wonder Woman. Ask yourself, 'Would he or she makes this purchase?'"

If you start living by this concept, you're sure to start spending less. The result? More money in your pocket, and more time on your hands.