Money is Time

Many of us work hard for years, follow the rules, pay our taxes and devote our lives to a career. At some point, we begin to think about what is next. Could it be retirement, a 2nd career, or time spent volunteering? Those questions seem simple but in reality are not.

Studies show people with lots of money are actually less happy that those who have sustained a major injury with long term impact. How can that be? There must be something about the thought process by those faced with struggles that we can learn. Being faced with a life altering struggle produces happier people that buying a brand new sports car. It’s well documented about the struggle of lottery winners. This is entirely counter to everything taught by financial planners and comes up in every web search on retirement; more money, more savings, more mutual funds. In reality, your financial planner most likely has never retired, and has no experience in the matter. Take your advice from people with experience. That young family living in school bus know a lot more about how to be happy than the guy across the desk in the three piece suit.

This answer, like most answers, is simple. People who have learned to value Time, not Money, are always the happiest. More money and more stuff does not buy happiness. It can rent happiness for a short period but it is not sustainable. Experiences like a sunset on the beach, hanging out with your best friends, spending time with loved ones, traveling to exotic new places, or helping someone in need, provide true happiness. Some people find true happiness at work, as that is where they are challenged and have friends. Others think mostly about the day they don’t have to work. When they get to that point, they have no clue how to proceed.

Work is the ultimate safety blanket. There is not doubt what you are going to do for the majority of your time during the week. People put money in your bank account for you, some pay for your health care, you have rules to follow, and generally there is a nice tidy box in which to exist. You develop relationships, both friend, not friend, and sometimes even spousal relationships. When you stop work, none of that exists. You have to decide which friends to spend your time with and which activities you want to pursue. If you spend some time in an RV park with retired or semi retired, you get the impression many are on a slow march to the end, rather than in an intentional drive to gain experiences.

In my early 50s I did a few mud obstacle course events. At the start of each event, they gave you a motivational speech that asked, ‘when is the last time you did something for the first time’? For that day it was diving through an ice bath and running through dangling electrified wires. The question was not asked about that specific event, however, but more in the generic sense. That translates to any unique hike, bike ride, or travel experience, food experience, family birthday, and the list goes on.

Retirement provides a whole list of questions, like where should I spend my time, where should I spend my money, what tasks should get my energy, and so on. What was important to you over the past many years may not be so important now. As you look around at years of accumulated infrastructure, you have to ask what is important. That infrastructure can include things your garage, relatives, people executing tasks you did not have time to do yourself, etc.

So now as you start to ask that question about whats next, or you already have reached that point and found what you are doing to be unsatisfying, you have a pretty simple question that many refuse to answer. What do I Need to Change?

This blog is meant to be an accumulation of ideas that may help people optimize their time on this planet. I hope you find things here that make your time more enjoyable!

money is time, optimizing time, retirement, travel on a budget