My money blueprint has me on track to have enough money saved to be able to retire before I turn 50. I assume the retirement age will be at least 67 by the time I get there, so let’s see how much time I am able to buy back if I can retire at 50.
how much time will financial indepence save me?
23,472 hours sitting down
7,824 hours stuck in traffic
7,824 hours of meetings
782 dreaded Monday mornings
391,000 e-mails
11,730 phone calls
Just think how much you could do with all that free time. By being intentional with my spending, I will get to claim back all these hours to spend how I want.
If I want to work I will work, but it will be at a job that I am passionate about.
If I want to exercise I will exercise.
If I want to read I will read.
If I want to volunteer I will volunteer.
If I want to travel I will travel.
My time will belong to me, not someone else. That is the beauty of financial independence and this is what keeps me motivated.
We should ask ourselves “would I work this job for free?” If the answer is no, then we should be buying back our time to spend in ways that we want.
How do we buy back our time?
With intentional spending
Only spending money on things that align with our most important goals, whilst eliminating spending on less important things. Important things to me are family, health and food so I spend on these. Whereas things like TV, takeaways, travel, technology, and fancy housing are not priorities at this stage. They do not align with my current goals, so they do not get as many of my dollars.
Decreasing expenses
Annually looking for deals on regular fixed expenses such as electricity, phone, insurance and internet. Just like intentional spending, this is not about deprivation. Rather, spending on things that bring you the most long term fulfilling joy.
Increasing income
Investing wisely
Final Thoughts
There it is. Spend less, earn more, invest. Easy to understand, hard to do. The higher the percentage of income we can save the more time we can purchase.
Numbers of years of work needed at different savings rates
If we can save 30% of our income, for every 2.3 years worked, we will have enough saved to take 1 year off work. This doesn’t even include investment returns so could be even quicker. I am currently saving 50% of income, so every year I am able to bank at least 1 year of future time that can be cashed in at any time I want. I plan to save this time up and allow compound interest to do its magic.
There is no way I would rather have an extra 326 x 24 hour days stuck in traffic or have to answer 391,000 extra e-mails. There are a thousand other things I would rather do with my time. I want to get healthy again after years sitting at a desk. I want to volunteer more in the community. I want to spend more time with my wife and daughter. I want to continue to grow my business. I want to travel. I want to read more. I want to learn a new language. I want to learn guitar. I want to play sports. I will wonder how there was enough hours in the day for full time work.
The important thing is we are not running away from work for the sake of running. We should have a list of ways to spend our time or else we will be bored and directionless. Our mental health may also suffer with no challenges. This is not the time for relaxing on the beach to be a full-time sun bather. That gets old quick.
My time is too important to be wasted. That is why I am on this path to financial independence. To get off the hamster wheel and buy back my freedom.
If you need help with optimising your lifestyle, then get in touch today.
The information contained on this site is the opinion of the individual author(s) based on their personal opinions, observation, research, and years of experience. The information offered by this website is general education only and is not meant to be taken as individualised financial advice, legal advice, tax advice, or any other kind of advice. You can read more of my disclaimer here
Do you put enough value on your time? What are you doing to buy back your time?