Buy Time?
I met Brian’s uncle at a corporate seminar on financial planning. He was introduced to me as a consultant, however there was something unusual about him. He seemed completely unhurried. Not lazy. Not disengaged. Relaxed. He had the air of a man who wasn't constantly racing against the clock. Naturally, I asked him what his secret was. He smiled and said something I will never forgot. “I learned to make money work for me, rather than spend my life working for money.” He told me that when he started working, he made a very simple decision. He would save a small percentage of every pay check and invest it, year after year, and as his savings grew, so did the income they generated. Eventually, he reached a point where that income could support the kind of life he wanted. Then, he left his regular job, and become a consultant, though still working. He could travel, take a day off, choose the projects he wanted, spend more times with loved ones. And perhaps most importantly, decide what he wanted to do with his Tuesday morning. Then he said three words that stayed with me: “I bought time.” What a beautiful idea. We spend most of our lives thinking about a house, car, better dinner, holidays, nicer phones; in simple words what money can buy. There is another thing that money can buy, something far more precious. Choice. And choice, eventually, can become time. Think about that for a moment. Every human being receives the same strange gift at birth: A limited amount of time. We don't know exactly how much we have, neither can we save future times, nor can we borrow an afternoon from next year. And once yesterday is spent, there is no refund. Yet we often treat time as though it were unlimited. We trade it for a pay check, and then trade that pay check for things Sometimes we even spend more time working to pay for those things. There is nothing wrong with working. Quite the opposite. A job gives us dignity, independence, purpose and the means to build a good life. Bills have to be paid. Families have to be supported. Dreams have to be funded. Obviously, we should respect the work that makes those things possible. However, there may be another way to look at our relationship with money. Maybe the goal isn't simply to earn more. The goal might be to gradually create enough financial breathing room that we have more say over how we spend our time, rather than simply earning more. That is what systematic savings can quietly do. A little money put aside regularly may not feel life-changing today. Though it can multiply while we sleep. And over enough years, those small decisions can create something much larger than a bank balance. They can create options, to take a month off, change careers, spend more time caring for someone They also create options to say no to things that aren’t right for you and yes when it really matters. In other words: Saving isn't only about having more money. It can be about eventually needing to sell less of your time. That thought changed something for me. I guess financial freedom isn't really about retiring early and doing nothing. It may be about reaching a point where your life is increasingly determined by your values rather than your financial obligations. You don't necessarily stop working. You gain freedom to decide why, when and how much you work. That might be one of the greatest gifts we can give our future selves. The choice to spend a little more of your life exactly where you want it to be spent. I remember thanking Brian's uncle silently for that thought. Because he hadn't really taught me how to make money. He had taught me something much more interesting. What money is ultimately for. It is a tool, and perhaps one of its most beautiful uses is to help us reclaim pieces of the only resource we can never replenish. Our time. So, somewhere today, while you're working, earning, paying a bill or deciding whether to spend or save, pause for a second. Think about the person you would love to have more time with. It can be anyone, even yourself. So, I ask you, how much of your time do you own? And, if you are smart enough to already own your time, do share with someone, just starting out in life. Until tomorrow, Bob
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