Time Is Money... No, Wait, It's Much More Important

True freedom comes with the ability to pick and choose how you live each moment. Do I spend this beautiful Wednesday hiking across the bushland to the coast, or should I fire up the barbecue and invite my friends over? On this rainy Friday, should I read a book, watch Netflix or try a new character build on Skyrim?

It's the freedom of time and an acceptable level of choice that we are chasing down in our race to Financial Independence. The power to live a deliberate life, rather than one lost in the monotony of an imposed routine.

Time > Money

As pursuers of Financial Independence, we watch our money pretty closely. We curse ourselves over our financial mistakes, frustrated with each over-spent dollar and missed income opportunity. It's heartbreaking when we look back and realise where we could be if we'd started on our journey a few years earlier.

However, I'd argue that financial mistakes are entirely recoverable, and it's our Time mistakes that cause the real damage. We can always earn more money - maybe not immediately, maybe not easily, but the opportunity is there.

We can never earn more time. We have whatever the gap is between birth and death, and each moment can only be spent once.

Rich and Powerful is Not Helpful

It's easy to look at the rich, the famous, or those in positions of power and assume they must want for nothing. With that kind of wealth and influence what could they possibly need?

Time is the one thing no one can give them. Constrained by responsibility, they in fact probably feel less freedom with their time than the average person. Sure, they have the option to abandon the trappings of wealth and could probably live a frugal FI lifestyle tomorrow, but can you imagine how that would go down with friends and family?

But… Side Hustles and Career Chasing?

All this talk of Time being the most important currency we have, and yet, this blog advocates for maximising your income. This generally involves spending more of that currency working on your career or starting Side Hustles.

Isn't that kind of inconsistent? You can never get time back, but I'm recommending we spend it working - probably not what you'd choose if you'd hit FI.

Investing Is Not Just For Your Dollars

You might well have a spreadsheet that tracks your dollars, but do you have one that tracks your investment of time?

I believe we should treat it with the same mindset. If we invest time in an endeavour, then in a similar compounding pattern to our money, we will begin to reap a huge payback of more choice with our time in the future.

Investing your time wisely, will enable you to generate the income streams that allow you almost complete freedom when you hit FI.

As with our money, during this pre-retirement phase of our life we should not be treating Time with a scarcity mindset - that feeling that we have none of it and we're desperately frustrated by all the things we can't do. Instead, I'd recommend a Deliberatist mind-set. Whether you are choosing to play computer games, hang out with your family or work on your side hustle, they are all great choices. When they are actually a conscious choice.

When it feels like a choice, rather than an obligation, it's easier to stay focussed. Is my reading of Twitter while lying in bed going to provide a good return on investment?

Don't Beat Yourself Up For Having Fun

This isn't post isn't designed to criticise anyone for choosing to relax or have idle fun on occasion. Those things are crazy important, for our relationships and our own mental health.

Just simply consider, given the finite time today, is this how I want to spend 20 minutes right now?

Yes? Sweet, go for it.

No? Cool. Get up and act!