Tag Archives: time

Retirement Is Dead: Why Time Affluence Is the New American Dream

Ever since I was 22, and started a “real job” the day after I graduated college, I was thinking about RETIREMENT.

I knew the time value of money was Uber-important, and the sooner I got $$ invested, and the longer it had to grow, the better my chances got of being a MILLIONAIRE!!! After all, who doesn’t want to be a millionaire? Sounds nice, but this actually isn’t the goal. The idea of being a millionaire is more about living a millionaire lifestyle than a number.

I started my journey simply with a 401K and an employer match and I think even had a Roth IRA on the side I was contributing $50/mo. to. I had very little real money, and zero wealth, but I was committed to the “Pay Yourself First” lifestyle and I’ve never stopped this behavior.

As time passed, and contributions continued, the nest egg slowly grew. I wasn’t directly thinking about it in terms of counting every penny, but I paid close attention to increasing contributions as my income grew. The snowball was slowly gaining size and momentum.

In my late 20’s or early 30s I met Gary Vaynerchuk in Las Vegas at a conference and it literally changed my life. The internet was in full bloom and I knew instantly the next frontier for me and my career would involve something in the digital media space. I already loved the marketing space and this next frontier was exciting!! I met a group of very young, but enthusiastic entrepreneurs and they too changed my perspective and life when I introduced them to the agency I was working at. A few months later they sold their business and we were off building a new team. It was some of the most “work” fun I’ve had in my life and I’m forever grateful for this lesson.

It Pays to OWN

After that, I figured out I was on the WRONG side of the deal. It was 100% my idea. My business plan. My introduction…but none of my money. I was working for someone who didn’t see my contributions to the enterprise the same way I did. It’s not their fault, but if I believed in myself change was needed. With a good deal of blind ambition and a little bit of ego, I leapt into the next chapter of my life. I began owning things, and by things I mean pieces of a business, or real estate, or other assets.

I re-read Rich Dad, Poor Dad and began thinking more in terms of creating multiple sources of income and operating in the (B-business) and (I-Investor) quadrants. That’s also when I created the FREEDOM DATE of 2027 (45 years old). I think I was 32 or 33 at the time and thought about the starry-eyed idea of financial freedom in my 40s. Was it a big idea? HELL YES it was. It wasn’t like I was wealthy in my early 30s. But I was gaining momentum and it wasn’t out of the question. So therefore, it was possible and I started to think about reverse engineering how to do it.

Well intentioned. Dead Wrong.

I think about my freedom fund, and freedom date much differently today. Although I’m still clinging on to the 2027 date, as I have documented and shared it so many places, I’m not going [peace out] and ride off into the sunset. This is why I say, [Well Intentioned. Dead Wrong]. The behaviors were correct, but the outcome shifted. Retirement is NOT the goal.

If we really wanted to retire today, I could. I could retire today!

How? Sell the house, and a car and a bunch of our stuff. Move into a trailer with minimal expenses and that’s it. Boom! Mission accomplished. < – – – – Doesn’t sound so great does it?

But if that’s the goal, why not do it?

This also would beg the question, “Now what?????”

Retirement by the end of 2027 isn’t the goal.

The goal is TIME affluence today!

Tim Ferriss talks about this extensively in his best-selling book, The Four Hour Workweek. Ferriss describes the “New Rich” (NR) as people who abandon the traditional “deferred-life plan” (work hard now to maybe enjoy life later) and instead design lifestyles that maximize freedom and fulfillment now.

The next chapter of my life and pursuit of time and location affluence looks like this. I’ll be working in a multitude of places and hopefully on a multitude of things. It could be at home. It could be the beach in Florida, the desert in Scottsdale, or a rented cabin on a lake in Northern Michigan for a week or two.

It looks like a couple golf trips a year and a couple great trips with my family to the mountains or to the beach. I’m thinking more and more about experiences and building a life story worth telling. All the while, staying fit and strong enough to attack life’s adventures with my kids (6 & 10). I don’t want to only exist to be their means of transportation…I want to be an active participant in their journey.

The lifestyle of working 40+ years in one place, and retiring in our 60s is nearly extinct. There is a newer and better path, if you choose to take it!

  • Traditional Path: School → Job → 40 Years → Retirement
  • New Rich Path: Skills → Leverage → Freedom → Now

Cheers to being in pursuit of the new rich lifestyle and living a life on your terms!

Counting Your Currency

There are two types of currency being traded in our lives.

MONEY

Cheddar, coin, dough, green, cash, Benjamin’s.  Pretty obvious right?.  I spent the first decade of my career working to accumulate this currency.  I counted it, I helped make it, created it, I saved it and every day I search to find better ways to invest it and grow it for my family’s future.
I don’t think money is a bad thing or the pursuit of money is a bad thing.  I think money is a great tool and every day I learn it is actually more of a resource.  Have I been greedy in pursuit of money?  Maybe?  When I was younger money was a way to keep score and I’m an achiever.  I like to see the scoreboard.  Today I still like to make money, I just frame it as a tool/resource to open up more doors and experiences in my life.  However, money alone will not bring happiness, but if I can choose between being poor and happy and financially comfortable and happy I’ll choose the latter.
Any ideas on the second type of currency you traded today?
Any guesses?

TIME

Time is the most valuable currency we own and the crazy thing is we each get the same amount to use every single day.  I’m sure you’ve heard this, so I won’t belabor the point.  Actually I will, I would like to drive it home like an ice pick into the icy side of a frozen mountain pass.
Everything changed for me on July 30th 2014.  This was the day my son was born.  I’ve learned so much in the three months since then I can’t even believe it took me this long to understand it.  Today everything revolves around the question, “What is the best use of every second of my time?”  Where can I get the most time with my son?  Where can I get the most time with my wife and family?  How can I maximize my time to spend with cherished friends?

Where can I invest my best strengths and talents to generate the biggest return for everyone involved?  Everything I think about now revolves around time investment and return.  This is much different than simple bottom line return (scoreboard & money).

What I encourage you to do is think about the relationship of money, freedom, and time in your life.  Have you earned enough money to have the freedom should you choose to exercise it RIGHT NOW?  Can you leave what you are doing this very second to be with your family if needed or pursue another opportunity?  Can you take that vacation you’ve been talking about to create a lifetime of memories?  If not, it’s time to start thinking about how your currency is being spent or find ways to make more money today to get closer to freedom.

Whatever you choose, don’t be a cheapskate.  No one likes a cheapskate!

Your resources(time and money) are in constant competition for your willpower and your goals.  I’m asking you to consider more “experiences” instead of things.  I’m asking you to save a little now for the overwhelming pleasure to pursue freedom if you choose later.

The iconic Steve Jobs says it perfectly.

Steve Jobs - Experiences Quote

Steve Jobs – Experiences Quote

ACTION ITEM: If you’re not happy with the track you life is on I’ll ask you to evaluate to simple resources.  How are you spending/wasting money?  How are you investing/wasting time?