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📚 Book Summary:
This week’s book is “Time Freedom” by Brian Herriot.
Everyone talks about achieving financial freedom, but a better goal is achieving time freedom. What good is having a lot of money if you don’t have a lot of time?
In this book, financial advisor and entrepreneur Brian Herriot shows you how to restructure your work and money, so they serve you, not the other way around.
You’ll learn how to take back control over your time, escape your nine-to-five, design a life around your values, and more.
If you want to reclaim your time, find work that aligns with your life, and create a more fulfilling life, this book is for you.
📖
1) Stop Waiting Till Retirement To Enjoy Life
Take a moment to think about how crazy the traditional job path is…
You work a job you likely don’t enjoy for the majority of your life. Then when you’re in your 60s, you’re free to do whatever you want.
But what can you really do in your old age? Do you really want to wait till then to experience and enjoy life?
I’ve watched my father and grandmother go down this path, and it’s been sad to watch. After retiring, they spent most of their time at home flipping through TV channels and not doing much else.
But there’s another path–what author Brian Herriot calls the time freedom path.
On this path, you cut extravagant expenses, save the difference, invest that money, and find a flexible source of income that gives you control over your time.
With remote work more popular now than ever before, it’s never been easier to escape the traditional 9-to-5 career path.
Here are just a few options:
If you’re an expert in your field, you can become a coach and sell your expertise online.
If you own a business, you can hire an operator to run it (you might make less money, but you’ll have a lot more time).
If you have a hobby that you love, start creating content about it or try to turn it into a side hustle.
If you can, become an independent contractor or consultant and work on a part-time or seasonal basis.
If you’re a lawyer, doctor, or have some other job that’s billed per hour or patient, you can simply choose to work fewer hours.
Yes, you’ll earn less than if you worked full-time, but you’ll gain back time that is much more valuable now than it will be when you’re in your 60s or 70s.
📖
2) But Wait, When Do I Finally Retire?
This may sound crazy, but I agree with the author: You should never want to retire.
Work provides you with so much more than just money; if it’s a job you enjoy, it gives you a sense of purpose, status, self-worth, connection to others, and more many benefits.
When my father retired, he was happy for the first few months, but after that, his life got worse. He lost touch with coworkers, his physical health took a hit as he spent most of his time on the couch, and he lacked motivation to do much of anything.
My mother, on the other hand, found a part-time job that she enjoys. She works 3-days a week, chats with her coworkers often, and is more physically and mentally active than my father.
Personally, I hope to never retire as well.
I want to spend my life reading books, writing books, and teaching others for as long as I can. I hope to be like Walter Isaacson, Haruki Murakami, or Robert Caro.
I envision myself spending 2-4 hours a day working, then spending the rest of my time walking in nature, swimming, visiting my kids and grandkids, or traveling the world with my wife.
So instead of setting a goal to retire and never work again, perhaps consider half-retiring. Working enough to support yourself with work you enjoy, and then spending the rest of your time doing whatever you want.
📖
3) Money Still Matters
Time is more valuable than money, but you still need money to survive.
The question then becomes, how much money do you need?
Here are 5 key numbers you need to know:
Living Expenses: How much are you spending every month? Where can you cut costs to increase your savings?
Total Savings: How much money do you have saved up?
Investment Return: Are you investing your money, and what is the return rate on it?
Inflation Rate: How fast is the cost of goods and living rising each year?
Flexible Income: How much money will you be making once you pivot to a flexible career?
Once you know your numbers, you can start creating a path toward achieving time freedom.
But that doesn’t mean you should quit your job tomorrow.
In the book, Brian Herriot lays out a 3-year plan that will help you get there, along with suggestions on how to invest your money, find a flexible source of income, and much more.
Achieving time freedom takes work, but it is possible.
✅ Actionable Advice:
1) You don’t have to wait till retirement to enjoy your life:
Start brainstorming ways to have a flexible source of income so that you can take back your time.
2) Instead of aiming to retire and stop working entirely, aim to "half-retire":
Find work you enjoy that covers your needs and spend the rest of your time on the people and pursuits that keep you healthy, connected, and engaged.
3) If you want to start planning your path toward time freedom, check out “Time Freedom.”
💎 Weekly Gem:
App: Robinhood
Almost every investing book will tell you the same thing: Start investing your money as early as possible.
When you invest, you put your money to work. And the sooner you put your money to work, the sooner it will grow.
When I was a college student, I set a goal to invest $100 every month. It didn’t seem like much at the time, but I’m glad I did. Today, that amount has grown and multiplied several times over.1
If you want to start investing and growing your wealth, I recommend Robinhood. They let you invest in stocks, crypto, index funds, IPOs, and other assets.
I’ve been investing with Robinhood for almost 10 years now. It’s free to sign up, easy to use, and will help you start your investing journey.
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-Alex & Books
1 Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. All investments involve risks, including the possible loss of capital. Securities trading is offered to self-directed customers by Robinhood Financial. Robinhood Financial is a member of FINRA. Full disclourses and information can be found here: https://robinhood.com/us/en/about/legal/
