If time is truly more valuable than money, then spending money to buy your time back is the wisest trade of all. Here’s an example of overcoming my sobriety to live a better life.
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons I initially didn’t want to go on a family vacation to LegoLand and SeaWorld was because I knew it would cost thousands of dollars. As someone who loves investing more than spending, I find it difficult to fork out ~€5,000 for just three days of vacation, while as a semi-retired person I already feel like I’m on vacation at home.
But as someone who has been actively trying to spend more money since turning 45 (in 2022), I thought: let’s try this trip. Spending money on family is much easier than spending money on myself. Small steps towards decumulation!
Spending money to save time is the best
Since this was our first time visiting LegoLand in Carlsbad, we didn’t quite know what to expect. We asked other parents and newsletter readers if we should buy the Fast Passes for $99 per person to avoid potentially long lines.
About 75% said this was not necessary because we went on a Thursday off-peak in October. That sounded reasonable, so I followed their advice. After all, we could always buy the fast passes later if the crowds were still there, that is, if the passes were still available.
At 10:10am we headed to the Coastersaurus ride and the line was absurdly long! Watch the video yourself. One of the ushers suggested we go to the back of the park since it had just opened and the other attractions were still relatively empty.
We took her advice and walked to Emmet’s Flying Adventure ride, a highly anticipated ride after our kids had just seen the Lego movie. Unfortunately another long line. Then I decided, screw it. I wasn’t about to wait in line for 30 to 40 minutes per ride with a 5 or 8 year old. Life is too short. I purchased the $396 fast passes for the four of us.
At first I felt guilty walking past everyone patiently waiting in line, especially the kids. I even wondered if I was setting a bad example for my children by not exercising patience. But then I remembered: $396 is a lot of money! – and got over it. It wasn’t like we lived in Southern California, had a season pass and could easily go to LegoLand whenever we wanted.
The kids loved going on more rides, and as any parent knows, happy kids (and a happy spouse) make for a happier life.
Probably didn’t need the most expensive fast pass
Now that we’ve been to LegoLand once, I realize there’s no need to spend the $99 per person Ultimate quick pass again during the offseason. The Luxury or even Normal fast pass would have been sufficient as each ride only has two lines: the regular line and the fast pass line. The ushers don’t seem to differentiate between which level you purchased.
We also discovered that a couple of attractions – Ninjago and Lost Kingdom Adventure – had no wait times at all. By the end of the day I almost wished the lines were longer so we could feel like we were getting more value from the upgrade.
So I’ll write down that extra $196 inexperience. At the time, we were afraid we would get robbed by the park if we didn’t buy the highest pass. At least now we know, and now thousands of you who have never been there know it too.
Spending on Ubers instead of a rental car was great
Another decision to save time was to use Ubers instead of renting a car. An Uber ride from our house to SFO costs about $30 one way, while long-term parking costs $25 per day, and we would be gone for three days. Additionally, it takes an additional 20 minutes to get from the parking lot to security. So taking an Uber was a no-brainer for both time and cost savings. We picked our kids up from school at 3:50pm on Wednesday to catch a 5:30pm flight.
We could have rented a mid-size car in San Diego for about $70 a day ($210 total), but I wanted to avoid the hassle of pick-up, parking, and return. In total, we spent about $300 on Uber rides. And honestly, it felt like it absolutely worth itespecially compared to the $396 we spent on express passes.
There’s also something liberating about not being responsible for a large, expensive asset that could be broken or stolen. That mental relief alone made the holiday feel lighter. When you consider the value of time and less stress, spending on rideshare services over rentals starts to seem like a solid trade-off.
No time saved flying Business Of First, so we didn’t
I still can’t justify paying a 50% to 200% premium for Business or First Class on short domestic flights, especially when everyone arrives at the same time. If I went to Hawaii alone, maybe.
At 6 feet tall and ~168 pounds, I can still fit comfortably in economy seats. My wife and kids fit in there easily too, as they are much smaller. If we can sit together in a row of four, or two and two, then that’s even better. My Economy seat effectively expands by 25%-50% when I can snuggle next to my loved ones.
Our flight was a 3-and-3 configuration, so I was the one who got the short end of the stick and sat next to strangers in both directions. The flight down went fine, but on the way back I sat next to a restless 14-year-old who kept bumping into me and waving his arm in front of my face to point out the window. Still no problem. I typed my free weekly newsletter during the short 70-minute flight.
When we landed, our first Uber kept delaying the pick-up, so I canceled and called a Lyft, which arrived within two minutes. It felt great not having to wait for an airport shuttle or track down our car at long-term parking. Time saving again.
It still doesn’t feel great to spend $5,000
The investor in me still shudders when he thinks about spending $5,000 on fun instead of investing it in the S&P 500 or a venture fund for my kids. I can’t help but look at the numbers:
- In 13 years, when my daughter goes to college, that $5,000 could have grown to $17,000 if she invested in the S&P 500, earning a 10% annual return.
- When my son goes to college in ten years, that same $5,000 could have grown to $31,000 if he had invested in Fundrise Company Earn 20% per year. I’ve invested about $200,000 so far, earmarked for both children, which means I have another $150,000 to go to save them from AI.
- Or it could have paid for a week-long music or sports camp, which will build lasting skills and confidence.
As an investor you always run a risk when you spend money on something new. Only then will you know whether it is worth it. Of course, investors can also lose money. But since we all had such a great time in San Diego, I’m at peace with it.
FIRE is all about reducing time spent on suboptimal experiences
After writing about FIRE since 2009, this lesson feels like I’ve come full circle. The whole point of achieving financial independence is to free up our time – to do less of what we don’t like and more of what we enjoy. The more we hate our work or feel like our work has no purpose, the stronger our desire to FIRE becomes. The same is true if we are more sensitive to the passage of time.
The key is to use money as a tool to buy back time, by aggressively saving and investing until we reach our minimum investment threshold. Once we reach that point, work becomes optional and life becomes more conscious.
Buying back time can mean skipping long lines, avoiding parking hassles, or simply eliminating the little annoyances that sap our energy. Because once the time is up, we can’t buy it back. Now that I’m older, the return on all the “sacrifices” I made in my 20s and 30s to build a passive income feels totally worth it.
When it comes to FIRE, Giving up an active income by not working is essentially the same as spending money to save time. They are two sides of the same coin. Accepting this reality will make it much easier to spend money once you retire.
After all, what is $5,000 if you’ve already given up making $50,000, $100,000, $500,000, or even $1+ million a year because you no longer want to trade time for money? In that context, $5,000 is insignificant.
Final thoughts on time freedom
Spending money doesn’t have to be a bad thing, as long as it has a purpose. Spending to save time, create memories or reduce stress is money well spent. Be careful that extreme frugality does not lead to lifestyle deflation. It’s an easy trap to fall into after a lifetime of diligent saving.
Since time is more valuable than money, it makes sense to spend money to save time. You can always make more money, but you can’t make more time. The trick is to find the balance between the investor in you who wants higher returns and the person in you who wants to enjoy life while you can.
So, the next time you hesitate to spend money on convenience or experience, ask yourself: Will this purchase help me gain back time or create lasting joy? If the answer is yes, then it’s probably worth it.
Readers, what do you think about spending more money to save time? What are some things to spend money on that can equal or exceed the value of saving time?
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