People don’t want to be millionaires – they want to experience what they believe only millions can buy… $1,000,000 in the bank isn’t the fantasy. The fantasy is the lifestyle of complete freedom it supposedly allows.”
Tim Ferriss, The 4-Hour Workweek
Have you ever had this conversation about money in your head?
Everything will be just fine when I have $x,xxx,xxx in the bank.”
Supposedly John D. Rockefeller, who at one time was the richest person in the world, was asked: “How much money is enough money?” He replied, “Just a little more.”
Now, don’t get me wrong. I have no guilt or problem with earning and accumulating money. Not having money doesn’t make you a better person, either.
Buy my point is this:
- Will we ever really have enough money?
- Will money ever make us feel truly secure?
- Is it possible we are sacrificing something that money can’t buy in our quest to maximize money?
The last question about sacrifice has always been the most challenging for me. What other areas of my life am I sacrificing now in my pursuit of more money? How much of those am I really willing to invest for future financial returns?
Back in 2007, I was already questioning my own hyper-focused sprint up the real estate mountain. And then I picked up Tim Ferriss’ newly published book The Four Hour Workweek.
It was the right message at the right time.
The philosophy from the book that resonated the most with me was something like this:
Money is not the only currency we should use to measure our wealth and our lives. Instead, to get the things we really want in life we should measure at a minimum 3 currencies.
Aha! Three currencies of life.
Money was important, but it’s not what I really wanted. I needed to start measuring and prioritizing differently.
The Three Currencies of Life: Time, Money, and Mobility
You’ve probably heard that time is your most precious commodity. But on the balances sheets that define “success” in our society, how often do we measure an abundance of free time?
Traditionally, the time-rich were kids or people without a job. Not exactly who we aspire to be when we grow up!
And what about mobility? Why isn’t the ability to travel and come and go as you please valued as highly as a Mercedes-Benz or a fancy house?
And the mobility-rich are usually college-aged people studying abroad or roaming vagabonds who never really fit into the “real world.”
Of course, we all have responsibilities. And we have to work for money at some point.
But what would your life look like if you measured and prioritized all three currencies equally – time, money, and mobility?
In Pursuit of a Different Kind of Wealthy
Early in my career as an entrepreneur, I did not make a salary as large as a doctor or a corporate worker. I had thought about pursuing those paths, but a squeaky voice in the back of my mind told me I would lose something important if I did.
As I later learned, the precious qualities I would have lost were free time and mobility. And even from the beginning as an entrepreneur, I used those resources to do cost-free activities that I loved, like regularly play basketball in the middle of the day for 2 hours.
Score!
Henry David Thoreau warned not to spend “the best part of one’s life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of it.”
He had a point.
When can we best use and enjoy our free time and mobility? While we’re still mentally and physically at our best!
And that’s a big reason the FIRE movement has become so popular. Leaving typical work roles and abandoning traditional retirement paths can lead to more freedom, flexibility, and happiness.
But implementing all three currencies requires thinking differently. It requires questioning assumptions and strong social conditioning, including the “wisdom” of your family, co-workers, Suse Orman, and major societal forces (marketers, politicians, media). And it also requires courage, persistence, and a different approach to measuring personal success.
But if you can do make this switch, the payoff is BIG. You won’t have to wait until that “someday” that may never arrive.
My Break From the Work-Money Grind
Soon after I first started evaluating my business and investing from this three-currency-lens, my wife and I decided that a slow, meandering trip through Spanish-speaking countries would be exactly the type of activity that would feed our souls and enrich our lives.
Money was certainly an obstacle. My estimation for 4 months of travel was $15,000, the price some people pay for a car. But we worked hard and saved the money over time.
Saving money required that we live more simply, although I don’t consider eating a peanut butter and banana sandwich at a park to be worse than a paid meal in a stuffy restaurant. We also started to notice that most so-called necessities of today were luxuries only 50 years ago. Life could go on perfectly without many of them (cable TV, new cars, fancy houses, smart appliances, and fashionable furniture).
But the bigger challenge was freeing up time and flexibility so that we could actually leave for 4 months! We had to forgo opportunities for more money and more advancement in both of our careers. These opportunities would have fed our egos and our bank accounts, but they also would have held us back from the freedom to do what mattered!
In the end, we made our 2009 mini-retirement happen – right in the middle of the Great Recession.
A Mini-Retirement Trip That Changed It All
For our mini-retirement, we spent one and a half months in Spain and then two and a half months in South America (Peru, Chile, Argentina).
The trip exceeded even our wildest expectations. The free time and mobility made space for experiences that enriched our lives in so many dimensions.
I learned to speak Spanish semi-fluently after taking regular, personalized classes in Spain and Peru. My wife Kari volunteered as an English teacher to amazing local kids. And we met new friends, took spectacular hikes, and ate interesting new foods.
And even the low points of the trip were growth experiences. My wife and I had plenty of frustrating experiences with one another where we learned what made the other person tick.
And the slow, quiet spaces of the time were psychologically challenging. Old painful experiences and stubborn, unhelpful mindsets started bubbling up for both of us. But as we both worked through them, we became more and more grateful that we had the opportunity, time, and space to reflect on our lives in this way.
The Call to Adventure
“A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be.
– Abraham Maslow, Motivation and Personality
Long-term world travel may not be your idea of a worthwhile goal. But I’m sure you have some dream or call to adventure itching at you below the surface.
Is it more time and flexibility with family? More time and flexibility for that favorite hobby or passion? Or more time and flexibility for that vocation that fulfills you but doesn’t earn enough money?
For me and my wife, it all started with a change of priorities. Instead of only measuring and prioritizing money, we switched to also measuring and accumulating the currencies of time and mobility. This different lens continues to give us a very practical tool to evaluate everyday decisions and the real sacrifices that will result.
I challenge you to start evaluating your own assumptions about the three currencies of life. If you’re ready, take out a journal and set aside some quiet time this week to brainstorm these questions:
- In the end, what do I want money to buy me?
- What’s keeping me from my dreams? Is it just money or also time, mobility, or something else?
- How much of my non-financial currencies am I investing now in order to meet my financial goals later?
- When my life is over, would I rather have given up the time now or had the time later in life?
- What is never worth sacrificing in the present moment?
- How can I change my wealth strategy to be more balanced now?
And of course, no one else can tell you the right answers! These are your questions, and the answers will be personal to your own unique life adventure.
Good luck pursuing those questions and a “bank account” full of mutiple currencies!
I’d love to hear your thoughts or questions in the comments below.
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Redd Gardner says
Thoreau also said ,and I paraphrase , ‘ everything you own,own’s a bit of you and soon there is nothing left of you ‘. Chad , I feel lost and with out any direction. I have all three of the currencies and I dont know which way to go .
Chad Carson says
Redd – thanks for commenting and for your honesty. I certainly don’t have it all figured out in this department. I’m also just trying to figure it out, and I have my moments of feeling a little lost too. But the most rewarding thing for me has been contribution and helping others. This blog is the manifestation of that. I really enjoy teaching. You obviously have a lot to share after getting to where you are. If you feel drawn to teach at all – in whatever form, I highly recommend it.
Curt Smith says
Redd, I’ve fulfilled some of my need for being fulfilled by volunteering at my local REI. You might looking into help needs at your church, REIA, local investors needing help getting to your spot. Its rewarding helping someone buy their first rental and screen tenants. 🙂 Start giving talks at local orgs about REI and financial wisdom (Dave Ramsey ish plus REI).
Nicole says
Having 3 currencies is great, but without someone you love and compatible with to spend them with, one still feels as poor as ever.
Chad Carson says
You’ve got a good point, Nicole. That need for connection sure does seem built in, doesn’t it? It’s like the foundation for everything else. For me the best use of that free time and mobility currency is building and maintaining my relationships.
MARINA ALKASAS says
Thank you, Chad! It’s always refreshing to hear your perspective and see a real-life example of someone who found a way to make good money but have not allowed the pursuit of it to consume him. Sharing your article with all my friends – as always. My best wishes to you and Kari. Thank you guys again for being an example of focusing on what really matters in life.
Chad Carson says
Thank you for your kind words Marina!
victor says
Redd is time to see your spiritual purpose. We need to find our mission in this life and now that you have the 3 currencies you may need to stop and go to a retreat or a trip to find who you are and what is your mission. Good luck in your adventure.
Kari Carson says
I love this article, not just because I look so young :), but because the concept of 3 currencies helped me reevaluate my priorities and life. It’s eye opening to really ask, “What is it that I really want to do? What do I need to do to make it happen? Do I need to work this job to do it?” These questions can help think outside the box of what we think we have to do.
It is definitely wonderful to spend the currencies with someone you love. I know my adventures are richer with my family by my side. But what can you do when that person isn’t there? Before I met my husband, I took the time, money, and mobility to do things for myself that I enjoyed and that filled me up as a person. Other times, I just put myself out there, doing things outside my comfort zone in the hopes of growing as a person and making friends in the process. When you don’t know what to do, what about following some inkling of an interest? Or, what about taking a tiny step in the direction of your big audacious goals or bucket list (if you’re into that kind of thing)?
Mr.FIRE Power says
Chad, first thanks very much for the book, I read it last month and very much appreciated the tactics on real estate investing. I found the debt snowball plan to be particularly provocative and applicable to my current situation.
This post reminds me of something a corporate executive once told me about the three ways someone can contribute to charity: time, treasure, and talent. Each is useful, each in its own way.
Time is helpful for service because any charity needs volunteers. Treasure is important because money pays the bills. The third, talent, is an expertise that when combined with time can greatly amplify the returns for the charity. A financial expert can help with the financial books or help with tax reductions. A great fundraiser can leverage a network of givers to bring larger sums to support the charity’s mission. Someone like you with significant experience in real estate can share that expertise to help others (like me!) on their way to financial independence.
Thanks for the post.
Mr. Hobo Millionaire says
I agree with all the comments about helping others. My wife and I support animal rehabbers (of wildlife). It also helps to have a chosen purpose to support. It allows you to block out all the other random pulls for your money/support.