As You Get Older, You'll Pay Less Attention to Money.
The usefulness of money decreases with age.
You can look at money in a slightly different way.
Let’s say you work two hours and earn $200, if you were to buy something for $200, it would cost you two hours of your life. Was it worth the 2 hours?
As you get older, your interests gradually decline.
Your creativity usually diminishes as well. And when you are extremely old, no matter what your level of interest is, all you can do is sit down and eat tapioca pudding.
At this point, money is useless to you, because all you need or want is to lie in bed and watch the news about politics and climate change.
The Usefulness of Money Decreases With Age
There is a time to save, and there is a time to dance and have fun. It is so wrong to just save and not spend. It is also wrong to only spend and not save.
Manage all three resources, money, time, and health.
When you reach the age of 30, you may not have as much money, nor as much time or health. Then, when you are over 60, you usually have a lot of money and time, but no health.
It is about prioritizing and using money when you are younger.
Many of us value money more, especially in our 30s and 50s. My point is that it may be better, you will get more money over time.
Maybe health is the most important thing, what’s the point of having time if you don’t have health?
Now, when I was sick, I had a lot of time, but no health.
There are many activities that you can do at no cost.
But you don’t have to have money. Having health problems gives you less room for opportunity than having good health but no money.
The next recommendation is:
If your ability to enjoy experiences is more limited by time than by money or health, think of one or two ways to spend some money now to free up more of your time.
Calculate When Your Fortune Will Peak
Figure out when your fortune will peak and use it on time rather than in quantity.
Many of us already do this today, we will retire when we are 65 and not when we have 3 million in savings capital.
It is easier to add to the goal if it is an amount rather than a specific date. You should think very much in terms of dates rather than values.
To understand why you should think about a date, not a number, you have to remember that enjoying experiences requires a combination of money, free time, and health.
You need all three — money alone is never enough. And for most people, accumulating more money takes time.
So by working longer years to accumulate more savings than you really need, you are gaining more of something (money), but you are losing even more of something at least as valuable (free time and health).
More money does not mean more experience points. Just having more money will not give you more memories or experiences.
Most people forget the costs of acquiring more money, so they focus mainly on the gains. So, for example, $2.5 million buys you a better quality of life than $2 million.
This is because for every extra day you spend working, you sacrifice an equivalent amount of free time, and during this time your health also gradually declines.
If you wait five years to stop saving, your overall health will decline in five years, completely closing the window for certain experiences.
What does all this mean for you?
It means that unless you are an exception, you should start spending your wealth much earlier than is traditionally recommended.
If you wait until you are 65 or even 62 to take your safe with millions saved and start spending, you will almost certainly end up working harder than necessary for money that you can never spend.
What a sad thought: working like a slave and never getting the gold.
If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy, You’re Spending It Wrong
Sometimes I think that it’s the great experiences like traveling to Paris that matter.
It doesn’t have to be great experiences that you remember. It could very well be roasting meat on a Sunday afternoon on your balcony or something. You don’t have to save up for the great experiences you do once a year.
It’s very much about making conscious decisions. It’s very different how much you should save in different periods of your life. Reality is more complex than we often want to make it seem.
Your salary will only increase, and your purchasing power will only increase. The main lesson, I now realize, is to find the right balance between spending in the present (and only on what you value) and saving smartly for the future.
You retire on your memories, when you get older you can live on your memories.
This article is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.