I've been spending some time running different financial scenarios recently. At 53, realistic retirement is in the 5-12 year range. Obviously working more years makes the math better, but years of good health are a steep price to pay.

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Personal time or Money which is more important?

Personal time.

I was told many years ago ....... you can tax money , but you can't tax time. Your results may vary.

Not so much as either being a defined asset. Time on your hands? Yeah, I could have all day. Some things are worth buying at any price.

Depends on how well either one of them had been spent.

time

I can always make money

I cannot make time

Money is more important UNTIL you have enough. Then Time is more important!

Most of us lust for things we will never have or don't fully appreciate when we do eventually get.

It is a balance. Money is needed. But as we age we realize everyone is out to get it no matter how much or little we may have.

I vote time.

Everything else is either a blessing or a curse.

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Originally posted by berto:
I have no doubt in my last moment it's time that I'll wish I had more of and used more wisely.

Sage words.

Quality over quantity.

I'd rather have the money to do the things I enjoy than have personal time to be idle.

Last year I retired from full time 50+ hours per week.(EDITED: did this 46 of 47 years working, for seven months in 1973 I was on 8 hour days/ 40 hour weeks.)

My ex-supervisor tried talking me out of it. He being very materialistic started with the "You won't be able to do everything you want on SS" line. He is a couple of years younger than I am, both are in our 60's.

So politely I said my decision was made, money is not everything. As I left his office he said "The one that dies with the most toys wins."

I immediately spun around, looked at him and said "And you are still dead. Let me know when the estate sale is."

This message has been edited. Last edited by: shovelhead,

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Originally posted by BigWhup:
Money is more important UNTIL you have enough. Then Time is more important!

Ah, but how much is enough? Some folks value expensive toys and work long and hard to be able to afford them. Others prioritize time with their families and live simpler to be able to afford that time.

Only you can answer what is important to you.

For me, at this point in my life, the time is much more important than the money. Not time to sleep in or sit on the couch, but time to spend doing things with my wife and kids. YMMV.

Currently low on both, once I have enough of either, I'll chime back in

It's been money for many years but coming up on 58 next month I'm starting to realize that time is important too.

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Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Wisely earn your money. Spend your time wisely.

The Monkey speaks volumes of wisdom.

I am 8 years senior to my wife and have been retired fully retired for 7 years. I have been encouraging my wife to retire as soon as she was fully vested in her 30-year FedGov retirement, but she wanted to continue for a couple more years. After an health issue which landed me in the hospital and required her to take two weeks off to assist in my recovery, she re-evaluated and is going out at the end of this year.

You can always earn more money, but we each have been allotted an unknowable fixed amount of time.

The wife and I are empty nesters. I still do 12 hour days and I'm paid pretty good with great benefits. I leave at 5:30 and get home at 6:30. When I get home work stays at work and evenings are for my wife and I. Seems to be working out pretty well. Soooo... both are important to me. Money makes for more fun personal time activities. Plus, there's that whole retirement thing that's coming in eight years, so saving money is pretty important for us.

Time is much more important to me than money. My life is over half over, all but one of my grandparents are dead, my parents are nearly the age my first set of grandparents were when they died and I worked so much when my kids were real little I don't remember a lot of it. I can always earn more money, but you can't turn back the clock!

Time. Personal time is the most important thing. Many of us spend our lives making money so that we can 'buy' personal time later in life (retirement with short episodes interspersed in the interim).

But by this, I don't include personal time explicitly of my own. I'm spending my life making money so that my wife can live comfortably and without worry until she's 110.

Money is not important. We make money to buy time and spend the time as we want.

I turned 35 this year and I've already started spending money to save time. I still do most things myself. Sometimes I'll pay to have my car worked on because I don't feel like doing it myself. We've also got a maid to come in every 2-3 months to do a once over. With two kids, my free time has completely diminished.

Both are important, but time is most important because once it's gone it's gone. Money is a little, as long as you have enough to be comfortable and not worry about paying the light bill and putting food on the table, is enough.

My father was extremely close to me and we used to do everything together. He passed away when he was 56, and I 27 after 3 months in ICU. Growing up, there were times we were very wealthy and times we were very poor. My dad was good at making a lot of money when he wanted to, not good at holding onto it. So sometimes I had very expensive toys and sometimes none at all. All of the best memories I have, was time spent with him fishing on a rented 14' boat, or $50 a person drift fishing boat, or doing activities that didn't require much of any money (going to car shows or road trips). The expensive toys and what we did on them, aren't even a memory.

It depends. The solution is situational based on two ideas: Opportunity Costs and Arbitrage.

To work or not work. The opportunity cost of not working is the money you would earn by working plus the cost you accrue just by existing: housing, food, the cost incurred by whatever activity you choose to do instead of working. If you have sufficient money in reserves already to cover the net loss, then you can afford not to work.

To mow your lawn versus hiring a mowing service. The arbitrage is determining which is cheaper for you - the associated costs of mowing your lawn yourself for the time it will take you to mow your lawn versus the cost/benefit of doing something else and paying someone else to mow your lawn.