Why Financial Freedom Is About Time, Not Money

For most of my twenties, I equated financial freedom with a number. If I could just earn $100,000 per year, I'd be free. Then it was $150,000. Then it was a net worth of $500,000. The goalposts kept moving, and I never felt any closer to freedom.

Then I had a realization that changed everything: financial freedom isn't about having a lot of money. It's about having control over your time.

The Golden Handcuffs

I have a friend who makes $180,000 per year. On paper, he's successful. In reality, he's miserable. He works 60-hour weeks. He can't take vacations without his phone. He hates his job but can't leave because he's locked into a lifestyle that requires $180,000 to maintain.

Expensive car payment. Big mortgage. Private schools. The best of everything. He has a lot of money, but zero financial freedom. His time isn't his own. He's trapped by his own success.

Meanwhile, I have another friend who makes $55,000 per year. She works 35 hours per week. She takes long weekends. She volunteers. She has hobbies. She has less money but vastly more freedom because her expenses are low enough that her income covers them with room to spare.

Financial freedom is the gap between what you earn and what you need. You can get there by earning more or by needing less. Most people only focus on the first part.

The Time Equation

Here's how I think about it now: every dollar I save buys me time. Specifically, it buys me the option to not work.

Let's say I spend $3,000 per month to live. That's $36,000 per year. If I have $36,000 saved, I've bought myself one year of freedom—one year where I could choose not to work if I wanted to.

If I save $100,000 at that spending level, I've bought myself almost three years of freedom. The famous "FIRE" (Financial Independence, Retire Early) community uses the "25x rule": save 25 times your annual expenses, and you can theoretically live off your investments forever.

For me at $36,000/year spending, that's $900,000. That number seemed impossible when I was focused on earning more. But when I reframed it as "how much do I need to control my time," it became a concrete, achievable goal.

The Freedom Budget

The breakthrough moment for me was creating what I call a "Freedom Budget"—the minimum amount I need to live a life I genuinely enjoy, stripped of everything driven by ego, comparison, or unconscious habit.

I went through my expenses line by line and asked: "Does this buy me time, freedom, or joy? Or does it steal them?"

Some surprising findings:

• My car payment: Stealing time. I was working extra hours to afford a car that sat parked 95% of the time. I sold it, bought a used car in cash, and freed up $450/month.
• My downtown apartment: Stealing time. The rent was high, which meant I needed a high salary, which meant I couldn't be picky about jobs. I moved 15 minutes out of downtown, cut my rent by $600/month, and gained job flexibility.
• Eating out constantly: Neutral. I wasn't even enjoying it—it was just convenience. I cut back by 70% and reallocated that money to things that actually brought joy.
• My weekend hiking trips: Buying freedom. These genuinely recharged me and made the rest of my week better. I kept them.

My Freedom Budget turned out to be about 60% of what I was actually spending. Same life satisfaction, dramatically lower cost, which meant dramatically more freedom.

The Four Types of Freedom

As I've pursued financial freedom, I've realized there are actually four types, and you can work toward them in stages:

1. Immediate Freedom: The ability to handle a $1,000 emergency without panic. This is your emergency fund, and it's the foundation of everything else. It gives you freedom from constant financial anxiety.

2. Monthly Freedom: The ability to not worry about making it to the next paycheck. This means having one month of expenses saved. It creates breathing room and reduces money-related stress significantly.

3. Job Freedom: The ability to quit a bad job without immediately panicking. This is typically 6-12 months of expenses saved. It gives you the power to say "no" to toxic workplaces and "yes" to career risks.

4. Time Freedom: The ability to work because you want to, not because you have to. This is the 25x rule—enough saved and invested that your money works for you. It's the ultimate goal.

I'm currently at Job Freedom, working toward Time Freedom. Even at this intermediate stage, my life has changed dramatically. I took a pay cut to work at a company I love. I negotiated a 4-day work week. I have the leverage to design my life because I'm not desperate.

The Paradox of Enough

Here's what nobody tells you: the feeling of "enough" is not a number. It's a mindset.

I know people with $2 million who don't feel financially free. They're worried about market crashes, lifestyle maintenance, keeping up with their even-richer neighbors. The hedonic treadmill never stops.

And I know people with $200,000 saved who feel completely free because they've defined "enough" and stopped chasing more.

The question isn't "how much money do I need?" The question is "how much is enough for me?"

Start With Time, Not Money

If you want financial freedom, don't start by trying to earn more. Start by auditing your time.

How many hours per week do you work? How many of those hours do you actually enjoy? How much of your income goes to things that buy you time, and how much goes to things that steal it?

Then ask yourself: "What would my life look like if I had control over my time?" Not unlimited money—control over your time. What would you do? Where would you live? How would you spend your days?

For me, the answer was surprising. I didn't dream of mansions and supercars. I dreamed of writing in the morning, hiking in the afternoon, and cooking dinner without rushing. I dreamed of saying "no" to things that didn't serve me. I dreamed of ordinary days filled with the freedom to choose.

That life doesn't require millions. It requires enough—and the wisdom to know when you've reached it.

Redefine Freedom

Financial freedom isn't retirement. It's not a beach house or a luxury car. It's not a number in your bank account.

Financial freedom is waking up and knowing that today, you get to choose how you spend your time. That's it. That's the whole thing.

Everything else—the saving, the investing, the careful spending—is just a means to that end. Don't lose sight of what you're actually chasing.

You're not chasing money. You're chasing time. And time, unlike money, can never be earned back once it's spent. So spend it wisely.