It's come to my attention that there's a growing trend of people who are willing to pay a premium for free time. What do I mean by paying a premium? Essentially, it means earning less. About a year ago, one of my friends I spoke to told me that time freedom is worth $2000. Hence if he was paid $2000 lesser compared to a desk job for the freedom to control his time, it's worth it. Very recently, I had dinner with another friend in the professional services sector and she shared that she took a 4-5K pay cut in her latest job switch to exchange for the luxury of knocking off at 630pm everyday.

As a self employed, I constantly have to weigh the balance of when earning is enough and to cut myself some slack. It's very easy to work 30 days a month and suffer a burnt out earning more and equally easy to cave in to laziness and work 1 day a week earning too little. Which brings us to the conversation of how do we value the free time and what it is worth. According to my friend who took a 5 grand cut for that time excess, it's meaningful because she uses her time to create value in other areas of her life. If she spent it sleeping at home or playing games, she would rather earn the 5 grand extra. In terms of my own time, here are 3 ways I feel it's worth spending it in exchange for more income.

1. Socializing and spending it in hobbies I enjoy

I love a good game of chess anytime. I find it mentally fulfilling. When I take a break from my working schedule, I spend a good amount of time at various chess playing locations to nourish my mind. Apart from the intellectual game, I meet a lot of like-minded people which really enhances my social circle. Chess is my way of de-stress. Just like physical exercise, a mental exercise is akin to going to the gym. Definitely worth the opportunity cost of giving up income earning time for it.

2. Window-shopping at show flats

One of the activities I spend a lot of time doing whenever I'm taking a break from work is property hunting. Am I really in the market for a house? Maybe. I'm still on the fence between enjoying the leverage gains in property versus investing the down-payment in the stock market. Property as an investing instrument is fairly foreign to me given that I wasn't looking for one previously. As such, I'm taking a chunk of my free-time to understand this instrument. Besides, this isn't a $8000 item, it's a $800k-1mil odd item. You need to prepare. One of my biggest lessons learnt when COE prices dropped to 20,000ish was that you need to have a cash reserve ready to capture the opportunity. You also need to be mentally ready. No resources, no knowledge = no opportunity

3. Build relationships and grow fat in the process

For those who don't know me, I keep a leisure food blog on Instagram simply because I enjoy taking photos of food. Yes, I'm a typical Singaporean. If I go overseas, you can identify my country of origins from afar. Food hunting is an activity I enjoy and it's a wonderful way to catch up with friends. In fact, I learn a lot about people whenever they are stuck in a meal with me. It's casual, relaxing and what else can you do besides eat and talk? I know how this innocent activity appears however, I think that technology has made communication too convenient that off-line interaction is more and more neglected. Why do I need to catch up with my friend and spend money on interesting food when this person is just a text away? Personally I prefer face to face interaction, and sharing good food and good banter is the best way to take your mind away from real world problems.

Pay a realistic premium for freedom and time

Whenever this topic about earning lesser for more time comes up, it disturbs me. I feel that too many people enjoy free-time now with no consideration for future implications.

My friend who took a 5K pay-cut can still afford to save 80% of her income. I think the surplus if put to good use would give her a comfortable retirement with inflation factored in. Most of the time though, people consciously choose to earn lesser for more time with not enough buffer to cater for future expenses. Also, there're people who pay a premium for more time to idle at home. In our instant gratification day and age, we place too much emphasis on momentary happiness with too little regard for delayed gratification. At some point, you will move into a phase of prolonged unhappiness if not managed properly. Don't let that person be you.

If you would like to explore the possibility of getting control over your time while also doing meaningful work, you can drop me a message. We are looking for more self-driven individuals to join our team and value-add the market place. Financial advisory can be a pleasant experience and I can show you how this career can be conducted with class and dignity.

Be sure to share the article if you feel this information is helpful. You will enable a lot more people to learn about investment. Like my page if you would like to read more of such articles.

Disclaimer: The content created are based on my personal opinions and may not be representative to everyone or any organisation. If you have any doubts or queries pertaining to insurance or investment, please seek professional advice from a trusted adviser in an official setting. You may also reach out to me if you do not have a present adviser using the message box under 'Let's Talk'.