The value of time...
When I saw the topic for this week's Dreemport Silver Bloggers Challenge I had to pause for thought.
When do I want to retire? What do I want from retirement? What do I plan to do with those years when the time comes?
And you know what... the answers were quite simple... and I'll get to them shortly.
First a bit of backstory...
I have been quite fortunate to have been in gainful employment most of my adult life, albeit my husband and I started over from scratch when I was 29 and he was 30. We emigrated from South Africa to the U.K. in 2001 and cashed in our pensions to fund the transition. But since we moved to the U.K. I have saved again towards my pension and we have purchased a home together.
I already work a reduced-hour week (part-time) so that I can be there to take my children to school in the mornings and fetch them in the afternoons. The cost of child care is very prohibitive but I want to be able to spend that time with them anyway. Even working part-time, I find that my time only starts after 9 pm at night and sometimes that can stretch to starting at 10 pm or 11 pm depending on my family's needs. In order to eek out as much time for myself as possible, I tend to go to bed very late, sleep less and wake tired... except on weekends when I enjoy the luxury of a lie-in to catch up.
I do love my sleep but I am also resigned to being a night owl!
I have so many interests that I would love to be able to pursue BUT I just don't have the time.
Now here's the thing... most people, either have money, but no time to make the best use of it because they are always working, or they have time (retirement) but much less money to use during that time because they are not working! So we need to find the balance point somewhere in between.
For me... retirement means no longer being beholden to someone else; to the corporate world. It means being able to reclaim my time and do with it what I want to do. Sure, I may have less money, but a lot of things that I enjoy, don't require massive capital input eg: writing, reading, music, growing my own food, learning, hiking, and time with family and friends. I think one of the few things that will require money will be travel.
Travel is something I will not be able to give up as I have family and friends abroad that mean the world to me and time with them is a sacrifice I am not prepared to make.
So... I think retirement for me may be a journey towards reclaiming my time... perhaps reducing my working week by a day at a time... down to 3 half days a week. Then potentially switching to contract work or a less stressful part-time job, earning less but doing something I enjoy. Where I feel valued and feel as though I am making a contribution to society, rather than simply filling the pockets of wealthy shareholders.
But ultimately I will stop working altogether. There comes a point where I know that I will have enough to get by. I will again reprioritise my spending habits and trade money for time because time is worth so much more!!! I am already focussed on finding ways to reduce my outgoings and making my money work better for me. I think that is important. And I am working on instilling a savings habit into my children too. That's not as easy but we'll get there!
Time in itself is a precious limited commodity and none of us know how much of it we have left. Money we can count and plan out... Time? Not so much! So, we have to make the most of every day we are given... and that's what I want. I don't want to spend the rest of my life eeking out joy, wringing it out of the few hours I can claim for myself each day in the quiet hours of the night. I no longer want to be ruled by time; I want to be blessed by it.
So I can't wait to reach that balance point where I can truly drop the daily grind altogether and throw myself into my interests and everything that brings me joy. I know that I will have more than enough to keep me busy... and... with the extra time, I may just get to sleep a solid 8-9 hours again*
*ps: That last point... who am I kidding?😂
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It’s 5:00 AM and I know if I seek you out on DM you will be awake! Hehe 😉
You’re not kidding about your lack of TIME, but I know that you really do sacrifice sleep to get a little more of it into your day. So, I WISH YOU TIME! I hope that my wish finds you. 🤗❤️💕❤️🤗🤗
hehe u found me xx
love you and ... I am going to bed now! !LOLZ
!LUV !ALIVE !PIZZA
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For me, retirement means the same, and that's why I talk more about a lifestyle than retirement in my post.
The time we invest in ourselves, those we love, and what we like is never enough, and there is always room for more. And it is the best investment we can make in life.
🤗🤗
Absolutely! Couldn't agree more. I'm off to read your post now xx !LUV !ALIVE
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thank you @teamuksupport !PIZZA
It makes sense to retire gradually, as you can afford it :) Hopefully one day Hive will pump to the point that we can all convert enough of it to live off of the 20% interest 🙏
That would be the best of both worlds!
🤣Of course you'll always want to push yourself!
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Hi Sam, when I read through your post two movies kept popping up in my head: "In Time" with Justin Timerlake and "Jupiter Ascending" with its famous quote "TIME is the single most precious commodity in the universe". I'm glad you're not planning on giving up traveling! I also see this one as a non-negotiable.
That obviously is the punchline 🤣
Yep - I need to travel... too many special peeps to connect with and too many amazing places on this beautiful planet to visit! I think I may get the extra sleep but maybe just not all in one go !LOLZ I have friends across the world in different timezones that I love to connect with in my early hours... so... yeah... we find ways to balance things out. Thank you for dropping in Krisz. I will be visiting your blog today to catch up. Have you had a chance to check out Dreemport before? !LUV !ALIVE
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Hi Sam, I just had a quick look into Dreemport. Interesting system they've set up. For the time being though, I'll pass. Thank you very much for letting my know about this opportunity! Really appreciate it Sam! 👍
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Aw thank you sweet @coquicoin. That is very kind of you 🤗 !LUV !ALIVE
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My biggest issue is, I have Champagne Dreems on a Ginger Ale Budget
I think your ginger ale budget is plenty enough for what you want to achieve !LOLZ I mean what's a few extra feet in the grand scheme of things...? But if you can find a way to live the dreem, go all out for what you truly want 🤗
!LUV !ALIVE
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that's so true. I mean it's not the size of the boat, it's the motion in the ocean, right? Or have they all been lying to me all this time?
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This is very true. And it would be meaningless to wait until we are old and gray to make the most of our time. Like you said, finding the balance is the challenge. And as to your sleeping patterns, it may not change, lol!
!LOLZ ... right! Best to start early... Once I have both of my kids at the same school again, life may not be as hectic during the day. I do 2 x 1 hour school runs a day in the car... crazy waste of time! !PIZZA !ALIVE !LUV
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Oh I love how you and the husband managed to build life together! And there are several friends I know that chose to work in their passion after retirement.
And darn! I forgot to submit my entry in dreemport if I haven't read your post! 🤣
I would love to do something that brought me more joy... I think I am just tired of the corporate world to be honest. At least I work from home most of the week so that is a major plus!
oh no!!! did you forget to put your post in? I will see if there is anything we can do... no guarantees...
There are 2 weeks left in the Dreemport-Silverbloggers challenge so still time to take part
!LUV !ALIVE !PIZZA
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I write my entry here but forgot to submit it n dreemport 🤣
.it's the weekend here so I was enjoying sleeping 😴 the reason why I forgot..
Thanks, I understand, it's my negligence 😬
Oh shoot, I said to put it into dreemport!
Yeah my bad!
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I think you have succintly put the battle and challenge we are all facing, that is made more difficult by an oppressive system that we live in. Despite all that, I remain positive and think there are still huge opportunities and we can find that elusive balance that you mention.
I have had periods of not working and wanted to do some work and earn money, then I have had periods working too much and wanted more free time. So I think a balance is a good goal to aim for. Recently I reduced to a 4 day week for a few years after I had a megalomanic boss and it is suprising how empowering rebalancing your free time even from 5:2, to a 4:3 ratio can make to your happyness and well being. The 4 day week goes so fast. I am back to a 5 day week now and reducing back down is something I certainly am considering.
That constant see-saw, right? Adjusting back and forth. I work every day but 4 days are from home, one in the office (mostly collaborating when in the office). My working week is shorter by choice... so fewer hours so that I can be there to drop the kids at school and fetch them in the afternoons. I'd love to drop my Friday and only work Mon-Thurs... I think that will be my first step towards retirement and reclaiming my time. A 3-day weekend sounds perfect to me! I just need to get to the point where that becomes affordable. Two years ago I think it would have been, but the way the price of things has skyrocketed this year... hmmm... bears rethinking sigh... I hope you get to rebalance things soon on your side in a way that makes you enjoy life even more than you already do! !LUV !PIZZA !ALIVE
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Time always a problem in never knowing how much we have, I agree!
More to do as the years roll on, one never seems to stop for long periods before feeling guilty always having more to accomplish, list is never ending.
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Lol. You are a night owl and I admire your patience Sammie. I look forward to your retirement too. You deserve all the rest in the whole world!
Clever take on retirement.
This is gonna help me make some sense of it so thanks for sharing!
'Cause I kinda did retire already 😅 Am I ready to financially? Probably not. Still. Are we ever ready?
We get by, somehow, and I've been solidly focused on my son or creating for six months or so...
It's been wonderful! With financially stressful bits in between the wonderful!
I'm not sure that would change unless a person made a Hella lot of money? See @lizelle 's post on how things usually work for us mere mortals.
So retirement... I think I did accidentally then. And it's awesome! Now I just need a small bit of steady income to fill some gaps and cushion those dodgy times.
Not too difficult to set up. I think...
But I'll never retire from creating and making. That's not possible. Sorry. More to follow...
Being financially able to own our own time.
Yes you do love your nights and I love our early morning meetups 😃
yep, people who know, know where and when to find me... I love catching up with peeps in the quiet of the night !LOLZ !LUV
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There are certain sacrifices we have to make at an early age and as retirement draws neigh, these sacrifices get to reduce. At least you won't be going to scoop the kids up or drop them off when they are in college, or would you 😃
yeah, the sacrifices when you have kids are many... as for when they are in college... not sure !LOLZ They may have their own transport arranged but will probably call on Mom's taxi from time to time 😂 I don't mind. I love them to bits and will do whatever they need. Note... I said need haha and not want... we have to balance things a little... hehe. But I do try to meet some of their wants too. Thanks for dropping in,Wongi. Are you up for the next Dreemport-Silver Bloggers challenge this week? Would love to see you participating if you have the time 🤗 !LUV !ALIVE !PIZZA
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This balance is very much needed. Balance between their needs and their wants
I saw this week's challenge and I'm totally in😊✨
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Time is a commodity that cannot be regained...
Lost 3 days on hive cause of school restarting and tbh just pure laziness 😭😭😭
The way it all went by so quickly was shocking.
You have to find a way to make the best of your time for real.
Retirement is a bit too far for me, but all I can think of right now is ....
sleep
sleep
SLEEP
😂😂😂
!LOLZ I have been thinking of sleep too much lately! Well... not so much thinking of it... as doing it... it catches me off guard hahaha. I need to get back into the writing rhythm too !LOLZ Thanks for stopping by, Seki. I look forward to seeing you take part in the Dreemport challenge this week if you can conquer the sleep fairy hehe !LUV !ALIVE
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Dreemport challenge??
I guess I haven't noticed it...
Has it been dropped?
If you could, could add me to the taglist?
It would do me a world of good😗❤️
I like the perspective you have towards retirement. The things that matter should always be a priority and not sacrifice it along the way. Let retirement be gradually achieved. Life is a marathon and not a sprint.
This is good plan for retirement, almost everyone will love to live their lives the way they want after retirement, the most important thing is finding joy in everything you do.
When you travel to meet friends abroad, it certain that you'll spend a quality time with them and making every moment count.
With the way you're going, there's no doubt that in the nearest future, you'll be able to reclaim your time.
Finding a balance is very important. Like you said, we can't truly tell how much time we have left, hence, we must make every minute count.
I enjoyed reading through.
I like how you think. I don't think I could cold turkey out of the work world, but at 61 I'm definitely looking towards a time where I'm not subject to a corporate schedule any longer. We put it all in weights and balances and out pops priorities, of which you have well documented yours, and I see we share a lot in common with priorities.
!ALIVE
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Yeah, I couldn't cold turkey out - although I'd love too!!! But... I think a staged withdrawal will work quite nicely. Hope you are having a wonderful weekend !LUV !ALIVE
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