I was saddened last week to hear the news of Dave Cull passing away, age 71. Not because I knew him personally, but because I remember him making his resignation as Dunedin Mayor just two years ago.
I studied in Dunedin for five years and have a soft spot for the area, so often follow the news down south.
In this article, Dave said it was time to reduce his work demands, at age 69, to spend more time with his family.
Unfortunately that time, as it turns out, was less than two years.
This is the part that is so sad, yet all too frequent.
People spend their best years working, away from family, and away from other interests.
I am not saying work is not important. It is for most people. But we are sacrificing a lot to work.
In most instances, more balance would be far more preferable. Then we can enjoy a wide range of work, family time, and interests. Instead of focusing just on work, but no so much on the other areas of our lives.
When most people think of life being short and enjoying the present, it means spending all their money now and ignoring their future. While enjoyable, what happens if you live to retirement age or longer? You will either have to continue working or be broke for the rest of your life. Maybe for 30 years! Not my idea of fun.
The alternative, what I am trying to design now, is to live your best life now and save for your future at the same time. The best of the present and the future.
FLEXIBILITY AND OPTIONS - THE REAL YOLO LIFE
For me this means work that I am passionate about, but that is lower earning. My financial advice business will allow me to work from anywhere and I can set my own hours to an extent. This allows my family to live in a location that we want to live in the most. Not one where we are tied to live because of proximity to income and work. It will also mean we can spend more time together as a family which is hugely important to me with a 3-year-old and a 6-month-old. Finally, this move will allow us more time to pursue our passions and interests.
That is what living for the now means to me. Not wasting it on a short-term spending hit.
Days dictated by my terms, not someone else’s. That is my version of YOLO.
We have arrived at this point by aggressively saving for the last 7 years or so. Cutting down on the big budget spending areas of housing and transport. In combination with hard work and pay rises. By not spending all our money, we are not allowing that 7 years of hard work go to waste on short term hits. That 7 years of saving will instead buy a lifetime of time flexibility and freedom.
Spending all your money thinking you are living for the now is just doing the opposite. With each dollar spent you are relying more on someone else to provide an income for you. For most of us, that is a full-time employer. And for most of us, this isn’t our passion.
Even if we are passionate about our jobs, it is still a good idea to have balance in our lives. 50 hours a week working, with not much left for family, friends or interests is a tilt most people should not be happy with.
I feel sorry for Dave’s family as they only got to spend two short years with him after he retired. He held some powerful positions that would have dictated a lot of his time and he wouldn’t have had much quality time with family.
My family needs me now and there is no guarantee of how long I will live.
Life is short. Don’t YOLO by spending all your money. Don’t YOLO by only having work in your life. YOLO by spending your time as you wish. YOLO by having a more balanced life.
If you need help with optimising your lifestyle, then get in touch today.
The information contained on this site is the opinion of the individual author(s) based on their personal opinions, observation, research, and years of experience. The information offered by this website is general education only and is not meant to be taken as individualised financial advice, legal advice, tax advice, or any other kind of advice. You can read more of my disclaimer here