I would definitely rather feel free to spend time than free to spend money.

I wrote the title on social media kinda quickly earlier, and since then have thought about it more, so I’d like to expand on it.

While it would be nice to not have to ever worry about having enough money to buy things–to just buy stuff without thinking “but do i have the money”–I would rather have more free time. I imagine many of us would all like to be able to go to the store, buy food, and not worry that we bought too much–to not get a specific brand because it’s on sale. We’d like to buy a new movie, or book, or video game, or album, without having to justify the purchase. We’d like to buy a new car when the old one’s turn signals become shoddy and the driverside window doesn’t go down and the seat doesn’t adjust. Me too, but if I have to work 10 or 12 hours a day to get it–or, worse, work 8 hours a day at something I don’t like–I’d much rather just have barely enough to get by. I want, not freedom of cash, but freedom of time. I value time a lot more than money.

For me, it’s less about living below my means and more about meaning down to my life. Er, wait. It’s about dropping my means down to just above my living, so that I may therefore have more time to live.