If time is indeed more valuable than money, then buying time back is the wisest trade. This is an example of overcoming frugality to live a better life.
Perhaps one of the main reasons I initially didn’t want to take a family vacation to Legoland and SeaWorld was because I knew it would cost thousands of dollars. As someone who prefers investing over spending money, it’s hard for me to feel comfortable shelling out around $5,000 in just three days of vacation when I already feel like a semi-retired staycation.
However, as someone who has been actively trying to spend more money since turning 45 (2022), I think, Let’s try this trip. It’s much easier to spend money on your family than on yourself. Baby moves towards fat loss!
Spending money and saving time is the best thing
Since this was our first time visiting Legoland in Carlsbad, we didn’t quite know what to expect. We asked other parents and newsletter readers if they should get a Fast Pass for $99 per person to avoid potentially long lines.
About 75% said it wasn’t necessary because we went on an off-peak Thursday in October. This sounded reasonable, so I took their advice. After all, if the crowds are bad, that is, we can always buy a FastPass later if the pass is still available.
We arrived at the Coastersaurus ride at 10:10am and the line was already full Ridiculously long! Watch the video for yourself. An usher suggested we head to the back of the park since it had just opened and the other rides were still relatively empty.
We followed her advice and took our time on the Emmett’s Flying Adventure ride, which was a much-anticipated ride after our kids had just watched The Lego Movie. Unfortunately, there was another long queue. That’s when I decided, screw it. I’m not going to spend 30 to 40 minutes per ride standing in line with a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old. Life is too short. I bought $396 worth of fast passes for the four of us.
At first I felt guilty as I walked past everyone waiting patiently, especially the kids. I even wonder if I’m setting a bad example for my children by not practicing patience. But then I remembered – $396 is a lot of money! – and got over it. It’s not like we live in Southern California, have season passes, and can easily get to Legoland anytime.
The kids are excited to go on more rides, and as any parent knows, happy kids (and a happy spouse) make for a happier life.
Might not need the most expensive FastPass
Now that we’ve been to Legoland once, I realize there’s no need to spend too much on $99 per person final Fast pass again in the off season. this Deluxe room even regular FastPass is enough because there are only two lines for each ride: the regular line and the FastPass line. The ushers don’t seem to differentiate what level you buy.
We also found that several rides, including Ninjago and Lost Kingdom Adventure, had no wait times at all. At the end of the day, I almost wish the lines were longer so we could feel like we were getting more value from the upgrades.
So, I would include this extra $196 lack of experience. At the time, we were worried that the park would be tipped if we didn’t buy the top pass. At least now we know it, and now thousands of people who never knew it do too.
It’s a great deal to spend on Uber instead of renting a car
Another time-saving decision is to use Uber instead of renting a car. An Uber from our house to SFO cost about $30 one way, while long-term parking was $25/day, and we were gone for three days. In addition, it takes an additional 20 minutes to get from the parking lot to the security checkpoint. Therefore, taking Uber is a matter of course, saving both time and cost. We picked up the kids from school at 3:50 pm on Wednesday to catch our 5:30 pm flight.
We could rent a midsize car in San Diego for about $70/day ($210 total), but I wanted to avoid the hassle of pickup, parking, and return. In total we spent about $300 on Uber rides. Frankly speaking, I feel Totally worth itespecially compared to the $396 we spent on FastPass.
It’s also a relief to not be responsible for a large, expensive asset that could be damaged or stolen. This mental relaxation alone makes the holidays so relaxing. When you factor in the value of time and reduced stress, spending money on a ride service versus a rental starts to look like a solid trade-off.
There’s no way to save time by flying business or first class, so we didn’t
I still can’t justify paying a 50%–200% premium for business or first class on a short-haul domestic flight, especially when everyone arrives at the same time. If I went to Hawaii alone, maybe.
At 5 feet 10 inches tall and about 168 pounds, I can still sit comfortably in an economy seat. My wife and kids also adapted easily since they are much smaller. It would be better if we could sit in a row of four, or two by two. My economy seat is effectively 25%–50% larger when I can snuggle up next to my loved ones.
Our flight had a 3 and 3 configuration, so I was the one who drew the last straw, sitting next to two strangers. The landing flight was fine, but on the way back I sat next to an agitated 14-year-old boy who kept bumping into me and waving his arms in front of me and pointing out the window. No big deal, though. I typed up my free weekly newsletter on a short 70-minute flight.
When we landed, our first Uber pickup kept being delayed, so I canceled the reservation and hailed a Lyft, which arrived two minutes later. It felt great not having to wait for the airport shuttle or look for our car in the long term parking lot. Time is saved again.
Spending $5,000 still doesn’t feel good
The investor in me still cringes at the thought of spending $5,000 on fun instead of investing in the S&P 500 or starting a venture fund for my kids. I couldn’t help but crunch the numbers:
- In 13 years, when my daughter goes to college, that $5,000 will likely grow to $17,000 If you invest in the S&P 500 Index, you can earn an annual return of 10%.
- In 10 years, when my son is in college, that same $5,000 can compound interest $31,000 If investing in Fengsheng Venture Capital Annual income is 20%. I’ve invested about $200,000 in these two kids so far, which means I have another $150,000 to help protect them from the AI.
- Or it could pay for a week-long music or sports camp to build lasting skills and confidence.
As an investor, there is always a risk in spending money on something new. You never know if it was worth it until afterwards. But since we had such a great time in San Diego, I feel at peace with it.
FIRE is all about reducing time spent on sub-optimal experiences
After starting writing about FIRE in 2009, this lesson feels like it has come full circle. The whole point of becoming financially independent is to free up our time—to do less of the things we don’t like and more of the things we enjoy. The less we like our jobs or feel that our jobs lack purpose, the stronger our desire to fire will naturally be. The same would be true if we were more sensitive to the passage of time.
The key is to use money as a tool to buy back time, by aggressively saving and investing until you reach the minimum investment threshold. Once we reach this point, work becomes more optional and life becomes more meaningful.
Buying back time might mean skipping long lines, avoiding the hassle of parking, or simply eliminating those little annoyances that drain our energy. Because once time passes, we can’t buy it back. Now that I’m a parent, the payoff for all the “sacrifice” I made in my 20s and 30s to build passive income feels absolutely worth it.
When it comes to fire, Giving up active income by not working is essentially the same as spending money to save time. They are two sides of the same coin. Accepting this reality will make it easier to spend your money in retirement.
After all, what is $5,000 when you’re giving up $50,000, $100,000, $500,000, or even more than $1 million a year because you no longer want to trade your time for money? In this case, $5,000 is nothing.
Final Thoughts on Spending Time Free
Spending money doesn’t always have to feel bad as long as it has a purpose. It’s worth spending the money to save time, create memories, or reduce stress.
Given that time is more valuable than money, spending money to save time is a logical thing to do. You can always make more money, but you can’t always make more time. The trick is to find a balance between you as an investor who wants compounding returns and you want to enjoy life as a person when you can.
So the next time you’re hesitant to spend money on a convenience or experience, ask yourself: Will this purchase help me save time or create lasting happiness? If the answer is yes, then it might be worth it.
Readers, what do you think about spending more money to save time? What things cost money that rival or exceed the value of time saved?
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