3 Things People Need to Get the Most Out of Life
My name is Ben and my page is about helping people get the most out of their life, even if that means you have to work a typical 9-5 job to achieve that. In the USA and much of Western Europe, the average working week is 9am-5pm Monday through Friday. While most people see this as a monotonous hell hole, I see it as an opportunity. The opportunity to be presented with money, benefits, paid vacation, stability and more. Of course you have to sacrifice your time for money, but we’ll get into that more
I love traveling and I want to encourage and inspire people to spend t.heir money traveling and on experiences vs on fancy cars and other meaningless possessions. Your experiences and memories make up your life’s fulfillment, not how many fancy cars or watches you have . In this article I will explain the three things you need to live a fulfilling life and how you can maximize all three of them.
1. Time
The first basic thing people need to enjoy life is Time. Time of course is our greatest asset. We only get a finite amount of time on this Earth, so what we do with that time will shape our life’s fulfillment. Of course if you’re in your younger years you have much more time than someone of middle age. More years left of life.
Which is why most financial experts will tell you to start heavily investing NOW because time and compound interest are our greatest assets. While that is absolutely true and I do invest the majority of my paycheck now, that does not mean to constantly be living frugally and saving up as much as possible so you can enjoy retirement in 40 years. Why not enjoy your life now? While you’re young and vibrant and healthy!
If you’re putting off a vacation now for a couple years down the line, why? What is your reason for that? It’s best to do the things you want to do now while you have the time, because later on in life, you get older, less interested in travel and maybe not as young or free as you are in your 20’s and early 30’s.
If you’re not married, don’t have kids, then what is stopping you from creating experiences you will remember for the rest of your life now? If you’re in your 20’s, chances are in 5-10 years if you do decide to settle down, have kids, buy a house etc, you will not have the time you did back then to go backpacking in Europe or island hopping through the Virgin islands etc.
I’m not saying settling down and having kids is a bad thing at all, if that’s what makes you happy then that’s great! I just don’t want you looking back on life years ago and regretting not traveling and doing things you love to do when you had the time and energy to do it!
2. Money
Money of course is what makes the world go round and what defines most of us. Seems like from the moment we get to school, our number one goal in life is how to make the most money we possibly can. That’s great! But what are we going to do with all that money we make? Buy a house, a car, food, other essentials and basic needs to live a comfortable life of course, but what else? While having a roof over your head, clothes to wear and food in your belly can be fulfilling, is it really the thing that drives and motivates you to get out of bed every morning?
Money is a tool that we humans use to craft a fulfilling life. After taking care of the basic necessities what we do with our money will define us. Are you really into fancy cars, does that make you happy? If it does, then go for it. Are you into golf like me? Invest in some nice clubs and clothes if that makes you happy. the point is, you have to have some hobby that you enjoy doing in your free time.
My favorite hobby is of course traveling, which is also the most expensive hobby. But in my opinion, it’s most the fulfilling. being able to create amazing experiences and see things and places that you may only get to do once in your life? You can’t put a price tag on that. That’s where I prioritize my money after covering the cost of basic needs and investing.
Saving money for retirement is great and I encourage you do it. But you have to have a plan for that money once you retire. You’re older in age and chances are your house is paid off, your car is paid off and now you have shit load of money waiting to be spent! Well you might not be in as great of shape as you were 30-40 years ago so you might not want to go hiking mountains or swimming with dolphins, so what is that money going to be spent on? You can’t take it with you. Here is a hand-made chart of what your “Wants” spending SHOULD look like throughout your life.
Hopefully you can read my writing but the point is in your early years when you’re young, have no responsibilities and your earning potential is higher than ever, it’s ok to spend a little more money and live while you’re young. because you and your body will never feel as energetic and capable than you do in your prime years between 20-35. So while you should start investing and saving for retirement, I do encourage you to spend more on those amazing experiences while you can still enjoy them.
As you get into the middle ages, maybe you have a mortgage, a couple kids at the house, and saving for their college, so you’re spending decreases.
But as you get into the “Golden Years” where you close in on retirement, you’re empty nesters, most of your long term payments have been paid off and you have all that money in your Roth IRA and 401K that’s been compounding for 40+ years, so now it’s party time! Wait…your knees hurt? You don’t feel like going for a hike?Don’t want to deal with airports anymore or long car rides? You don’t want to drink and party on the beach or go snorkeling ? So what are you going to do with all that money now? Guess you should’ve spent some more of it while you were young and fruitful huh?
Again, I’m not saying it’s wrong or dumb to save for retirement, you would be stupid not to. However I am saying that’s dumb to save all that money and then not enjoy it when the time comes. balance out your spending in your life and use money as a tool for maximizing your life’s fulfillment.
3. Health
The first two mean nothing without your health. Health is the 3rd pillar of basic life fulfillment. Without prioritizing your health, it doesn’t matter how much money you have or time you have if your health sucks. Strive to exercise at least 4 days a week for 45 minutes a day. Whether it be a walk around town or going to the local gym to lift weights, just do something!
There is nothing worse and more detrimental to your health than sitting all day in front of a screen and then coming home and sitting in front of another big screen for the next five hours before going to bed. be active, move your body and make sure your health is good.
This also means eating right. You can’t constantly be shoving fast food down your throat and not expect it to negatively impact your health in the long run. Eat a balanced diet with fruits and veggies and avoid processed food when possible. Of course having it every now and then won’t be bad for you.
As you age, you still want to be in great shape. As we age it’s natural for our knees and back to start aching and other health problems to arise, this is why we need to start taking care of our health now to avoid that happening in the future. Aches and pain along with other age and weight related diseases.
When I’m 60+ I want to be able to run around with my grand kinds and go hiking and exploring whenever possible. The better your health is, the better your life is. Stop neglecting your health, take control of your health today to allow yourself more time on this Earth with your loved ones. More time to be able to make more lasting memories.
Balancing All 3
Now comes the tricky part. how do you balance all three of these essential things to live your life to the fullest?
Let’s take a look at some equations for a typical person that goes through life with a 9-5 job, with 100 being the most, 50 being moderate and 0 being nothing. Our goal is to get to 300
Age range: 20-30 = (75 time) + (100 health) + (25 money) Ages 30-40 = (0 time) + (100 health) + (50 money) Ages 40-50 = (0 time) + (50 health) + (100 money) Ages 50-60 = (50 time) + (50 health) + (100 money) Ages 60-70 = (100 time) + (25 health) + (100 money)
Each age range has something the other does not. Whether it be the more time you have, the less health you have or the more money you have the less time you got. Whether you agree or disagree with this little demonstration, it’s obviously that earlier on in life you have the optimal amount of time and health, while not having as much money, that is money you want to spend. Because as you can see as you get older, settle down, your money goes up, but your time goes down. And once you get into your 60’s and beyond, you have the time and the money, but not so much the health to the things you want to do!
Of course there are many factors here that can affect the equations. For example if you come out of college with a really good job and start making a lot of money then your money would go up. Same for your 30-40 range. Or if you workout or do something active every single day, the rate at which your health decreases may be slower in ages 40-50 and beyond. That’s why taking care of yourself is so crucial to your life’s enjoyment because (100 health) + (100 money) x (0 health) = 0 life enjoyment. Feel free to mess around with factors that could cause these equations to differ because you can ultimately shape how your life plays
One of my favorite quotes I read from the book “Die with Zero“”The business of life is the acquisition of memories” If you haven’t heard of the book I highly recommend checking it out. That book is what inspired me to write this article.
Final Thoughts
Make money, continue to invest for retirement but don’t be afraid to spend money now while you have the time and energy. “Your money will come back, but your time won’t.” Don’t blow money on stupid things and instead spend it on things that will bring your life joy and fulfillment.
The biggest drawback to life and working a 9-5 is that you don’t have the time. This is true in some sense. Utilize your weekends, stack your PTO over national holidays for extended time off. Don’t be afraid to ask for unpaid time off as well so you can have an extra day for travel. You can still travel and create amazing experiences while at your 9-5 job. That’s what I’m doing right now! Plan, budget, execute.
Prioritize your health over everything. It doesn’t matter if you have the time and money, without health, you can’t enjoy your time and money. Start prioritizing your health now so you can enjoy life more down the road.
Finally, don’t be afraid to enjoy your life along the way. Don’t feel that you need to constantly delay gratification until you retire to finally have fun. Plan a few yearly trips, do things you love to do, even if it costs a little bit of money, cut spending on things that don’t bring you joy, and keep in good health and you will live a fuller life than the majority of the Earth’s population