Buying Back Time
Alex · 22-25 · 4h ago
Hi there! My name is Alex. I've been working on retiring early since 16, when I began my career in flooring restoration in high school. Initially, I never knew "when" I'd retire — I just hated my job, honestly. I saw my coworkers slave away at jobs they didn't really like, to earn a paycheck to pay for things they couldn't afford: new cars, gadgets, eating out, and sometimes more complicated things, like child support, etc. Not only that, but I also grew up in a financially insecure, single-parent household, where running the AC in 100-degree weather was a luxury. Initially, it started with COVID-19 directing me to the YouTube algorithm, which then led me to Dave Ramsey. I soon learned about investing, and more importantly, about the time value of money. Compound interest calculators convinced me that investing any money now is better than investing more money later — which subsequently made me a workaholic. I shaped my educational choices, career, and even dating priorities around this goal. It became my life: the end goal that everything in my life mapped to. Now, I understand that I am extreme. I could go on about the number of things I've forfeited due to wanting to retire early. Yes, like I said, even relationships, which honestly, I still struggle with philosophically. However, the math doesn't lie. I am someone who grew up risk-averse and burning for freedom. To be counter-culture. To be autonomous. My goal with this platform, and my social channels, is not to highlight my own journey (I don't care about self-righteousness), but to show people the math. MMM pioneered the math, but for most young people, I think they don't think it's possible. Or, if they do think it's possible, they seemingly prefer to buy the $7 matcha. Opportunity cost is a real thing, but don't just take my word for it. The main driver, honestly, of my pursuit of FI/RE isn't me hating work. It's time. Lost time. We are only given so many years on this planet, let alone healthy years, and for most people, they view time as infinite. Especially people in my generation. Health is not infinite, and I've seen this firsthand. My dad developed MS in 2020. Within three years, he could no longer walk unassisted, and he is now bedridden, reliant on services to sustain his life. My grandparents died before they could travel to parts of the world they wanted to see, and never got to see their grandkids grow up. My mom has pivoted careers three times and still works day and night to support herself, recovering from a divorce and poor financial choices of her past. Time is not our friend. Death is imminent. And as morbid as that is, it's my motivator. To not buy the latte. To not buy the new car. Or whatever. I seek freedom, not of possessions, but of time. As I write this, it is 9/5/2026. I am 22 years old, and have a little over $300k in net worth. My goal is to be done working by the age of 27. Not permanently, but done trading time for undesirable labor. I hope to spend my retirement traveling initially, and then building for and educating those who are younger than I am, and still have time on their side. I hate to say it, but if you're reading this and over the age of 30... well... you can't retire at 30 :(. However, you can still buy back your time, more than others, and the math is surprisingly simple. I know most people haven't been scared by death and illness as I have. But I hope that, through my story or others, that we not only strive for lower consumption, but that we buy back our time to spend on what truly makes us happy (not your matcha :)). Cheers to freedom. — Alex