How to Buy Back Your Time

“Honestly, when I first delved deeply into this topic, I was a bit surprised. I thought it would simply teach how to make more money, but it wasn’t. To be precise, it made me rethink the very fundamental reasons why we earn and spend money. I imagine many of you might be wrestling with similar questions.”

The Story of the World’s Wealthiest Janitor

Here are two dramatically different stories.

One is a legendary Wall Street investment banker. He lives in a Manhattan penthouse, flies private jets, and moves billions with a single gesture. Yet his day starts at 4 a.m. and ends past midnight. His phone rings nonstop all year, and dinner plans with family are frequently broken. He makes enormous money, but not a single minute of his time belongs to him.

The other is Ronald James Read, an ordinary gas station attendant and department store janitor. He worked the same jobs for decades, drove an old truck, and was seen by neighbors as a poor but diligent man. When he passed away at 92 in 2014, people were stunned. His estate totaled $8 million (about 9 billion KRW), most of which he donated to local hospitals and libraries. He lived frugally and consistently invested his wages in blue-chip stocks.

Now, the question: who truly lived a more “wealthy life”?

We have long asked the wrong question about wealth. Instead of “How can I make more money?” the essential question is “What do I want to do with money?” The best dividend money can give you is not a Lamborghini or a luxury watch.

It is precisely the fact that “when you wake up tomorrow morning, you can spend the day as you wish.”

The Paradox of Golden Handcuffs: Why Does Life Get Harder the More You Earn?

Most of us follow a similar path: good university, stable job, higher salary. As income rises, we move to bigger houses, buy better cars, and dine at pricier restaurants. Improving living standards feels good, but a subtle trap lurks here.

This trap is called “lifestyle inflation.” As income grows, spending grows too, so we must earn more just to maintain our current lifestyle. High salaries become not wings of freedom but “golden handcuffs” that bind us from making other choices.

We grudgingly do unsatisfying work, say “yes” to unreasonable demands, and sit through soulless meetings killing time. Money doesn’t work for us; we become slaves to money. Was what I really wanted just to hand over control of my life to pay off a bigger apartment loan?

The Era’s Rebellion: FIRE Movement and Quiet Quitting

In recent years, a new movement rejecting the “golden handcuffs” has spread across society. These are the “FIRE movement” and “quiet quitting.” Though they seem different, both express the same desire: “I want to control my own time.”

🔥 FIRE Movement: All-Out War for Freedom

“Financial Independence, Retire Early.” FIRE adherents drastically cut spending, save 70–80% of income, and invest aggressively. Their goal is to stop working for money by their late 30s or early 40s—achieving “complete liberation from labor.”

For them, money is not a means to consume but “freedom capital” to buy back all the remaining time in life.

🤫 Quiet Quitting: Guerrilla Warfare to Protect My Time

Not everyone can become FIRE. Among the majority who can’t quit immediately, a passive resistance called “quiet quitting” has emerged.

Quiet quitting is not actually resigning. It means “working only as much as you are paid.” Refusing overtime, ignoring work messages outside hours, abandoning hopes for promotion or recognition, and doing the minimum required. It is a rational self-defense against burnout and work-life balance collapse—a desperate “guerrilla war” to preserve a minimally humane life and time within the system.

Ultimately, the FIRE movement’s all-out war and quiet quitters’ guerrilla tactics share the same goal: to reclaim control over stolen time.

The Most Valuable Currency in the World: ‘Time’

Why have we become so obsessed with controlling time? Numerous happiness studies reach a consistent conclusion: beyond a certain income level, money’s impact on happiness sharply diminishes. Instead, the most important factors are “autonomy” and “social relationships.”

Feeling that you control your own life and spending enough time with loved ones—these two are the core of happiness.

Money is the most powerful tool to buy these two things.

• A 100 million KRW sports car gives a thrilling rush, but that thrill quickly fades.
• But 100 million KRW in spare funds gives you the courage to say, “This project isn’t for me; I’m quitting.” It lets you stay by a sick child’s side and attend your parents’ birthdays without worrying about taking time off.

Which fundamentally changes your life more? Think of money as “stored time” or “energy.” You can exchange this energy for goods or for future “free time.”

Concrete First Steps to Buy Back Your Time

If you feel “I want to reclaim my time,” put grand plans aside and start with three things you can do today.

1. Define Your Own ‘Enough’

Don’t follow others’ definitions of success. Don’t envy glamorous lives on social media and fall into the trap of lifestyle inflation. What truly satisfies you? How much do you need monthly to live without anxiety and happily? Defining this “enough” for yourself is the start of everything. Your goal is not to become a millionaire but to achieve “enough” and be free from everything else.

2. Build a ‘Freedom Emergency Fund’

Before saving for retirement, create a fund to buy immediate freedom. Just having 3–6 months of living expenses in your account can dramatically change your life. When facing unfair treatment at work, you can think, “Well, I can quit and take a few months off to find something else.” This psychological security is the most immediate freedom money provides.

Image caption: The ‘Freedom Emergency Fund’ provides psychological security that expands life choices beyond just saving money. alt text: A clear glass piggy bank half-full of coins and bills, with a handwritten label that says Freedom Fund.

3. Convert Spending into ‘Time’ Before Buying

Before buying a 1 million KRW smartphone, pause and ask yourself: “How many hours of my life did I have to work to buy this?” The habit of converting all money into time will fundamentally change your spending patterns and help you realize what truly matters.

How Much Is Your Day Worth?

Returning to the initial question: who was richer, the Wall Street banker or the Vermont janitor?

By net worth, the banker overwhelmingly wins. But the banker who did not own a single minute of his time, and Ronald Read who lived modestly but controlled his time fully—if measured by “freedom,” the richest person in the world might have been the ordinary janitor.

True wealth is not measured by bank balance numbers. It is the right to wake up without an alarm and fully decide who and what to spend your day with.

Now I ask you:

How much is your day, your time worth? And what will you do today to buy back that time?