Comments on: How Much Money is Your Life Energy Worth?

By: Black Coffee: My Favorite Blogs, Money News & Opinions #35 (National Health Summit Edition)

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 17:01:44 +0000

[...] Free Adventure – Over at Matt’s site, Robert Espe asks about the value of our life energy. You can find out precisely how much life energy you have left by checking out something called [...]

By: Downshifting: Quit Dreaming and Start Planning

Downshifting: Quit Dreaming and Start Planning — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:03:51 +0000

[...] the future holds for any of us. All I know is that life is precious. We all have a finite amount of life energy to which we can devote to our passions. If you are not fulfilling that passion right now, I [...]

By: Plutus Awards Nomination- Best Retirement Blog!

Plutus Awards Nomination- Best Retirement Blog! — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:56:28 +0000

[...] How much money is your energy worth at Debt Free Adventure. [...]

By: Saving Money - An American Virtue is Reborn

Saving Money - An American Virtue is Reborn — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:02:03 +0000

[...] because you are saving for something else or you just feel the purchase would not be worth your life energy. The essence of saving is simply spending less than is necessary to get what you want, which is [...]

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:25:14 +0000

Gotcha. It’s really out of my hands, and it’s up to you. The challenge has created a life of it’s own. It’s great you want to participate and RT others. I always appreciate your help.

I understand the importance of the business aspect of blogging for you regarding SEO and stuff. The challenge isn’t there yet, and hence money really isn’t on our minds. It may come in the 2nd challenge, but not now.

Cheers, Sam

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:37:09 +0000

I surf each Yakezie site every day, and RT them often – if that isn’t enough then do whatever you gotta do Sam.

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 16:01:37 +0000

No badges, no blog roll, no recap. No problem. The Yakezie Group is hitting a limit of 50 due to a Google Docs spread sheet limitation, so we’re creating separate groups and perhaps a waitlist. If you don’t want to be in the challenge it’s not a problem, because there is a lot of demand. Just let us know.

Thnx!

Sam

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:31:43 +0000

Thanks Sam. I have to draw the line somewhere on badges (I have so many that people want put up) so I draw the line at none. I know you understand.

By: Steven and Debra

Steven and Debra — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:08:50 +0000

Hi Robert,

We probably could have made our point more clearly. We will attempt to clarify.

If we buy the time of others, by hiring them to do things for us that we would have had to do ourselves, have we not bought back, with our monetary surplus, a portion of time for ourselves to spend in some other manner?

We hope this clarifies.

By: Robert Espe

Robert Espe — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:17:52 +0000

Thank you for sharing this unique and interesting perspective. I trust you understand that I meant that most of the time (although certainly not always) by the time one realizes they have this extra money, they have already retired, and so THEIR time cannot be bought back. But your idea of using such a loss to save others from the same thing is a great one, if all the parties involved understand the loss.

By: Steven and Debra

Steven and Debra — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:47:28 +0000

Interesting article and it parallels somewhat some of the principles we make in our four-part series on hoarding. We would, however, take exception to the following:

“When you are young, and have energy to spare, it is wise to convert some of this excess into money, for as you age you have less energy to spare. The unfortunate part is that it is a conversion, not a storehouse. Life, once traded for money, cannot be changed back if you discover you have more than you need.”

Although our lives have a finite end, we can take our surplus energy, stored in the form of money, to buy time back on the backend of our life spectrum. Certainly, we can’t buy back the exact time we may have missed with our families, while out earning a living, but if we do find we have a surplus of money, toward the end of our lives, we can buy time on the backend of life. How? By using our surplus money to buy the time of others who are raising their own young families and need work. The gutters may need cleaning, the yard mowed, the barn mucked out, the cow milked, the oil changed on the truck, the flat fixed on the tractor, or our taxes prepared. In our twilight years we can pay others to do these tasks for us so we can have more time to spend with our children and the grandkids. Our children may have vacation time they would rather spend in their own manner, but if they can get time off without pay, we have a storehouse of money to compensate them for those lost wages. In doing so, we are buying precious time for them and us to spend together.

When we are young we generally have more time than money, but when we are old we generally have more money than time. This is how it probably should be. A storehouse of money DOES represent a storehouse of time in that we can use money to buy the time of others who have a surplus of time and a deficit of money. It’s a neat trade-off. It creates jobs for those who need them and allows us to make-up for the time lost in our earlier, more productive and energetic years. The time gained back is not an exact reproduction of the time lost, but it is no less valuable. Actually, time seems like it becomes even more valuable as we age.

By: Financial Samurai

Financial Samurai — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:43:47 +0000

Hi Robert – Thanks for your article. Mine said 87 years old…… hmmm… not that long either. Does your 74 year old figure make you want to work out more and eat better? It’s gotta right?

If we know the end, we can better shape the now.

Welcome aboard the Yakezie Oda Matt. Look forward to seeing you help out the community (there is a badge too btw that many of us have put up).

Best, Sam

By: Yakezie Challenge Carnival - DeliverAwayDebt | DeliverAwayDebt.com

Yakezie Challenge Carnival - DeliverAwayDebt | DeliverAwayDebt.com — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 11:14:08 +0000

[...] How Much Money is Your Life Energy Worth? [...]

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:35:55 +0000

And that is precisely where I intend to get!

By: Mom

Mom — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 22:09:53 +0000

Thanks Matt! I must also point out that the paradigm that we now live with is something relatively new in modern history. There was a time in this country when a man could live independently on his own land, grow his own crops and raise his food animals. Time was centered more around survival back then. In our modern times, with all of the time/labor saving appliances and devices, if we can find a way to be in charge of our time, and not beholden to an employer, we have the real possibility of choosing to spend our time as we would like.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:38:08 +0000

Len, spend some time reading WhyQuit.com ---> several people at work have successfully quit after spending time there.

By: Matt Jabs

Matt Jabs — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 20:26:39 +0000

Beautifully put mom! Ultimately, my goals for debt repayment are centered around the reality of being charge of my own time!

By: Mom

Mom — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:03:33 +0000

I believe the two calculators used in this article are not so much about exact figures as about making people think twice about how they choose to spend their precious time. The really pertinent question here is whether or not we have made choices that reward us with a sense of purpose, a sense of having made a difference in the world, of time well spent. A job is not just about making money, although that medium of exchange has become necessary to support human existence in the world. Some folks have made a judicious choice in their employment and feel as if the time spent at work is well spent. Some people may have traded the opportunity to have a fulfilling job in order to make more money. That says a lot about where their priorities lie. I believe the choice to earn more money at the expense of ones fulfillment will eventually work against one in many ways. Our society has evolved into a system where many of us have become reliant upon an employer and we no longer have control over our time, because our employer is paying us for our time, thereby giving him the right to dictate when and where we spend our time. We may also have to sacrifice our personal standard of behavior in order to comply with the terms of employment. Organizing ones life around one’s employment is also important in the choice department. Choosing to live closer to ones employment to reduce commute time may force one into living in a less desirable area, but there will always be pros and cons. Choosing to spend time preparing food that is healthy is a worthy endeavor. The payoff comes on many levels, including being able to perform better at your job and live a healthier, more productive life in general. It may even help to prove the death clock inaccurate! It is all about choice; all about what one values.

By: Len Penzo

Len Penzo — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:43:06 +0000

I just entered my info into the death clock and it said I’m going to die tomorrow. Dang cigarettes.

Any suggestions, Neil? And, please… make it quick.

All the best,

Len
Len Penzo dot Com

By: Forest

Forest — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:06:12 +0000

He he, not been to the death clock yet!! I don’t know if I can face the truth right now

I have been thinking of purchases as hours for quite a while now. I have just recently decided that any big purchases require at least double their value in the savings account. Hopefully I will up this to 3/4/5 times the value eventually..

Thanks,
Forest.