On death beds all over the world no one ever says, \u201cGee, I wish I\u2019d spent more time at the office going over those spreadsheets.\u201d Despite this, many people do spend an inordinate amount of their lives working \u2014 often at jobs they\u2019re not exactly thrilled about \u2014 all while dreaming of exotic excursions that they never seem to take.<\/p>\n
Alameda-based financial advisor Brian Herriot was just such a person when at the ripe old age of 43 he decided he didn\u2019t necessarily want to wait until he was 70 to take summers off at the family lake house in Wisconsin. He set a goal for himself to start doing that with his wife and son at age 46. Now 50, he\u2019s done it ever since and even learned to water-ski.<\/p>\n
Herriot is the life force behind what he calls the Time Freedom program that includes a book, podcast and speaking engagements. He also helps people invest their money to achieve the program\u2019s lifestyle.<\/p>\n
The key to Herriot\u2019s view of work is essentially planning to do so longer part-time instead of clinging to the traditional way of setting a rigid savings goal by age 65 or so and then fully retiring. What this allows for is extended periods of time off to pursue outside interests, like the aforementioned waterskiing.\n<\/p>\n
While being able to put out a shingle and work as an entrepreneur may seem like a prerequisite, Herriot says it helps but isn\u2019t completely necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you have that luxury of being self-employed, you\u2019re going to probably be able to live this life a lot sooner,\u201d says Herriot. \u201cBut I really tried to convey in the book that there\u2019s the money part of it and the work part of it. The money part of it you can accomplish because you can make money as an entrepreneur or you are a natural saver and investor, or you don\u2019t spend a lot. So you don\u2019t necessarily have to be an entrepreneur on the money side.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the work side of it, I hear stories about people that have come out of an employed position at a huge firm where you have to work five days a week on-site and start working for a smaller firm where they have four-day work weeks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bingo \u2014 more time. To make his concept work Herriot says people have to be committed to doing it. For instance, many of his clients are originally from India and they go back every year for six weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomehow they\u2019re able to do it. Either they\u2019re bunching their vacation or just trying some different things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herriot says taking summers off at a Wisconsin lake house has taught him firsthand about people living life on there own terms \u2014 especially when it comes to home repairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWork is very seasonal up here,\u201d he says from Wisconsin. \u201cIt\u2019s sometimes hard to get people to do anything for you in the summer. There\u2019s a particular plumber that we use \u2014 everyone else seems to mess things up, so we just wait for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Herriot says when they ask that particular plumber to fix something, the answer is often, \u201c\u2009\u2019Sorry, I\u2019m taking these six weeks off and going fishing in Canada.\u2019 Good for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The key to playing hard-to-get is \u201cyou have to be really, really good at your work where people will wait for you,\u201d says Herriot.<\/p>\n
Prioritizing experiences over buying things is also part of the Herriot\u2019s theory.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe moment you buy something, it loses its newness, and then you start to forget about it. But I think with experiences, you continue to look back on them and they get better over time,\u201d he says, adding that a lot of research supports this idea.<\/p>\n
Herriot says buying coveted items can still also be beneficial \u2014 especially if it drives an experience. For example, he says take a guy who loves Porsches, has spent a lot of money on one and takes it to car meets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re doing that so they can meet people that have the same interests. So it is an experience. Or you buy a bunch of beer brewing stuff \u2014 you\u2019re doing it so that you can have your friends over and brew beer and joke and laugh. When the thing drives an experience, it\u2019s a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
We all only have so much time for experiences, though, and Herriot was concerned about running out of time for certain ones he wanted to have. He had previously planned to retire at 70 and then walk Spain\u2019s famous Camino de Santiago trail.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m like, how are my back and my ankles and my knees going to be at that time? I may not even be able to do it then. If you don\u2019t take advantage of the experience while you\u2019re in that season of life, then you miss out on it. That would be the worst thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information online about Herriot\u2019s Time Freedom program, visit timefreedom.life<\/a>.<\/p>\n