Latest / The Happiness in Retirement® Hour / More Than Money: Why Time is Your Greatest Asset
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- # Swell AI Transcript: riverside_bill_magic episode _ sep 2, 2025_bill_del-sette's st.wav SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Happiness in Retirement podcast, where we help you turn your retirement dreams into reality. Each week, we'll dive into smart financial strategies, lifestyle tips, and expert insights to help you build a fulfilling and secure retirement. Whether you're planning ahead or already enjoying retirement, this is your go-to place for inspiration and practical advice. So sit back, relax, and let's make your golden years the best years. SPEAKER_00: Hello, welcome. Thank you for joining me in this episode of the Happiness and Retirement Program podcast. Because the road to retirement should be an adventure, not a survival strategy. I'm Bill Del-Sette, host of this podcast, creator of the Happiness and Retirement Financial Planning Program, and founder of Del-Sette Capital Management. Today we're gonna talk about a subject called time affluence. Here on this podcast, if you have tuned in, You know that we talk about more than money, we talk about the quality of your life. And today we're going to talk about a fascinating contrast, this idea of time affluence versus time poverty. Think of it this way, are you feeling rich in hours or are you racing the clock? all the time. I have a sneaking suspicion I know the answer to that. Let's start with a parable. And this is the parable of the Mexican fisherman. It goes like this. An American investment banker was at the pier of a coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. Of course, the American complimented the Mexican on the quality of the fish and asked him how long it took for him to catch them. The Mexican fisherman replied, only a little while. And of course, the American being an American, he asked, why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs and therefore he didn't need any more. The American asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? And the Mexican fisherman responded, well, I sleep late. I fish a little. I play with my children. I take siestas with my wife and I stroll into the village every evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and very busy life and I'm very happy. The American scoffed. I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats and eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you could sell directly to the processor, eventually opening up your own cannery. You could control the product processing and distribution, he said. And of course you would need to leave the small coastal fishing village here in Mexico and move to Mexico City, then perhaps Los Angeles, and eventually to New York City, where you will run your ever-expanding enterprise. The Mexican fisherman asked, but how long will all of this take? To which the American replied, oh, maybe 15 to 20 years. And the Mexican asked, but what then? The American laughed and said, well, that's the best part. When the time is right, you will announce an IPO and sell your company stocks to the public and become very rich. In fact, you would make millions. And of course, the Mexican asked, millions, then what? The American said, then you could retire, move to a small coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, and stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your Amigos. You get the point, I think. By the way, the source of this is believed to be a gentleman by the name of Heinrich Boll. A short German story. Huh. Good point. Good point. Some of my favorite quotes about time. Time is the most valuable thing a man could spend. Theophrastus and the all-time great Dr. Seuss said, How did it get so late so soon? Those of you that are in retirement might be able to relate to that. Of course, there are many, many songs about time. Chicago, does anyone really know what time it is? Pink Floyd, Song Called Time, and my personal favorite is Alan Parsons' project, A Song Called Time. Look that one up. Time is flowing like a river. While we're on the subject of songs and musicians and the concept, the theme of time, Bob Dylan's most famous quote on time goes like this. He said a man is successful if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do. Now the funny thing is Dylan knew something back then that is now being confirmed by positive psychologists. That true success lies in personal fulfillment, autonomy, and freedom to pursue one's passions rather than focusing on external metrics like wealth or status. Now, anecdotally, I've been to a few quote, poor, financially poor countries, I should say poorer than the United States financially. And the interesting thing, what I noticed right away in Mexico, for instance, that, and again, this is anecdotal, But people, on average, seem to be happier than Americans. So, do we have our ladder leaning against the wrong wall? In other words, after meeting general living expenses and having a little leftover for discretionary spending, does chasing money at the expense of time result, on average, in a happier life? Does choosing money over time result in a happier life? Well, interestingly enough, again, studies have been done and are ongoing, but there is something called the Easterland paradox. And this paradox basically says that people in wealthy countries are not necessarily any happier than those in poor countries. Again, are we chasing the right things? Author Ashley Williams in the book Time Smart says that 80% of people are afflicted with time poverty. They don't have enough time and And these time poor people experience less joy each day, they laugh less, they are less healthy, less productive, and more likely to get a divorce. In fact, in one study, time stress produced a stronger negative effect on happiness than unemployment. Wow, wow, wow. Being a retirement planner, really I think what we're talking about Instead of retirement planning, we should be talking about or calling it time affluence planning because time affluence means feeling like you have enough time to do the things that matter most. It's the sense of freedom in your calendar. Isn't that what retirement is or should be? Time poverty on the other hand is the constant feeling that there aren't enough hours in the day to do what you want. So, you can have time affluence and still be working if you love your job. You can have time poverty and be retired. Time affluence can be cultivated even when life is busy. The difference isn't just about how much time you have, it's how you perceive and use it. Interesting, huh? At the end of the day, when you think about it, the people who love their work are already time affluent and they may never stop. And the people who dislike their work want to stop because they feel time impoverished. Or perhaps other things become more important. Your values change as you age. So interestingly, many retirees tell me they thought they'd be swimming in free time after work. But what happens? Suddenly their calendars are filled up with doctor's appointments, family obligations, home projects, or even volatile volunteering commitments that feel like, well, another job. So time poverty in retirement looks like, for instance, feeling rushed even though you don't have a nine to five, saying yes to everything because you are available, filling your schedule with busyness instead of purpose. It's sneaky. You think you're free, but you still feel trapped. Research shows people who feel time-affluent are happier, healthier, and even more generous. They experience less stress and more life satisfaction. And here's something powerful. Time-affluent slows down the way we experience time. When you savor your days, when you create novelty, time doesn't blur into a monotonous loop. It feels richer, fuller and more memorable. So here's where finances meet psychology. You can spend money to buy time, outsource what drains you, yard work, groceries, house cleaning. Those hours you reclaim, that's time affluence. The opposite is pinching pennies in retirement or in any time, but wasting hours on tasks that don't bring you joy. If you work 40 years to earn financial security, isn't it worth using some of those dollars to buy back your freedom? and referenced in the book Time Smore, that about half of the people don't reclaim their time. They don't spend their money to buy time. They would rather keep their money and use the time doing things that they don't necessarily enjoy. Interesting, huh? I'm of the other mindset. In fact, very early on in my life, I decided that I was going to focus on a handful of things that give me energy. Talked about this in a prior podcast. If you just spend your life concentrating on doing more of the things that give you energy and less time into things that don't, then hopefully you'll lead an energetic and hopefully meaningful life. So not a big fan of pinching pennies in retirement or anytime, but wasting hours on tasks that don't bring joy. Now, if you have to, you have to. If you don't have the money to hire someone to mow the lawn, then okay, but you have to get there. So how do you tilt the scale away from time poverty and toward time affluence? Well, here's an exercise. Imagine if you will, that we wake up tomorrow morning and on the news we find out that Something happened to the earth in the middle of the night. It was knocked off its axis and we have now lost two hours a day forever and ever and ever. Days not being 24 hours anymore, they are 22 hours. What are you going to give up because we have two hours less per day? Hmm, interesting. What would you give up with two hours less a day? It kind of forces you to think about the things that really matter and focus on those things. Determine your three to five activity values and let the rest go or delegate. Concentrate on actions and tasks that generate the greatest impact and produce the most meaningful results to you. Again, according to Ashley Williams in her book, Time Smart, about one half of the people would rather trade time for money. They want to do it all to save money. Of course, you can't bring it with you. However, many of these people have more than enough and would most likely be happier spending their money to buy time. Next, audit your calendar. Write down where your hours go. Are they aligned with your values or just filled with noise? Now, you want to have more time, get scheduled, as Stephen Covey said in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In fact, if you really want to get serious about this time affluence, Use Franklin Covey's time management system based on the seven habits of highly effective people. Now again, I've said in prior podcasts, big fan of creating a personal mission statement. Google Stephen Covey or Franklin Covey's personal mission statement builder. Go there, create it. In that mission statement, you will come up with a few roles in your life and goals and values that matter to you. And what you want to do is every single week, fill your calendar with those three to five things, three to five roles that really matter in your life. And so you concentrate on those things that really matter to you and get them scheduled on your calendar so they get done. Focus on activity values and delegate or let the rest go. Value time over money. Value time over money. Activity values are, again, the three to five things in your life that really matter, they resonate with you. Could be family, could be your career, could be art, I don't know. Could be becoming an athlete. Activity values, and then protect your best hours. Again, get scheduled. Schedule the things that matter most first, then fit in everything else, or let Other things go or delegate them. Say no with grace. Retirement doesn't mean you owe your time to everyone. Seek novelty, travel, take classes, start hobbies. These stretch time and make life feel more abundant. Again, we've talked in prior podcasts about this idea of flow or losing track of time. Do the things that put you in a quote flow state where you actually lose track of time. You find them fascinating and motivating and it actually makes time feel like it's more abundant. One of my favorites, when you schedule your time, double the amount of time you think it will take for a task or a meeting and leave lots of white space. Wow, I love this. You know, when I schedule meetings now with clients, I actually schedule three hours and an average meeting that I have with, with a client can go about an hour and a half. Now, sometimes an hour, but generally an hour and a half. And that leaves me lots of white space in my calendar, which is great on either side of that appointment. So I can actually get more prep work done in the beginning. And when I finish, I can actually do the post-meeting work that I need to do and do it in not a rushed way, in a very relaxed pace, very focused pace. So here's something you can try this week. Each evening, jot down one moment where you felt time affluent, where you were fully present, unhurried and engaged. then jot down a moment you felt time poor. Over time, of course, patterns will emerge. You'll learn what gives you the wealth of time and what drains it. So here's the bottom line. Life is supposed to be about time affluence, not time poverty, but it doesn't just happen. You have to be really intentional about your life. Again, that's why we love life planning. Your wealth isn't just in your accounts. It's in your hours, your days, your moments. Spend them wisely because unlike money, once they're gone, They're gone. Thanks for tuning in to the Happiness Retirement Program podcast. I hope you enjoyed it. If so, share it with a friend, subscribe and leave a review. And remember, true wealth is measured in time well spent. See you next time. SPEAKER_01: That's it for today's episode of the Happiness in Retirement Program podcast. We hope you found some valuable insights to help you create the retirement you deserve. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who's planning for their future. For more tips and resources, visit happinessinretirement.com or the Del-Sette Capital Management Facebook page. Until next time, here's to a happy, healthy, and financially secure retirement.