Money As Freedom Months

A framework for thinking about money in terms of time and freedom instead of raw dollar amounts. This helps people make better decisions about their finances and career moves.

Core Concept

• Convert money into "months of freedom" instead of thinking in dollar amounts
• Calculate how long you could live without working based on savings and expenses
• Early dollars create more freedom than later dollars
• Focus on getting enough runway to take career risks or try new ventures

Key Components for Calculation

• Track monthly expenses rigorously

  • Use apps to log every expense
  • Calculate trailing 6-month average for monthly burn rate
  • Include all living costs and regular expenses

• Calculate Freedom Runway

  • Take total savings amount
  • Divide by monthly burn rate
  • Result shows months of freedom available

Real Examples Shared

• $24,000 savings case

  • Monthly expenses: $2,000
  • Resulted in 12 months of freedom
  • Enabled risk-taking and travel opportunities

• $25,000 case

  • Three founders lived for one year
  • Enabled them to work on startup without jobs
  • Provided freedom to pursue their venture

Benefits of This Approach

• Creates clearer decision-making framework

  • Helps understand true value of savings
  • Makes money more tangible in terms of life impact
  • Better than thinking in "Chuck E. Cheese tokens"

• Enables Strategic Career Moves

  • Can calculate exactly how long you can go without income
  • Helps determine if you have enough runway for new ventures
  • Allows for intentional risk-taking

Early Money vs Later Money

• Early dollars create more freedom

  • Lower lifestyle costs early in career
  • Easier to live lean when younger
  • More impact on quality of life

• Later dollars have diminishing returns

  • Higher lifestyle costs reduce freedom
  • May actually reduce freedom if leading to expensive commitments
  • Less impactful on quality of life changes