What Financial Independence Actually Looks Like: How I Spend My Days
Beyond the Fantasy: The Real Life of Financial Independence
Everyone talks about reaching financial independence, but almost no one shows you what it actually looks like day-to-day. What do you do with your time when you don't have to work? How different is life when you control your schedule completely?
Today I'm pulling back the curtain on exactly how I spend my time since achieving FI in 2022. This isn't about bragging or creating FOMO. It's about showing you the concrete benefits that make the sacrifice worthwhile and the unexpected realities most people don't discuss.
Some of these benefits you can probably imagine. Others might surprise you. A few might even concern you. But all of them represent the freedom you're working toward.
6 AM to 10 PM: A Day in Financial Freedom
6:00 AM: I wake up naturally without an alarm clock screaming at me to start another day I don't control. I make coffee and settle onto the couch with the Wall Street Journal. This isn't rushed scrolling through headlines while getting dressed. This is actually reading, processing, and thinking about what's happening in the world.
7:00 AM: Light breakfast, then I change into workout clothes. No internal debate about whether I have time to exercise. No guilt about skipping the gym because work is "more important."
8:00 AM: Five-mile run that takes about an hour. During my working years, I constantly skipped workouts to get more work done, justifying it by saying "this project is critical." Now I never skip days unless there's a genuine emergency. The consistency shows in both my health and energy levels.
9:00 AM: Shower and get ready at a relaxed pace. No rushing to beat traffic or catch a train.
9:30 AM: Productive work begins. (writing, email, consulting projects) But here's the key difference: I only work on things I find interesting or valuable. No mandatory meetings about nothing. No corporate training on avoiding paper cuts in the office.
12:00 PM: Lunch with leftovers while watching Masterclass episodes. Currently learning about gut health and the relationship between the gut and brain. I've started incorporating fermented foods to keep my microbiome healthy. This kind of learning was impossible when lunch meant scarfing down a sandwich between meetings.
1:00-4:00 PM: Errands when needed, but during off-peak hours. Costco on Saturday means fighting for parking spots and jostling through packed aisles. Costco on Wednesday morning means parking near the door and having entire aisles to yourself. Or I use this time for whatever sounds interesting: playing with the dogs, reading books, planning travel, researching topics that catch my attention.
5:00 PM: Sometimes Mrs. Prosper and I play Mario Kart before dinner prep. Try explaining that to your boss as a reason you can't stay late.
5:30 PM: Dinner preparation. Up to an hour when we want to experiment with new recipes. With unlimited time, I can collect 4-5 recipes and choose the best one instead of defaulting to the first option I find.
6:30 PM: Eating. Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune to keep our brains sharp, or American Ninja Warrior when we want workout inspiration.
7:00 PM: Wash dishes, play a board game, talk, pack for a trip, watch a movie.
8:30 PM: Turn off the lights, let the dogs out, get ready for bed.
9:00 PM: In bed reading books. Not scrolling phones or thinking about tomorrow's meetings.
10:00 PM: Asleep. My sleep schedule is dramatically healthier now, with full nights of rest instead of staying up late finishing work on the couch.
Compare this to your working life. How much of your day do you actually control?
The Five Freedoms of Financial Independence
Freedom 1: Time Sovereignty
The most obvious benefit is owning your time completely. No alarm clocks, no commutes, no meetings scheduled by other people.
The unexpected depth: It's not just about having more time. It's about having better quality time. When you're not mentally exhausted from work stress, you have energy for things that actually matter.
Real example: I can spend 30 minutes researching the best approach for a simple home repair and get three quotes instead of hiring the first contractor I find. When working, I might have paid whatever the first person quoted because I didn't have time to shop around.
Freedom 2: Location Independence
Spontaneous travel: I've traveled to NYC (May), DC (June), Santa Fe (July), and Chicago (August). NYC, DC, and Chicago were all booked just 24 hours in advance. My flights were free with my Frontier GoWild pass, and hotels were $100/night or less when standard tourist lodging was $250+/night.
Off-peak advantages: Museums when they're empty, restaurants during slow periods, flights at discount prices. You experience the same places with half the crowds and half the cost.
Emergency flexibility: When my mom's phone battery started expanding and swelled up like a balloon, I could immediately help her deal with customer service and get it repaired. Most working people can't drop everything for family emergencies.
Freedom 3: Moral Choice
Project selectivity: While working as a consultant, I was once assigned to a snack foods company that essentially manufactures poison by creating "foods" that are shelf-stable for years. I was horrified at the raw materials and manufacturing process, but I was told to go there, so I went. A colleague was sent to work for a tobacco company where smoking was allowed in conference rooms. She had to buy clothing just for that office because the smoke was so thick.
Now: I choose projects based on interest and values, not paychecks. My most interesting current project is writing this Substack. It's work, but I do it because I enjoy it and believe it helps people.
The luxury of "no": I can reject projects that aren't fun, interesting, or aligned with my values. When you need the money, you don't have this luxury.
Freedom 4: Relationship Enhancement
Quality time with spouse: Mrs. Prosper and I are generally in the same room for 90% of the week. Instead of exhausted conversations after stressful workdays, we have relaxed time for communication and bonding.
Availability for friends: It's much easier to meet friends now because I'm almost always available. Previously, coordinating schedules was a nightmare. Now they only need to find a slot on their calendar because mine is flexible.
Deeper conversations: I try to strike up conversations with strangers in airports, on trains, in lines. (Places people used to talk instead of scrolling phones.) Most people are happy to chat when given the opportunity.
Freedom 5: Health Optimization
Consistent exercise: No more skipping workouts for "important" meetings. Exercise happens every day unless there's a genuine emergency.
Better nutrition: Time to shop for quality ingredients during off-peak hours, cook meals from scratch, and research health topics (like gut health and microbiome optimization.)
Stress elimination: No more Sunday night anxiety about Monday morning. No more workplace politics or forced enthusiasm for things you don't care about.
What I Never Have to Do Again
Corporate Bureaucracy
Ridiculous training requirements: I once attended safety training for office workers that covered paper cuts, falling down stairs, and coffee burns. The instructor taught us to maintain "three points of contact" when descending stairs. Try that in practice. Most of us use one point of contact (one leg in the air, one planted).
Meetings about meetings: I attended a meeting where the topic was brainstorming ways to save time by avoiding unnecessary meetings. The irony was lost on management.
Meaningless compliance: Annual training on computer security, desk organization, and harassment policies. Not because anyone needed it, but because lawyers required it.
Forced Social Interactions
Toxic coworkers: No more pretending to enjoy conversations with people you wouldn't choose to spend time with.
Office politics: No more navigating workplace drama or competing for promotions you don't want.
Fake enthusiasm: No more pretending to care about corporate initiatives or company retreat team-building exercises.
Time Poverty Compromises
Weekend crowds: No more fighting Saturday crowds for basic errands because those are the only hours you're free.
Rushed decisions: No more suboptimal choices because you don't have time to research alternatives properly.
Delayed maintenance: No more letting small problems become expensive ones because you don't have time to address them promptly.
The Unexpected Realities
The Loneliness Challenge
The downside: It can be unexpectedly lonely without coworkers. If you're not careful, your level of human interaction goes way down because you're home while most people similar to you are at work.
The solution: You have to be more intentional about social connection. I make effort to start conversations with strangers and maintain relationships with friends who are still working.
What I miss: Random intellectual conversations at the office and the easy ability to meet new people. Office environments, despite their flaws, provide built-in social interaction.
Learning to Structure Freedom
The challenge: When every day is Saturday, you have to create your own structure. Some people struggle with this level of freedom.
The opportunity: You can design your ideal life instead of accepting someone else's design. But this requires self-awareness and discipline.
The Identity Shift
Who you are vs. what you do: When people ask what you do, "I'm financially independent" doesn't roll off the tongue like "I'm an accountant." You have to redefine your identity beyond your job title.
Purpose beyond paychecks: You need to find meaning and challenge outside of traditional career advancement. This is liberating for some, unsettling for others.
The Weeks and Months: Flexible Structure
Loose routine: Tennis on Saturday mornings, time with my mom Saturday afternoons, couples dates on Thursdays. Grocery shopping mid-week when stores are empty.
Complete flexibility: Every day can change based on opportunities, weather, or whims. No rigid schedule unless I choose one.
Monthly adventures: Spontaneous travel once per month when a destination sounds interesting. Freedom to chase good weather, interesting events, or just a change of scenery.
Seasonal living: Ability to align activities with natural rhythms instead of arbitrary work calendars.
Why This Matters More Than the Money
Money is just the enabler: The dollars in your investment account aren't the point. They're what buy you the freedom to live according to your values and priorities.
Time is the real wealth: Every hour you spend at a job you don't love is an hour you can't spend on things you do love. Financial independence gives you those hours back.
Energy multiplication: When you're not exhausted from work stress, you have more energy for everything else. Better relationships, better health, better experiences.
Authentic living: You can finally align your daily actions with your actual values instead of someone else's corporate objectives.
The Bottom Line
Financial independence isn't about having enough money to buy anything you want. It's about having enough money that you don't have to do anything you don't want to do.
The trade-off is real: Years of aggressive saving and lifestyle optimization to buy permanent lifestyle freedom. Not everyone will think it's worth it.
The compound benefits: Every aspect of FI life reinforces the others. Better health gives you more energy. More time gives you better relationships. Less stress improves decision-making. They all multiply each other.
The irreversible change: Once you experience true time freedom, it's almost impossible to go back to trading time for money. The psychological shift is permanent.
Your homework: Track how you actually spend your time for one week. How many hours go to work, commuting, work-related stress, and recovery from work? That's the time you're buying back with financial independence.
Here's to designing a life you don't need to escape from,
Max
Remember: The goal isn't to never work again. It's to work only on things you choose, when you choose, with people you choose. That's the real freedom money can buy.