What does "Freedom of my Time" mean to you?

Question

I read BP for several hours every day (broken up in pieces, but smartphones are a beautiful, terrible thing), and I regularly see people listing "freedom of my time" as one of their big motivations when it comes to RE investing. Now, as a solely-1099 earner since 2012 I understand this motivation entirely, and from some of you it totally makes sense, but I also see this statement from those that are still in their 9-5 W2 jobs. For those that have accomplished some of their greater goals in REI, how do you really quantify "freedom of time", and how does that fit into remaining in a W2 position reporting to someone else?

David Hays · Answer

@Walker Hinshaw

Just saw that you replied to this, and I appreciate your response. I can understand what you´re saying in regards to the sacrifice right now for the long-term goals. I guess that my initial inquiry was targeted more towards those here on BP who seem to maintain their W2 jobs even though they´ve developed a large enough RE business to support their goals. Perhaps it´s just me - I´ve gotten very used to working for myself, and for me I would (and do) choose to work for myself over anything else.

Walker Hinshaw · Answer

I still have a W2 job. I see investing in real estate as the quickest path to early retirement, with my definition of early retirement being that I do not require a W2 job in order to pay for a comfortable lifestyle. I am sacrificing my freedom of time in the short run in order to finance complete freedom of my time in the long run.

To me freedom of time will mean being able to spend time with my kids, not having to ask a boss for time off in order to go on vacation, being able to plan spur of the moment trips and activities, working on projects and issues I am passionate about, and having the time to give back to my community.