Would You Really Buy Things—Or Would You Buy Freedom?

The first thing you purchase when you get rich might not be what you think—it might be your life back

Question: What is the first thing you’d buy if you get filthy rich tomorrow?

If I became filthy rich tomorrow, the first thing I’d buy wouldn’t be a house or a car or even a jet. It would be my time back.

Here’s what I mean: Wealth doesn’t just change what you own—it transforms how you move through the world. For most of us, time is the currency we trade for survival. We clock in, clock out, and hope there’s enough left at the end of the day to enjoy a small piece of life before it starts all over again.

But if the universe suddenly handed me more money than I could ever spend, I wouldn’t rush to buy a mansion or a fleet of sports cars. I’d take a breath. I’d buy my mom’s peace of mind by retiring her. I’d buy silence by settling every debt that’s ever kept me up at night. I’d buy breathing room.

And then I’d buy a plane ticket—not to escape, but to arrive. To arrive in a place where the air smells like salt and citrus, where the ocean hushes my mind and the days stretch long and slow. I’d sit with a drink, barefoot on warm sand, not because I’ve quit life, but because I’ve finally entered it. I wouldn’t need fireworks or Instagram posts—just presence. Just the radical luxury of stillness.

It sounds small, doesn’t it? Maybe even underwhelming. But that’s the point. When the noise of survival dies down, what’s left is simplicity: a safe place to rest, loved ones well cared for, and the freedom to live like your life isn’t on loan from a system designed to drain you.

So, the first thing I’d buy if I got filthy rich tomorrow?

My freedom. And I’d guard it fiercely.