It's about creating more time for what matters most. 

A new financial year is a natural checkpoint. Contributions have been reviewed, tax returns are being lodged or already lodged, and many of our clients are taking stock of how the last twelve months went. It's a good moment to ask a different kind of question. Not just “did my portfolio grow?” but “did my money give me more of what I actually want, which is time?” 

At Rasiah Private Wealth Management, we talk often about connecting money to values and purpose. This month we want to look at why that connection isn't just a nice sentiment. There is a growing body of behavioural research showing that when people use money to buy back time, rather than simply accumulate more of it, they tend to be happier and more satisfied with their lives. 

The Research: Time, Not Just Money, Drives Wellbeing 

For decades, most research into money and happiness focused on income and spending. More recently, researchers at Harvard Business School and the University of British Columbia have taken a different angle, examining what happens when people use money specifically to free up time. 

In a series of studies published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers Ashley Whillans, Elizabeth Dunn and colleagues surveyed thousands of working adults across the United States, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands, including both everyday earners and millionaires. Across every group, people who spent money on time-saving services, such as outsourcing chores they disliked, reported greater life satisfaction than those who didn't, regardless of their income level. 

The same research team ran a controlled experiment. Working adults were given money and asked to spend it either on a time-saving purchase or a material purchase. Those who chose to buy time reported feeling happier afterward than those who bought things. The effect held even though people, when asked in advance, often assumed spending on material goods would make them happier. 

Separate research from the same group, published in Social Psychological and Personality Science, found that people who generally place a higher priority on time over money tend to report greater wellbeing overall. This wasn't explained by how materialistic someone was, how much time or money they actually had, or their income. Simply valuing time more highly was linked to being happier. 

A further longitudinal study followed close to 1,000 university students for a year after graduation. Those who prioritised time over money when making major life decisions, such as choosing a job, ended up happier a year later. The researchers found this was because they tended to choose paths that were more personally meaningful, not just more lucrative. 

What This Means for How We Think About Investing 

None of this is an argument against building wealth. It's an argument for being clear about why you're building it. 

A portfolio that grows steadily but never translates into freedom, whether that's stepping back from work earlier, spending more time with family, or simply removing money-related stress from your day to day, is only delivering half of what it could. 

This is where the research and our own approach at RPWM meet. We've long said that financial decisions should start with a plan for your life, not a product. The behavioural evidence backs this up. People who orient their financial decisions around time, purpose and what genuinely matters to them tend to end up happier than those chasing growth for its own sake. 

Questions Worth Asking This Financial Year 

As you review your position for the new financial year, a few questions can help bring this thinking into focus: 

• Is my current financial strategy actually buying me more time, or simply more assets? 

• Are there recurring costs of my time, energy or stress that money could reasonably remove? 

• If my investments perform exactly as planned, what will I actually be able to do with the outcome? 

• Am I making decisions based on what matters to me and my family, or on habit and headlines? 

These aren't always comfortable questions, and they don't have easy or universal answers. But they're worth sitting with, particularly at the start of a new financial year when plans and goals are naturally being revisited. 

A Reminder of Our Approach 

At RPWM, our process starts with plan, then process, then product, in that order. We believe the right financial decisions flow from a clear picture of the life you're working toward, not the other way around. The research on time and happiness simply reinforces something we've seen consistently in our work with clients: the people who feel most confident about their finances are usually the ones whose money is working toward a clearly defined purpose, not just a number. 

If you'd like to talk through how your current strategy lines up with what matters most to you this financial year, we're here to help. 

General advice warning: This article contains general information only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any of this information, you should consider its appropriateness having regard to your own circumstances and, where appropriate, seek personal financial advice from a licensed adviser. Rasiah Private Wealth Management is an Authorised Representative of FYG Planners Pty Ltd, AFSL/ACL 224543.